27" Wheel vs. 26" Wheel

[wrongway]

I have a 1960's Raleigh Sports that someone put 27"x1-1/8 aluminum rims/tires on. It feels pretty sporty this way, but I'm thinking about changing the rims/tires out for traditional steel 26x1-3/8 size. Other than weight, how much of a difference would I notice? Are 27" better? Maybe 26" are? Where does the difference come into play?

 

[sam]

Difference is in quickness and stopping ---alum stops a lot better than steel. Velocity rims makes alum rims in the correct 26" size for your bike

 

[49autocycledeluxe]

aluminum rims will generally have a better hub and bearings than a steel rim. better bearings less resistance, so more of your effort goes into moving the bike forward.

you would also have a better choice of higher pressure tires on a 27". higher pressure, less resistance

 

[bulldog1935]

I'll just add upgrading wheels is the one thing you can do that really changes the nature of a bike.
When my old Grand Prix was new in '76 with steel rims, it was what it was.
Two years later when I began the rebuilds and swapped the wheels for Zeus/Rigida it made it a completely different bike.
The real difference between alloy rims and steel is inertia - resistance to acceleration. Climbing counts as acceleration because by definition any climbing is accelerating against gravity - swapping to alloy rims makes a bike come alive.

Adding that the same inertia applies to braking - resistance to deceleration.
There are two things going against you in braking with steel rims - inertia is one, the other is the friction against the brake pads is terrible, and goes to nothing when they're wet.

There's definitely nothing wrong with 26-inch wheels. You can buy good tires for them, and they will continue to make new bikes for them, one recent example, Handsome XOXO

A third option is in between 26" and 700C, and that's 650B - currently a very strong resurgence in this wheel size, and there are some exceptional fast tires up 48mm available.

 

[SirMike1983]

You have some good advice - the biggest difference in a rim will be the weight and the braking - aluminum is better in both.

The other factor is tires. 26 and 27 have some decent tire options, but 700c is probably better than both in terms of upgrading to better tires.

Ride whichever rim you prefer on that bike. The most important thing is that the whole thing fit inside the frame and that the brakes can reach the rim.

 

[TR6SC]

Difference is in quickness and stopping ---alum stops a lot better than steel. Velocity rims makes alum rims in the correct 26" size for your bike

aluminum rims will generally have a better hub and bearings than a steel rim. better bearings less resistance, so more of your effort goes into moving the bike forward.

you would also have a better choice of higher pressure tires on a 27". higher pressure, less resistance

I'll just add upgrading wheels is the one thing you can do that really changes the nature of a bike.
When my old Grand Prix was new in '76 with steel rims, it was what it was.
Two years later when I began the rebuilds and swapped the wheels for Zeus/Rigida it made it a completely different bike.
The real difference between alloy rims and steel is inertia - resistance to acceleration. Climbing counts as acceleration because by definition any climbing is accelerating against gravity - swapping to alloy rims makes a bike come alive.

View attachment 681280

Adding that the same inertia applies to braking - resistance to deceleration.
There are two things going against you in braking with steel rims - inertia is one, the other is the friction against the brake pads is terrible, and goes to nothing when they're wet.

There's definitely nothing wrong with 26-inch wheels. You can buy good tires for them, and they will continue to make new bikes for them, one recent example, Handsome XOXO
View attachment 681284

A third option is in between 26" and 700C, and that's 650B - currently a very strong resurgence in this wheel size, and there are some exceptional fast tires up 42mm available.

You have some good advice - the biggest difference in a rim will be the weight and the braking - aluminum is better in both.

The other factor is tires. 26 and 27 have some decent tire options, but 700c is probably better than both in terms of upgrading to better tires.

Ride whichever rim you prefer on that bike. The most important thing is that the whole thing fit inside the frame and that the brakes can reach the rim.

Always a pleasure to listen to the knowledge of the experienced. Thanks.

 

[Duchess]

In general, the bigger wheels feel like they'll roll over anything, but the smaller wheels accelerate like you've been working out. Preference in those characteristics aside, I would go with whatever wheel size has more options for the kind of tires you want. Going to 700c/29", 26", or 650B you'll gain clearance for fatter tires. Bikes are the physics-defying alternate universe where 27" is bigger than 29" and 28" is the same as 29" except when it isn't. To make sense of it, the best way to measure is using ISO.

Wheel sizes:

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