[wingnut7]

Back several years ago, I had purchased a used 700c wheelset for my 2008 Scalpel off of Ebay. I had put a set of 32c tires on it and it just cleared the chainstay brace behind the BB for training on the road. Diameter if I remember right was about 27 1/4". Those wheels went out of true and basically wore out their useful life and are no longer around.

I am now looking for another set and was wondering if I could put a slick tire of a 28-32C width on a stardard 29er wheelset. Those wheelsets are pretty available and inexpensive on Ebay versus a new 700c wheelset from a wheelbuilder would be about $400 plus the cost of tires, cassette and rotors. My concern is that the width of a 29er wheel is quite a bit wider than a 700c wheel and slick tires mounted would be larger than the 27 1/4" and would hit the brace versus a true road tire on a 700c wheel. Is there a tire out there to mount on a cheap 29er wheelset that would work in anyone's experience?

The other option is just getting a cheap 26" wheelset and putting on slicks. Any thoughts?

 

[pimpbot]

yeah, a 32c tire would go on a narrow 29er XC kinda rim. The diameter is similar to a 26er wheel with a 2.2 tire.

*edit*

I'll also add that road bikes typically use 130mm rear spacing, and mountain bikes use 135mm. Kinda hard to mess it up if you need disc brakes. Disc brake 130mm hubs are super hard to find.

 

[AndrwSwitch]

A lot of 29er rims have a 17mm internal width. Compare that to the 15mm width of a road rim, and be happy.

23mm tires would probably mount fine. 25mm tires would be a slam dunk.

 

[Satanpez]

Wider road rims are the new hotness. (23mm outside width). 23C tires mount fine on most XC rims. However they may not be too durable compared to a road rim.

-Steve in NJ