Anyone riding 26” fatties yet? (Instead of 650b)

stien · #1 08-19-2018, 08:38 PM

I see that the VO polyvalent is made to take either 650 or 26” wheels and it got me thinking. Would a rigid disc bike made for 700c be reasonable with 26x2.15 tires? That’s about the same diameter as 27.5x1.5 which is a common conversion size. It seems like lower end rigid disc bikes could be converted in this way pretty cheaply. I roll around on 26x2.15 Big Ben tires and love them on the road (cruiser/cargo bike).

SlowPokePete · #2 08-20-2018, 05:36 AM

I think Jan Heine's FireFly uses 26" wheels..

SPP

Luwabra · #3 08-20-2018, 07:28 AM

Not a firefly and not disc but I love it. Super kush tires bars up high all day comfort.

stien · #4 08-20-2018, 08:07 AM

That Croll looks awesome. I'm wondering if I could do that to a MB-3 or similar.

brewsmith · #5 08-20-2018, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stien

That Croll looks awesome. I'm wondering if I could do that to a MB-3 or similar.

I did a similar build with a '92 MB1, albiet with slightly smaller tires, and it worked out great. Still had plenty of clearance left

Luwabra · #6 08-20-2018, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stien

That Croll looks awesome. I'm wondering if I could do that to a MB-3 or similar.

Thanks! It’s a super fun compliant ride.

I have an 86’ mb2 that’s pretty much cherry and 100% original I’d make you A deal on if 19” is your size

marsh · #7 08-20-2018, 10:18 AM

I loved RTP's on gravel, but they felt way too slow on pavement. For cargoing and kid carrying 26 is great. If looking for a frameset to start with, old Trek 950s with True Temper tubing ride mighty fine. The 930 with OS tubing rides even better IMO.

RFC · #8 08-20-2018, 11:33 AM

I've been riding this one with 1.5" tires as an allaround bomber. However, I'm going to switch to a set of WTB fatties I have around.

IMG_0361 by Robert Copple, on Flickr

Hindmost · #9 08-20-2018, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marsh

...I loved RTP's on gravel, but they felt way too slow on pavement...

Oh good, I thought it was just me. I'm running them on a drop bar mountain bike and it's great on the fire roads and such. It is fun to bomb crappy pavement. I have played with tire pressures a bit but I don't want to sacrifice the cush ride.

hokoman · #10 08-20-2018, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hindmost

Oh good, I thought it was just me. I'm running them on a drop bar mountain bike and it's great on the fire roads and such. It is fun to bomb crappy pavement. I have played with tire pressures a bit but I don't want to sacrifice the cush ride.

The beauty of riding on RTP tires is that when you train on them... and then jump on your road bike, you feel like you're flying!!! I've been riding them exclusively for the last 2 weeks and will see how the road bike feels this weekend!

mattnes17 · #11 08-20-2018, 02:01 PM

I rode ~200 miles on these 26" fatties last week:

Not very quick to accelerate, but dang do they feel hooked up!!

pinkshogun · #12 08-20-2018, 03:43 PM

This is my Trek 930 drop bar conversion with moderately chunky tires...smooth middle with a set of knobs on the side

I was thinking of 650b but with the plethora of 26" (559) rims and tires I didnt see the point. Investigating which rims would seat well with 650b Hetres was too exhausting after a while