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Davidcopperfield

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
Hi
36ers are gaining some attention now. Several new online sites established for their fans. What do you think about using 787mm rim and making it into a road bike?
Edit: I believe that more success would be in producing a cyclo-cross 36" in the first place. More versatile and competetive in their CX races.
 
#2 ·
35 lb road bike wouldn't win any races, that's for sure. And that's from a 36er owner.
If you mean a bike for cruising roads, knock yourself out. Once you get it rolling it is a blast for cruising.

On second thought, good luck making a rim into a road bike...
 
Discussion starter · #4 ·
mbeardsl said:
35 lb road bike wouldn't win any races, that's for sure. And that's from a 36er owner.
If you mean a bike for cruising roads, knock yourself out. Once you get it rolling it is a blast for cruising.
Click to expand...
If you just magnify the current 700c carbon road offerings you will end up with about hmm 28lbs, not 35lbs. Good road bikes are about 7kgs so why 17kgs for a carbon road 36"?
Even aluminium would be under 13 kgs when designed properly.
 
#5 ·
as a taller guy (6'4) 29ers felt so natural, i'd love to try something larger. either on or off road. i think a properly kitted out 36er would be a great gravel grinding bike. i've ridden 36er unicycles and they're fun as hell, but wanna try a bike without paying for a full custom rig. maybe borrow someone's first if i could. i bet you could corner that thing(road going 36er) like a moto though.
 
#6 ·
Davidcopperfield said:
If you just magnify the current 700c carbon road offerings you will end up with about hmm 28lbs, not 35lbs. Good road bikes are about 7kgs so why 17kgs for a carbon road 36"?
Even aluminium would be under 13 kgs when designed properly.
Click to expand...
Do a search on these forums....
Frame weight isn't the issue obviously, even a HEAVY frame is only 2kg.
I'll give you one guess where 9kg of the 16kg total comes from.
There are no parts options yet to fix that.
When there are, you will still be looking at a 13kg bike.
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
First and foremost the bike ought to be cyclocross- more versatile and terrain capable.
Frame size is a frame size- nothing new here. The only thing on the front, which undergoes a change is the fork offset. It is neccessary both for the moving front wheel away and reducing trail. Fork offset would fall inbetween 80-120mm. You would get the same amount toe-overlap, which is common on regular 700c road/CX bikes . Same geometry, just road handlebars would have their grips lower like 20-30 cm under the headset stack. As long as it is safe for one's face it is good.
There are a few tyres for high wheel bicycles at 53" so making a road-CX tyre for a 36er would be much easier than un mtb.. Also cyclocross gyus might be interested in this thing. It might be competitious in their races, where there is too much loam and mud.
 
#12 ·
What does a 36er road bike have to do with 29ers in an MTB forum? Oh yeah, the light's better here. ;)

Cyclocross choked on disc brakes for years and there was an actual technical argument for those. I'm sure riders would love shouldering a bike with 20 pounds worth of wheels. though. and the extra foot of wheelbase would be delightful. You could race it in crits on the side.

You have to ask what problem would be solved by increasing the wheel size. For racers it is going in the wrong direction; a smaller wheel is actually faster at racing speeds but is disallowed because they are harder to draft. Rules favor team strategy. Sure, weight is a problem but it's not the killer problem.

A large wheeled road bike would make a good cruising bike, though, because of reduced rolling resistance. That would assume you could get the fastest rolling tires in the larger sizes and in larger widths. We can't even get the fastest tires in wider widths for 700c, no reason to dream that we can get them in a size no one wants. When was the last time a touring bike rider demanded increased efficiency from his ride?

A brain-dead idea with no redeeming features, as usual. At least DC has the fork offset narrowed down, we're almost there!
 
#13 ·
DC has a one track mind that always seems to think that anything that is bigger is better. What he really needs is a bike like this:

Image
 
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#14 ·
craigsj said:
You have to ask what problem would be solved by increasing the wheel size.
Click to expand...
There's no problem to be solved by a bigger wheel for rider under 6f6.
Over 6f6, yes there is. But you must be more than 6f6 to have experienced it.
:D
... and is it really the point to race a 36er?
:madman:
 
#15 ·
davidfrench said:
There's no problem to be solved by a bigger wheel for rider under 6f6.
Over 6f6, yes there is. But you must be more than 6f6 to have experienced it.
Click to expand...
No you don't, and if you have to resort to faith then there isn't any.

What exactly is the problem being solved for taller riders?

Bigger wheels are slower at high speeds due to increased drag, and isn't that really the point of racing?
 
#16 ·
I know that I'm not racing. Therefore I don't need the lightest and fastest wheels on earth.
The problem of tall riders? Without having to live in the body of a 6f10 and 300lbs you can imagine the stability problems of short wheelbase and light wheelset/narrow tires when you picture that guy leaning in a turn and hitting potholes.
Anyway, I don't have to convince anyone...
:)
 
#17 ·
davidfrench said:
The problem of tall riders? Without having to live in the body of a 6f10 and 300lbs you can imagine the stability problems of short wheelbase and light wheelset/narrow tires when you picture that guy leaning in a turn and hitting potholes.
Click to expand...
No I can't, nor can I imagine that "small" wheels require a short wheelbase.

Wheel weight has little effect on stability in a road bike and 700c doesn't mean narrow tires. You should stop looking for a justification, supersized wheels don't solve any problems on the road.
 
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