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29er vs 700c tire

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#62 ·
jjhuth said:
Quick question here:

I'm putting 700c x 35 Fyxation Session road tires on my WTB Laser Disc Trail rim (27 mm wide). The tires I have on right now are Bontrager 29 x 2.5/60/58. Should I switch out the tube too? Not sure what tube is under there right now....
Thanks
J
Click to expand...
Most likely yes unless the tube says it is suitable for 700x35.

BTW, 27mm is the outer width of the rim. The inner width, which is what really matters for tire sizing, is 21mm.
 
#63 ·
To OP, you're luckier than I am.

I had the OWNER of my LBS tell me that 700c is smaller than 29er and because he's the boss, his words carried a little bit more weight. To make it worse, he is the country's distributor for uber expensive German branded bike components! Took me 2 weeks to muster my courage and posted the same question on another bike forum (Expecting flak) and finally being told that it is the same.

Went back there after I had CX tires fitted and I could see his puzzled look. However that said, to those who use 700c tires on your 29er rims.... do you feel that it is slightly more difficult to mount the tires (Compared to real 29er tires)? I've only have had experienced 2 different 700c tires. 1st one came with the wheelset (and worn out in no time) and currently my Vredesteins are the ones that are more difficult to mount.
 
#65 ·
FireSpitter said:
To OP, you're luckier than I am.

I had the OWNER of my LBS tell me that 700c is smaller than 29er and because he's the boss, his words carried a little bit more weight. To make it worse, he is the country's distributor for uber expensive German branded bike components! Took me 2 weeks to muster my courage and posted the same question on another bike forum (Expecting flak) and finally being told that it is the same.

Went back there after I had CX tires fitted and I could see his puzzled look. However that said, to those who use 700c tires on your 29er rims.... do you feel that it is slightly more difficult to mount the tires (Compared to real 29er tires)? I've only have had experienced 2 different 700c tires. 1st one came with the wheelset (and worn out in no time) and currently my Vredesteins are the ones that are more difficult to mount.
Click to expand...
Different brand/model tires vary in mounting difficulty. Narrower tires (<40mm) do tend to be a bit more difficult than >50mm tires
 
#66 ·
Why do people junk up their mountain bikes with skinny tires? It looks stupid, and is not what the bike was designed for. May as well just ride a road oriented hybrid which would be much more practical.

I run Halo Twin Rail 29 x 2.2 on my 29er and they ride great on the road and perform well on the trail too.
Image
They look bad a$$ awesome and are the perfect all terrain choice for my needs.
 
#67 ·
Because sometimes people use bikes they already have for around town rather than go buy a purpose specific hybrid or road bike. Or they are dusting off a bike they've had for years, etc.

Narrower tires also tend to weigh less so less rotational inertia.
 
#69 ·
jahfakin said:
Anyways, I ordered 2 Schwalbe Delta Cruiser in Cream (700cx35). They were cheap ($20/piece). Hope to get them soon.

Thanks again folks.
Click to expand...
Good for you, I've been wanting to try these on my daily commuter but they are difficult to get here. Amazon for some reason really hit hard with the freight in these tyres and no one likes to be ripped off even if you can afford them.
 
#70 ·
A 29er tire is a mountain bike tire that fits onto a 700c rim.

The 700 in "700C" refers to the fact that the outside diameter of a tire, when mounted on the rim will be about 700mm in diameter. The "C" is part of an old French system that denoted a narrow rim - with "B" being wider, and there must have been an "A" size rim too. So a 700C rim is a narrow rim intended to be used with a 700mm outer-diameter tire.

A 29er tire is bigger than 700mm (about 27.6 inches), so the 700 part of "700C" does not really apply. Also, since some 29er rims are wide, the "C" part really doesn't apply either. So a 700c rim can be used to build a 29er wheel, but technically speaking not all 29er rims are 700C (if you use the real definition). However, if you define a 700C rim as any rim with a 622mm bead diameter, then a 29er rim is a 700C rim
 
#71 ·
For the life of me I can't get my Nashbar Comfort City 700x38 tire mounted onto my Stan's ZTR Rapid rim which has 21mm inner and 25mm outer widths. I've broken one tire lever. Any tips, or do some road tires just not mount to some 29er rims?
 
#72 ·
PedalDangit said:
For the life of me I can't get my Nashbar Comfort City 700x38 tire mounted onto my Stan's ZTR Rapid rim which has 21mm inner and 25mm outer widths. I've broken one tire lever. Any tips, or do some road tires just not mount to some 29er rims?
Click to expand...
Notubes rims are intentionally oversized. Can make many tires very difficult to mount and remove, no matter the technique used.
 
#73 ·
Based on my brief experience working at P*Mart, none of this surprises me. Not every bike shop dude knows everything, but Performance does not pay enough to attract knowledgeable salespeople and mechanics. Very few of them stick around.
 
#74 · (Edited by Moderator)
29ernb said:
A 29er tire is a mountain bike tire that fits onto a 700c rim.

The 700 in "700C" refers to the fact that the outside diameter of a tire, when mounted on the rim will be about 700mm in diameter. The "C" is part of an old French system that denoted a narrow rim - with "B" being wider, and there must have been an "A" size rim too. So a 700C rim is a narrow rim intended to be used with a 700mm outer-diameter tire.

A 29er tire is bigger than 700mm (about 27.6 inches), so the 700 part of "700C" does not really apply. Also, since some 29er rims are wide, the "C" part really doesn't apply either. So a 700c rim can be used to build a 29er wheel, but technically speaking not all 29er rims are 700C (if you use the real definition). However, if you define a 700C rim as any rim with a 622mm bead diameter, then a 29er rim is a 700C rim
Click to expand...
You have that backwards, and it is tire width, not rim width.

"A" was the narrow tire with a larger rim diameter.
"C" was the widest tire on a smaller rim.
http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#french
 
#75 ·
shiggy said:
Notubes rims are intentionally oversized. Can make many tires very difficult to mount and remove, no matter the technique used.
Click to expand...
Good to know. Thanks. So I took the rim with the partially seated tire to REI to see if they could do it. The guy rolled the last 8 inches or so of bead into the rim with his bare hands using a technique I've never seen before. So I said, cool...thanks a lot and went home to do the same thing on the other wheel. I tried exactly what he did and NOT EVEN CLOSE. Now I'm wondering what voodoo he performed on my rim to get that tire on there. And I'm left deciding whether to go back to REI with a crisp 5 dollar bill and get him to seat the other one, or (since they're clearly going to be a pain to get on and off) forget these tires and try something else. Maybe the Geax Evolutions.
 
#76 · (Edited by Moderator)
PedalDangit said:
Good to know. Thanks. So I took the rim with the partially seated tire to REI to see if they could do it. The guy rolled the last 8 inches or so of bead into the rim with his bare hands using a technique I've never seen before. So I said, cool...thanks a lot and went home to do the same thing on the other wheel. I tried exactly what he did and NOT EVEN CLOSE. Now I'm wondering what voodoo he performed on my rim to get that tire on there. And I'm left deciding whether to go back to REI with a crisp 5 dollar bill and get him to seat the other one, or (since they're clearly going to be a pain to get on and off) forget these tires and try something else. Maybe the Geax Evolutions.
Click to expand...

No tire is going to be easy on your rims.
 
#77 ·
I picked up the Geax tires and they go on way easier. They won't roll as fast but at least I can get them on and off, and until/unless I invest in a second dedicated set of wheels for road use I need to be able to switch between these and knobbies easily.
 
#78 ·
jahfakin said:
Ok, maybe I'm the stupid one.

I recently bought a 29er about a month ago from Performance bikes after about 17 years of doing nothing. I'm thinking about getting a set of road tires, until I'm ready to hit the trails.

I told the sales guy I was looking into getting a set of 700x35 for my 29er. the current tires are 29x2.1. he told me that 700c and 29inch rims are entirely two different sizes and that there is no way I can fit a 700c tire on my 29er rim. he sure made me feel stupid, and i felt emabarrassed.

I always thought that 29er and 700c rims had identical circumference. I figured mounting a skinny 700c on my MTB rim may not be possible or if it is, not advisable. but I was looking for a fat-ish 700c tire, which shouldn't be an issue.
Click to expand...
... Ah, Performance Bike strikes again. Sometimes they know what they are talking about, sometimes they are super clueless.... and instead of saying they don't know, they make junk up.

No, 700c and 29er rims are pretty much one in the same... well, apart from tire width. You can put road tires on XC kinda 29er rims, but make sure the tire is wide enough. I wouldn't go smaller than a 30c 700c tire.
 
#79 ·
pimpbot said:
... Ah, Performance Bike strikes again. Sometimes they know what they are talking about, sometimes they are super clueless.... and instead of saying they don't know, they make junk up.

No, 700c and 29er rims are pretty much one in the same... well, apart from tire width. You can put road tires on XC kinda 29er rims, but make sure the tire is wide enough. I wouldn't go smaller than a 30c 700c tire.
Click to expand...
...And the OP is 4 years old...
 
#80 · (Edited by Moderator)
Glad to see this information get cleared up.

I bought a city or 'breeezer' bike for my wife a few years ago and she thinks a wider tire will make her feel more stable on dirt or gravel paths. I did some measuring and converting to see that (my impression) the 29er tires would fit on the 700c and offer a better variety of tread and width options. It appears a 2.0 will fit the frame w no problem.

I was looking into this last summer and a bike store here didn't seem to sure of a yes or no answer on the fit. I think they wanted me to bring the bike in so they could try or test it. I didn't see a 29er tire price that was very inviting so I figured one of these days I'll pick up an urban style tread 29er at a big box store price. The local 'Mart' here has some at $19.
:)
 
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