Mountain Bike Wheel Size Guide

Consider the following pros and cons of each and decide which size to test drive first.

Mountain bike wheel size guide. Remember also to check your wheel size wheels are available in 26 27 5 650b or 29 make sure you get the size compatible with your frame. You can find them with 26 wheels 27 5 wheels or 29 wheels. Here at trek we ve been studying wheel size for nearly two decades alongside mountain bike legend gary fisher and our. Most mountain bikes today are offered in one of two wheel sizes.

If your leg inseam is 76cm then your right mountain bike size is 50 cm 20 3 chart. Traditionally they come with a 26 wheel but more recently we ve seen the launch of 29 and 27 5 650b wheeled bikes. After all the best way to test a bike technology is to take it for a ride. Right mountain bike sizing leg inseam cm x 0 66 your frame size for example.

If all three have a 15 frame there will be a height difference between them due to their wheel size. 27 5 also know as 650b or 29 called 29ers with traditional 26 wheels reserved for dirt jump freeride and kids bikes. Today 26 inch wheels are only found on jump bikes junior bikes and occasionally on extra small mountain bikes where anything larger won t fit. These new sizes offer more speed and are generally better at soaking up the bumps.

29 x 2 0 27 5 x 2 4 29 x 2 8. Your wheel axle height sets your bottom bracket height. Mountain bike sizing guide mtb s are engineered for off road riding. So which wheel size is right for you.

It might be supposed that these two tyres are both notionally 26 diameter and one and a half inches in width but 26 1 is a whole inch bigger than 26 1 5. It only just ended up this way though because with early 80s experimentation with larger sized rims 700c now referred to as 29 in the off road world many saw advantages in these bigger wheels and it was only issues with supply that halted further developments. And right behind those big 29ers are wheels of yet another size. 26 inch wheels used to be the standard size on mountain bikes with everything from cross country racers to hard hitting downhill bikes sharing the common standard.

Bike frames are measured from the middle of their bottom bracket to the end of their seat tube. Most rims are aluminium and generally cost less but carbon rims while expensive are both stiff and light both great attributes. These widely used measurements refer to the tire s diameter and are typically paired with a tire width in inches when written out i e. Mtb wheels are either made of aluminium or carbon.

These size labels come from an old french sizing standard which we ll cover in more detail in the french sizing section. Sometimes referred to as 650b the 27 5 inch wheel fits right in between the 26 and 29 inch offerings. Mountains bikes now come in three different wheel sizes. Even worse the same or very similar markings can sometimes be found on completely different sizes of tyre.

While 26 inch wheels are still considered the standard for mountain bikes 29 inch wheels are fast on their heels.