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I want replacement tires for this bike. I believe they are 29" x 2.125. Can I buy tires that are more narrow for the same rim/wheel? 2" 1.75? Also, Is it possible/practical to swap the wheels for 26" wheels? One last question, since I'm new to this, is 29" tires the same as 700cc?

thanks

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2.125 to 1.75 is probably doable, but it all really depends on your rims and how "fat" they are. Changing to 26" is impractical. 29" is a marketing term for 700c, to make it sound more 'Merican. – Daniel R Hicks Jul 31 '12 at 11:41
thanks for all the help. The brakes are coaster brakes for this bike. does that matter when dealing with wheel size? The only reason I was looking at the possiblity of changing the wheel size is that there seems to be a lot more to choose from in the 26 inch world than the 29 inch. Its not that big of a deal. I was just wondering. thanks – user4665 Jul 31 '12 at 13:55
Since 29" and 700c are the same thing, you have a vast selection of tires in that size. – Daniel R Hicks Jul 31 '12 at 19:04

1 Answer

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In general, switching to a slightly less wide tire should not cause any problems, unless the tires are much too narrow for the rims. Sheldon Brown's Tire Sizing page (under Width Considerations), suggests that if the tires are much too narrow, this can cause pinch flats and rim damage. If you're just going down a few sizes, you should be fine.

Switching to 26" wheels is impractical. The brakes wouldn't line up with the rims, and I don't know how you could fix this. Maybe someone else will have a suggestion, but my hunch is that if it's even possible at all, switching to smaller wheels could easily cost more than the bike is worth, especially for a bike in this price range (about $150?). Do you have any particular reason that you would want smaller diameter wheels?

Finally, 29" tires are the same diameter as 700c (also mentioned on the Tire Sizing page). However, make sure not to use tires that are really narrow relative to the rims.

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