26" in tires & wheels question

[roguedog]

hey all,

i learned that there were diff widths for 26" tires. 26 x 1.5, etc.

I can keep the same wheels on my mtb but use thinner tires for commuting, right? I don't have to buy specials wheels in order to have the 1.5 vs whatever the standard is.. right??

[DebW]

Be aware that not all tires labeled 26 inch are the same. MTB 26" tires are a different bead seat diameter than 26"x1 3/8" 3-speed tires. See

http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

A rim of a given width can take a range of tire width, but it has limits. You can measure the inner rim width and use Sheldon Brown's rule of thumb:

"A general guideline is that the tire width should be between 1.45/2.0 x the inner rim width."

He also has a chart on that page or rim width vs tire width.

[emily_in_nc]

I can keep the same wheels on my mtb but use thinner tires for commuting, right? I don't have to buy specials wheels in order to have the 1.5 vs whatever the standard is.. right??

Yes, that's true. I put urban 26" 1.5" width tires on my mtb when I was riding on the trainer recovering from my fractured pelvis. Once I wanted to ride outside again, the 2.1" knobbies went right back on. Your rims will have a range of how narrow/wide you can go with tires, so if you don't have the product literature that came with them, you should be able to look up your rims online (that's what I did), and find out the range of tire sizes you can use. Since mountain bikes (and thus 26" tire sizes) are so popular, you'll likely find a large selection of 26" tires in a variety of widths and tread depths at your LBS.

HTH,
Emily