UPDATE: Reviews section refreshed, redesigned, searchable: Go take a look
I have an old On-One Scandal, and I love it. It does everything I need from a bike - it's light weight, sturdy and well equipped. I can go for family rides, or hit red route trails, and even trails in Wales on it, and it just takes it all in its stride. It only has 140mm travel Fox R 32 forks that are in need of a service by now, but i've got decent XT brakes, XT shifter etc. All in all i don;t want to change it!
But......
It's 26" wheelset, which i now find is probably a little too small, Im around 6 foot tall, on an 18" frame, so while its ok, the bugger wheels would be beneficial. Im not a fan of 29", so the 27.5" is a good match. I donlt want to repalce my whole bike, and I cant afford to anyway.
My wife has a crappy Carrera with 27.5 wheels. I tried them on my bike and they physically fit. I'll attach some photos of my wheels Vs these. My question is, is there any big main reason i coudn't get new 27.5 wheels for my bike? Only reason i can see is less mud clearance
Any thoughts welcomed please!
If it fits, it fits. It'll make the BB a fair bit higher, which isn't ideal especially since most older bikes tended to be fairly tall anyway. Especally with 140mm in a Scandal (I used to have 130mm in mine but in all honestly I always thought it rode better at 100mm)
You're already quite tall for a medium 26er scandal- I'm 5'10 and it wasn't generous for me- and tyre size will only make it taller but also move you up higher, it doesn't make it any bigger in any way that most people would find useful.
I'm not sure it's your answer tbh. A bigger frame might be though and 26er frames can be amazing value now. I mean, I bought an entire 26er Cotic Soul for £300, never mind just a frame.
Older bikes tall ?
Current Ransom is 36.5cm bb height on the 'low' setting. Even with sag it feels tall.
I think the problem is more that it will be shorter and steeper than a more modern specific 27.5.
I'm not a fan of 29" either, nimble they are not. 27.5 suits my 1m74 and local trails great, pity that 29 has become the standard. Big bikes for big bermed up fast descents. Fine for hanging on a gondola then speeding down an artificiel trail , but pedalling 17kg uphill is a chore and when it's tight it's a cumberson lumbering lump.
How a bike handles has very little to do with the size of its wheels. Especially when there’s only 1.5in difference. For example my 29er hardtail (with its 410mm chainstays) is much more nimble handling than my 27.5” trail bike (435 stays). They are part of the equation, but not the be all and end all.
As above, if you want a change in handling, get a new frame, ideally a 27.5 one and just run 26 kit until funds allow, or one of the more progressive 26 (before they all went for bigger wheels)
So you think a 20mm difference in chainstay has less effect than 40mm in wheel diametre despite the fact the wheels are spinning and bigger wheels are bigger gyroscopes.
This is an example of why I vowed not to post on bike threads after the hack. 🙂
*retreats to "chat"*
🌻
It’s a part of a whole. Changing one measurable does little. Changing many (like with a different frame) will have a much bigger effect.
Saying ‘I don’t like (wheel size)’ is silly as it’s one measure of a full bike.
Seems i cant add photos, so i've created this, hopefully it works
https://photos.app.goo.gl/oAUSJ9umkeGbyhQ7A
Cheers.
If i go for a new frame, which is larger, and stick 27.5 wheels on it, am i not even taller though? Surely im even higher, or potentially the same as i'd prob just have the saddle a bit lower
Make sure you check the front tyre doesn’t hit the fork crown at full compression. My other half could have put a 27 front wheel on easily if it wasn’t for that.
I assume the second lot of 3 pictures are with 26"? I'm amazed at how little difference there is between them; but there's definitely not much clearance for mud build up!
Have you ridden it as 27.5?
I havent ridden it no. The pics with the Kendal tyres are the 27.5 from my wives bike. Different gearing and disk dizes made me not wat to, just wated to see if it would actually fit.
It does make the bike look a little out of proportion i think. Some nice tan wall tyres might make the difference though 🙂
It’s a part of a whole. Changing one measurable does little. Changing many (like with a different frame) will have a much bigger effect.
Saying ‘I don’t like (wheel size)’ is silly as it’s one measure of a full bike.
^^This^^ IMO
I am still somewhat Irked by the rapid, un-requested adoption and then apparent loss of enthusiasm for 27.5" by "the industry" it was primarily a sales driven ploy, that killed off much of the spares/support for 26", but it's happened now and the thing is that irrespective of size wheels are still round... So 26" is basically dead and as much as I'd like to retain it, I can't keep swimming against the tide.
I have no issue with 29" bigger wheels roll betterer, smaller wheels are more nimble (Assuming the frame is designed around them). Where I find myself now is becoming a bit of an evangelist for Mullet MTBs I have a Rigid 29er and a Mullet HT and that slightly tighter back end makes a significant difference to direction changes and popping off stuff on trails, while the waggon wheel up front is stable and fast rolling it's a good compromise (IMO/IME).
TBH an old 26er with 27.5" wheels might ride OK, it might not, it's basically going to be 0.5" further off the ground... But if budget is tight, I'd just go on Bananna industries and stock up on whatever cheap 26" tyres they've currently got and start planning the financial route to a more current replacement bike in a few years... Franken-biking your old On-One is a waste of time (IMO).
FWIW I've just stuck a 27.5" front wheel on my elderly 26" Voodoo Wanga SS and I'm going to run it as a mullet just for the hell of it.
