Ok 26 and 24 inch wheels.

nicklouse · April 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by ninjatarian

its pretty popular to run a 26 in the front and 24 in the rear, the old specialized bighits were designed this way. quick excelerating 24 in the rear and stronger since the rear is usually the first to bend, and a 26 in the front to roll over things better and be more stable at speed.
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but a BH with 26 26 is faster. on all terain.

nick
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danhargrave7 · May 2007

i used to run a 26 front and a 24 rear, but i found it made my front feel heavy and i landed more jumps nose first, which isnt good

so im now back on both 24's, and i think its better for jumping than 26" bikes, but its alot worse for thing like downhill and singletrack.

elmotheewokking · May 2007

If you were landing nose first thats more to do with technique than setup. [;)]
24" wheels don't really make that much of a difference.
As most of the yank jumpers are proving. The argument of them being easier to spin is pretty much null and void, now people are pulling 720's on 26" wheels.
That said, my GI Streets will always be on any bike that will allow them.

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<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by i_used_2b_fukpigonabike

at least it hasn't rashed like my groin.
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webbe · June 2007

I think that 24" are much much more manouverable but if I was going on a fast descending full on big hitting trail ride I would use 26" because you can bounce over things way easier.

My Revell 450r

hungrycruiser · June 2007

It definitely is easier to ride a 24". Even though you don't think there is much of a difference, there so obviously is. If you have ever gone from ridin 26 to 24 then you will know. The amount of spinning force from having a 26" is far greater than that of a 24" wheel. There have been scientific experiments to prove this, but if you have tried both then you will feel it. The weight is also quite a big factor. If you run 24 on the back and 26 on the front then it is bound to make you front end heavy.
For example, if you put a heavier pair of forks on your normal bike then you will start to feel nose heavy until you have had enough time to adjust to the difference.

elmotheewokking · June 2007

Complete rubbish. I have ridden both 24" and 26" wheels and run a 24" rear / 26" front.
The extra two inches in the diameter of the rim made no difference to the weight of the front end. If anything, the change of geometry made it easier to lift the front wheel.
Yes, a 26" wheel does have more centrifugal force. Doesn't necessarily make it any harder to ride though.

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<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by i_used_2b_fukpigonabike

at least it hasn't rashed like my groin.
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CitizenLee · July 2007

Haha, it's all getting a bit heated.

I like running 24s... makes my MTB feel more like my BMX.

You could argue the pros / cons all day on this topic... but at the end of the day as long as your happy on your bike then does it really matter if someone else doesnt agree with your set-up? Personally I couldnt care less.

stevie the freerider · November 2007

i fide bikes wit 24" weels are easier to do spin tricks ie 180 or 360s
i know some one who had 26 urfront for bumbs and 24 rear for ease of tricks

clas · November 2007

OK first scenario
drop the 26's to 24's
the bike will sit lower to the ground but the difference in gravity???!
cmon! it will not be measurable by any device I am aware of.
the head angle geo will not change but the amount of trail ( the distance between a line that projects down the axis of steering on its contact with the ground and the tyre contact patch.) a 24 inch wheel will shorten it and make the steering really snappy and responsive great for hooning round the jumps but wearing on a long ride.(yes think shopping trolley) a fast accellerating bike that does not like rough terrain.

putting a 26 on the front and a 24 on the back will slacken the head angle (changing the trail) making it slower to respond and feeling more ponderous however this is a good set up for downhilling as the 26 rolls better as previously discussed and the 24 acclerates faster due to less rotating mass
there is also the issue of gyroscopic stability. and this is where my physics gets slightly less confident but bear with me.
the larger and heavier your wheel (ie a 26) the more gyro stability it will have. this will be most noticeable in the air with the larger wheels being less easy to throw around because they are more stable.
this is one of the reasons that BMXers can be so agile in the air the gyro stability is comparitively low...

I think that explains it
I hope its not too wrong :P

skyliner · April 2008

The amount of centrifugal force will be governed by the positioning of the weight on the wheel surely?
If you have a 24" wheel with a 3 ply 3" DH tyre, it'll create more centrifugal force than a 2" single ply tyre on a 26" wheel for the same rim weight. as the overall weight will probably be low enough to make the difference.
If you want to make a bike more manouverable in the air, you dab the rear brake to remove the rotational mass of the rear wheel from the equation, and to get the bike to "nose in" to the transition. Which is why BMX and MTB dirt jumpers have only a rear brake fitted primarily.

cycling_simon · June 2008

i ride 24 24 but id say its just down to taste

lukehenrytodd · June 2008

I have an SP1 with 26" Alex rims and a Dr Jekyll with 24" SAS rims.

The 24" are much easier to accelerate and are stronger but you do loose that top end speed (not really an issue for street)

The 26" do seem to be better on the trails but not on the jumps.....

You used to be limited by not many manufacturers producing the good wheels in 24" and some tyres not being available but now nearly all tyres are available and your can get some amazing wheels JUST in 24" format.

Basically you have to decide what you are going to be using them for the most and go with that.

26"
Faster top end
Can give you better balance when jumping at speed due to the gyro effect of the wheels
Slower acceleration

24"
Faster acceleration
Stronger (you can get just as strong 26" but you have to pay more)
Slower top speed

redrook · July 2008

Well ive decided to run 24s for a bit and see, since as far as i can tell from all this squabbling its entirely personal preference.

What will i need to do to change? Will i need a shorter chain to keep the rear derailleur higher, is there any other geometric factor i should know about?

Theyre going on a kona dirt jumper (clump 7005 hardtail frame with Marzocchi DJ 100mm forks. )

Yukon Lad · August 2008

defo prefer 26" just cos i feel they handle better and track better over rough stuff (just my opinion and i may be wrong but thats what it feels like to me)

Yukon Lad

Nodnol · September 2008

Despite all the arguing, I still think each size wheel has its own application. 24" for street, jumping and trials (if not 20"), and 26" for everything else. That's my own opinion, and we can weigh up the pro's and con's for hours (or years) and there will never be a definitive answer. Yes it's been an interesting read, but it wont stop people having their preferences. It's like SPD/Flats, Tube/Tubeless etc....there will never be a "right" answer.

Ok 26 and 24 inch wheels.

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