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26" vs 27" Wheels

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wrongway

I live for the CABE
How much difference does 26x1-3/8 wheel/tire vs 27x1-1/4 wheel/tire make? I know the latter can be higher pressure, but the the taller wheel make a difference when it comes to going faster?
 
It is much more complicated than that. The most influential determinant of speed is the rider. Taller wheels roll over stuff easier but are not necessarily faster. But for sure "light is right"....
 
^Fantastic links to tire widths and pressures in the links above by @juvela. Thank you for those...informative and trending today...
 
It is much more complicated than that. The most influential determinant of speed is the rider. Taller wheels roll over stuff easier but are not necessarily faster. But for sure "light is right"....

I had the SA 3 sp hub from a 26" wheel laced onto a 27" alloy rim on one of my Speedster. Incredible difference. Of course part of that was going from steel to alloy, but another factor was using 90 psi tires that not only roll better due to high pressure but have a smaller tire footprint and thus a bit less rolling resistance. I think it also changed the gearing slightly. Nevertheless, it's become my favority bike. I'm thinking of doing it to a ratty racer that got a full repaint but still has it's 26" steelies.
 
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Calculating , the circumference of a 27 inch tire properly inflated will give you 1 inch further distance traveled than that of a 26 inch per rotation. At 63,360 rotations of the wheel , you will travel 1 mile further using the 27 inch wheel.
 
The jump up to 27" and down to alloy rims was the natural progression of cycling advancement. Yes, 27 rolls better- especially 1 1/8 opposed to 1 1/4" tires when I had my first Varsity as a teen, I soon found this the fact of life, and it did come with a little trade off- the 1 1/8" tires wore faster and needed replacing sooner- but back then, at those prices, and knowing the shortcomings of the poor old Varsity, not much of a trade-off.

I'll soon be getting rid of a Hercules 3 speed frame I put some 27" 3 speed coaster wheels from a Schwinn World Tourist on. I always wanted to try 700's on a three speed, but circumstance led me to this first. I found the 27 wheels fit, although the front starts to impede on the turning radius a little bit- I was surprised the front is more trouble than the back. (The bear trap pedals do NOT help this! But wide pedals are great for climbing, especially sans clips and straps) 700c wheels would be a slightly smaller solution- fit the frame- and work well on a three speed I think. Plus a larger selection of both rims and tires- I'll concede- but usually pick as thin as I can go.

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I've been exploring different gear ratios on one of my old three speed bikes that is sort of set up like a road bike. Someone once said that 46x20 was a really good gear selection. I know my Rudge Clubman felt pretty fast at 46x17, but I want to see how fast I can get a three speed bike and still maintain a high average. I am going to take one on a 70+ mile trail ride in the summer. I remembered that I have a 27x1-1/8 aluminum wheel set with a Brampton 140B-3. (are Brampton hubs trustworthy?) I had abandoned them due to the hub slipping in second. Now looking back, I think it was due to the plastic fulcrum sleeve relieving the tension. Might be worth trying again.
 
The jump up to 27" and down to alloy rims was the natural progression of cycling advancement. Yes, 27 rolls better- especially 1 1/8 opposed to 1 1/4" tires when I had my first Varsity as a teen, I soon found this the fact of life, and it did come with a little trade off- the 1 1/8" tires wore faster and needed replacing sooner- but back then, at those prices, and knowing the shortcomings of the poor old Varsity, not much of a trade-off.

I'll soon be getting rid of a Hercules 3 speed frame I put some 27" 3 speed coaster wheels from a Schwinn World Tourist on. I always wanted to try 700's on a three speed, but circumstance led me to this first. I found the 27 wheels fit, although the front starts to impede on the turning radius a little bit- I was surprised the front is more trouble than the back. (The bear trap pedals do NOT help this! But wide pedals are great for climbing, especially sans clips and straps) 700c wheels would be a slightly smaller solution- fit the frame- and work well on a three speed I think. Plus a larger selection of both rims and tires- I'll concede- but usually pick as thin as I can go.

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So would you go down 700 x 23(0.905 inch) size tires? That is a thin tire
 
The tires of yesterday are not near as nice as the tires of today. The cliffs notes of the Jan Heine article is a larger volume tire run at lower pressure will allow faster speed because they roll over obstacles instead of being directed upward when encountering imperfections in the road like a narrow high pressure tire will.
I ride 700x28 on my road bike and 700x40 on my touring bike. They're both comfortable and quite fast.

The issue existing between 27" or 630 ISO and 26 x 1-3/8" or 590 ISO is that quality tires are few and far between. Panaracer makes some that would be good for either size, but that's about it as far as quality tires as far as I know. If you go to 700c or 622 ISO you'll have a vast selection of tires to choose from.

Another thought to consider, is raising your bottom bracket height when putting a larger wheel on a frame designed for smaller wheels. Though I doubt you'll be leaning a Hercules over in a turn, it will alter the handling characteristics.
 
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