26" or 700c wheels ?

[jayd]

Mark Beaumont and James Bowthorpe seem to cope with 700c wheels.

I didn't have any problems with my experience at Paul Hewitt. He's not just a guy with a chart. He takes his time. He asks questions.

[rualexander]

Mark Beaumont and James Bowthorpe seem to cope with 700c wheels.

I didn't have any problems with my experience at Paul Hewitt. He's not just a guy with a chart. He takes his time. He asks questions.

Mark Beaumont had numerous problems with his wheels on his round the world trip, mostly broken spokes.

[s2vmx]

Well we have a lively debate about fitting - In days of old I just thought I needed a 23" frame and then set the rest up to meet my comfort needs - and it seemed to work, nowadays you can be scanned - and the bike setup for you, or measured on a jig - at the end of the day its to ensure you get the right size frame - you still end up with the 23" frame (or modern version).

So could s I be so bold as to ask with regards components of the cycles ? ( Hewitt Cheviot / Thorn Club Tour / Dawes Super Galaxy ) - how do they compare ?

Thanks

Stu

[matt2matt2002]

Thanks for replying to my question....
On balance (!) is it better to have a smaller frame than you need - or a bigger frame?

[reohn2]

But not with a choice of top tube length for each size

That's why they have different stems.

But that doesn't suit everyone hence the need for differing TT's eg if you have big feet,longer arms or a short torso than the norm.

But this is rather missing the point; an off-the-peg bike is by definition one that will fit most people. The average length stem and seatpost will be what most people choose, and it will look OK. That is the compact frame way.

Agreed but some companies offer a little more flexibility without the need for full a customised frame and at a good price.

It's just that you are getting it fitted for you by an expert. I wish I'd done that myself, rather than buy two Dawes Galaxies, one too big and one too small, plus about a dozen stems and seatposts. I would have ended up with a much better bike and I'd have saved lots.

Fitting services are OK and I not knocking that but as you say with a compact frame its not rocket science to know which frame is an approximation of size,which is all very good if you're mister average or you are new to cycling and haven't a clue,but not everyone is.

Although I never spent as much in one go as the cost of a Cheviot, I can assure you two Dawes Galaxies, a dozen stems and seatposts cost me more than £50.

A visit to a good LBS would have saved you at least the cost of one of those Galaxies,without a £200 fitting service.

EDIT:- I've only just realised the fitting service at Hewitts is in fact £50 not £200 as stated,so apologies for that

[rogerzilla]

Most of the bikes we're talking about have Taiwanese-made steel frames with excessively steep seat angles (73 degrees on a "large" frame, when 70 would be much better) for a tourer - especially if you use a Brooks saddle with annoyingly short rails. This is surmountable provided you can find a seatpost with lots of layback.

My Cheviot also has a rather short head tube for its size, so aesthetes might complain about needing too many spacers or a riser stem. Does any of this make a difference to how the bike rides? Well, no. As long as you have some standover height and you can get the saddle, bars and pedals in the right relative positions for you using available components (e.g. on some extreme compact frames you may find a sufficiently long seatpost isn't made!) then the geometry is OK. The only other thing I'd worry about is the steering geometry, which you'd think would be pretty standard across tourers, but Thorn do their own thing and use rather too much offset IMO.

[PH]

EDIT:- I've only just realised the fitting service at Hewitts is in fact £50 not £200 as stated,so apologies for that

It's also refundable off the price of a bike, so for most people effectively free. A better service than you're likely to find in most bike shops. Paul Hewitt is a bit of a fanatic about bike fit and is well aware that the formulas are just a starting point. The bike he set up for me was different to anything I'd ridden before, I've now based all my bike set ups on that fitting session.

Back to the original question - I prefer 700c, I'm just stopped using my 26" wheel bike. The differences are marginal, a lot of it will come down to personal preference, the pros and cons of both have been well covered here. But you're not going to succeed or fail on a ride because you have the wrong wheel size, there's never going to be that much difference.

[PH]

Mark Beaumont and James Bowthorpe seem to cope with 700c wheels.

Mark Beaumont had numerous problems with his wheels on his round the world trip, mostly broken spokes.

It was a rubbish build to start with, he'd have had the same problem with 26" wheels.

[rualexander]

Mark Beaumont and James Bowthorpe seem to cope with 700c wheels.

Mark Beaumont had numerous problems with his wheels on his round the world trip, mostly broken spokes.

It was a rubbish build to start with, he'd have had the same problem with 26" wheels.

Yes, the initial build was dodgy, but he had it rebuilt, and still suffered several broken spokes later on. I suspect he would have had less trouble with 26", but maybe not.

[matt2matt2002]

Mark's bike......
were can I read up about the build and his wheels?
Did he write a book? I can't find any on ebay.

[travelling]

Will this help?

http://www.markbeaumontonline.com/mbo/

[rualexander]

Mark's bike......
were can I read up about the build and his wheels?
Did he write a book? I can't find any on ebay.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Man-Who-Cycled- ... 889&sr=1-1
Its a good read, I really enjoyed it, easygoing style.

[glueman]

We had endemic wheel failure on 700 wheels on our loaded tandem when camping. It was finally cured by having 48 x 13 gauge spokes in each wheel. However I had some doubts, which never materialised on our bike, about the structral integrity of stressing a relatively narrow rim with so many highly tensioned, thick spokes and have known people who went down a similar route suffer from disintegrating rims.

Most cyclists don't subject their wheels to extended abuse but the decision on which size to use for extended camping tours is a tricky one. My ideal compromise would be 40 spoked rims to take slick '29'er' tyres but how available 40-44mm rubber is in the backwoods is hard to know and for those reasons road 559 is perhaps the more practical choice. There probably isn't a clear favourite, however.

[reohn2]

glueman
Whilst I understand your concern for a fully loaded tandem,a fully loaded solo won't carry anywhere near the same weight,in light of that 700C wheels well built with 36 DB spokes,Rigida Sputnik rims and 37mm tyres will handle just about anything a tourist can throw at them on all but the roughest of dirt roads IMHO.
Thats not to say the same 559 wheels wouldn't be stronger but the tyre choice starts to get limited.

[glueman]

700C wheels well built with 36 DB spokes,Rigida Sputnik rims and 37mm tyres will handle just about anything a tourist can throw at them on all but the roughest of dirt roads IMHO.

That's certainly true and we're veering away from the OP's question, which didn't emphasise the camping point. For occasional camping I've used all sizes of tyre down to 23mm and - for one year a long time ago - tubs!
My general point is that if you're going to choose 700 wheels for heavy duty work I would ensure you have the space, including mudguard room, to take larger section tyres which will be easier on your wheels and on you. That space can often (though not always) be taken as read on frames built for 559 wheels, whereas 700 frames often scrimp unnecessarily on room. My instinct suggests the rolling efficiency and overall 'feel' of 700s is more to do with their diameter and the quality of rubber, than the narrowness of that tyre.
I've found 700 and 26" to both work well for loaded touring, though 559 feels better with larger tyres, say quality 1.75" pumped hard, than narrow section ATB widths.

It boils down to my first post in the thread which was what percentage of a cyclists time will be spent cycle camping. If day tours are your thing with a smattering of summer holidays under canvas I'd say a 28-32mm tyre'd, 700 wheeled machine would be optimum with tyre capacity increasing with your touring ambition up to and including an MTB frame with semi-knobblies for desert/jungle back roads. More important than either is local access to replacement rubber when they disintegrates, which they will.