Bicycle Tires?

Question

Is it possible to replace a mountain bike's 26" tires with 24" tires? Is it safe and if the answer is no, why not? Thanks!

Answer 1

ditto what they said, plus ground and crank clearance.  Turns will be a lot more exciting, because accidentally pedalling in even a shallow turn will launch you.

Answer 2

why would you want to? smaller wheels will make it harder to ride more technical terrain.

Answer 3

yes you can but the brake won't work

Answer 4

Unfortunately, that won't work because once you change the 26" wheels to the smaller 24" wheels, the rim brakes will no longer work--  The brake pads need to squeeze the wheel rims to stop the bike, and going to 24" wheels will put the brake assemblies out of position.

You *might* be able to get it to work if the bike has disc brakes (front AND back) and you can actually find 24" wheels that can mount brake discs.  More trouble than it's worth, really.

Are you contemplating smaller wheels because the bike is too big for you?  That's not a good way to do it, because bike fit is more about the frame size than the wheel size.

If that's the case, you need to go to a bike shop and get fitted for a bike with a smaller frame.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

I agree with the previous response - not sure why you want to do it - if it's size - easier and cheaper to change the bike or frame only