I read that someone had difficulty in finding spare parts on his tour due to having 26inch wheels and many places not having the right size parts like tyres etc in stock…
Is this the case?
26 was the traditional touring wheel size and many still claim that its necessary for touring but it sounds like that is changing quickly and 29 seems to be heading for the top of the heap. Too, modern 29 wheels are a good bit stronger than they used to be. Since this a bikepacking sub people shouldn't be carrying huge weights anyway.
28 inch has been standard for all but MTBs in much of Europe for a long time, but maybe it varies in different places
Aaand both 29” and 28” are 622mm so that’s the same and to quote Sam Pilgrim, ”the dream”.
"Soo guhd"
also the same is 700C the 2 difference in the 2 inch sizes is that the measured diameter was close to 28in. with road tires way back when and 29in. with older mtb tires. 700 mm is about 27.6 inches
My experience from touring in middle and southern europe is that you're very likely to find a replacement tire that's 'okay' for your purpose in local bikeshops / hardware stores regardless if you need 28/29 or 26 inch (No experience with 27.5). I think that spare part stocks in local shops are so scarce anyway (because everyone orders online) that you're very unlikely to find a tire that really suits your needs in local shops anyway BUT they will have the replacement tire that does the job. And 26 inch is far from 'dead' here, especially looking at urban cargobike and vintage/retro trends.
26 is still the most common size around on bikes. You won’t have tons of options but most small town shops are still keeping the 1980-2017 26” bikes running so they should have something.
I struggled very recently while in South Korea to find a rim for my 26 inch tire. YMMV!
I suspect shops will have 26 inch tires but the selection will be not be high quality.
There are plenty of 26” in service today, plus kids bikes. However if you want kevlar beads with a slick tread pattern, there are more 29” models
Most places in the Americas 29"/700c tires are the most common in my experience. Especially if you want anything decent.
There are a LOT of 26” bikes on the planet. Millions and millions.
It's still common in South East Asia
FWIW, I saw mostly 29”/700c/622erd bikes in Thailand a few months ago.
The mid to higher end is definitely 622, but there are still a lot of lower end 599 out there.
They’re now pretty niche unfortunately. If I was touring with 26 I’d bring along a spare tyre and some spokes.
Lol
well i wouldn't want to try using a 650b or 700c tube in a 26 inch tire/rim. But i ve done the reverse in a pinch..
Lol. You live in a small world. Probably America.
I feel like you could always find a 26” tire at Walmart, Or any random store with a small sporting goods section. Hell if you were in a pinch you could knock on someone’s door and offer cash to pull a tire off an old bike in their garage.
Maybe 26” tires are rarer in modern bike shops, but I feel like you’d have a way harder time finding a 29/27.5 tire in the middle of nowhere
You’re most likely to find 26” tubes and treads.
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I toured Corsica on a 26 inch hard tail a couple years ago and when my tires failed I had to hitchhike to one of the largest cities and find a bike Shop that was open. There I found exactly one option of 26 inch tires which were Hutchinson taipans… not exactly what you would want on a tour mostly on pavement. While I was looking through several large supermarkets and department stores I found numerous cheap 28 inch tires, which would have done the job if I only had the right size wheels for them. That’s just anecdotal though and experiences may vary but 26 inch has never really been a tire size for roads or light gravel.