Looking through tire maker catalogs it can be confusing to see that there are 26" road tubular and 26" mtb tires but they will not fit each other rims, why?
The so called 26" road tubular tires are indeed 650c size. This means the rim diameter is 571mm
The 26" mtb size has 559mm rim diameter.
It is a 6mm difference between both size and tires will not fit on different type like a 26" mtb tire on a 650c rim, etc...
Showing posts with label 26" wheels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 26" wheels. Show all posts
Friday, July 24, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Keep moving
The ZR Ti (I really need to find a nicer name for it) concept bike is moving along.
Wheel size, has been decided to be 26" instead of 650c for more practicality.
The brakes will be cantilever type.
Road caliper are made to be light and aerodynamic somehow, but the braking power is not as powerful as Cantilever (or V-brakes)
Cantilever have a kind of "out of date" image since the arrival of MTB as mass market which was fitted with V-brakes and their "more powerful braking"
V-brake are powerful to block the wheel which is pratical for technical off-road riding
Blocking the wheels on a road bike is not practical, we don't want to block the wheel, this is when we lose control of the bike and cannot stop it (this is for this reason ABS is now standard on most cars and some motorbikes)
Well, coming bike to my concept bike.
The braking system will be Cantilver type. It offers best braking modulation with road type brake lever.
Why not Disc brake?
Because disc brake are heavier than rim brakes, also with road bike style brake lever, it is possible to mount only mechanical disc brakes, which are much heavy than hydraulic ones and finally, disc brakes will block the wheels too heasily on steep down hill roads.
Cantilvers are also mounted touring bicycles carrying a lot of weight around the world. This confirm their toughness and reliability.
Finally, the weight/cost performance is also great with Cantilevers compared with road caliper style.
Wheel size, has been decided to be 26" instead of 650c for more practicality.
The brakes will be cantilever type.
Road caliper are made to be light and aerodynamic somehow, but the braking power is not as powerful as Cantilever (or V-brakes)
Cantilever have a kind of "out of date" image since the arrival of MTB as mass market which was fitted with V-brakes and their "more powerful braking"
V-brake are powerful to block the wheel which is pratical for technical off-road riding
Blocking the wheels on a road bike is not practical, we don't want to block the wheel, this is when we lose control of the bike and cannot stop it (this is for this reason ABS is now standard on most cars and some motorbikes)
Well, coming bike to my concept bike.
The braking system will be Cantilver type. It offers best braking modulation with road type brake lever.
Why not Disc brake?
Because disc brake are heavier than rim brakes, also with road bike style brake lever, it is possible to mount only mechanical disc brakes, which are much heavy than hydraulic ones and finally, disc brakes will block the wheels too heasily on steep down hill roads.
Cantilvers are also mounted touring bicycles carrying a lot of weight around the world. This confirm their toughness and reliability.
Finally, the weight/cost performance is also great with Cantilevers compared with road caliper style.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
What bike is it?
It seems there is a market gap.
On 1 side there are Road bikes which comes 99% of the time with 700c wheel size, 650c comes mostly for smaller rider, women or triathlon.
On the other side, there are MTB which comes out in various specific type, most 99% are for off-road use.
Which means mainly with suspension forks and fat (wide section) tires.
There are no bikes made for hilly and mountainous roads on the market.
26" wheel sized "road" bikes are the most efficient bikes on technical roads.
My concept bike is taking me through the whole bicycle culture.
I have to redesign everything from scratch as standard MTB and road bikes are not bicycles aimed for 26" wheel sized Alpine bike.
What should I call this bike category?
On 1 side there are Road bikes which comes 99% of the time with 700c wheel size, 650c comes mostly for smaller rider, women or triathlon.
On the other side, there are MTB which comes out in various specific type, most 99% are for off-road use.
Which means mainly with suspension forks and fat (wide section) tires.
There are no bikes made for hilly and mountainous roads on the market.
26" wheel sized "road" bikes are the most efficient bikes on technical roads.
My concept bike is taking me through the whole bicycle culture.
I have to redesign everything from scratch as standard MTB and road bikes are not bicycles aimed for 26" wheel sized Alpine bike.
What should I call this bike category?
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Fast bike and braking surface
650c has become an exotic size now. It is still used in France but almost disappeared from french shops and suppliers as "randonneuse" and "cyclosportive" had become a kind of antique bikes when the fashion was big swing for the MTB.
It is wiser to make a road bike in 26" than a 650 size almost any store stock this size.
There is a small trend with the 650 randonneuse style but the market is tiny for sport type 650.
Looking at the tires makers catalogs and it is easy to confirm my thoughts.
Almost no tires are available for road use in 650c sizing (650x20 or 23 etc...)
But looking at 26" there is much more choice of width and pattern.
26" Vs 700c
Due to the exotism of the 650c I concetrate my work on the 26" sizing.
Why 26" instead of 700c
26" got advantage for mountains / alpine style road (hey, it is why MTB use this size at the beginning right?)
It is not only goof fit for small rider, it is also more performant for hill climb and and cornering down the roads.
Also, shortest spokes provide stiffer wheels.
And finally, smaller rim diameter and shorter spokes means less weight in rotation.
I noticed several times that while going down Norikura skyline road and other alpine roads at over 100km/h the rear wheel has not much grips when braking hard before cornering.
Mounting 26" offer a choice of high pressure clincher with wider section and still light as 700c clinchers
It is wiser to make a road bike in 26" than a 650 size almost any store stock this size.
There is a small trend with the 650 randonneuse style but the market is tiny for sport type 650.
Looking at the tires makers catalogs and it is easy to confirm my thoughts.
Almost no tires are available for road use in 650c sizing (650x20 or 23 etc...)
But looking at 26" there is much more choice of width and pattern.
26" Vs 700c
Due to the exotism of the 650c I concetrate my work on the 26" sizing.
Why 26" instead of 700c
26" got advantage for mountains / alpine style road (hey, it is why MTB use this size at the beginning right?)
It is not only goof fit for small rider, it is also more performant for hill climb and and cornering down the roads.
Also, shortest spokes provide stiffer wheels.
And finally, smaller rim diameter and shorter spokes means less weight in rotation.
I noticed several times that while going down Norikura skyline road and other alpine roads at over 100km/h the rear wheel has not much grips when braking hard before cornering.
Mounting 26" offer a choice of high pressure clincher with wider section and still light as 700c clinchers
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