wheel size question

bomble37

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Ok so I am going to be building a cruiser with a chopper kinda feel, ape hangers and banana seat etc... heres the question:
I will be running a 26" on the rear and 22" on the front with a drum brake, and this will have a springer front end. So the obvious question is to know if the 22" wheel is safe for this, or is it better/ safer to run another 26? or maybe a 24"?
Thanks
 
I wouldn't reduce the size - when you see chopped bicycles, the frame is drastically altered to be able to accommodate the smaller front wheel. Usually on a chopped bicycle, the gooseneck is angled way back and you have longer forks.

If you were to do this with your existing stuff, I wouldn't go smaller than 24 if your forks are 26.

Suggestion : Get longer forks for in the front, 29" springers.
 
wheel size ect.

As far as I know they don't make a 22 inch wheel. They make a 20 inch wheel and I would not recommend changing it. 20 inch wheels have a smaller diameter and so they have to spin more in order to go the same distance as a 26 inch wheel. This creates more loss due to the deformation of the tire on the road. and the actual increase of wear by fiction of the moving parts.(the same reason large skateboard wheels go faster than small ones)

Even if you could get away with installing the wheel on the fork it would change the geometry of the frame and probably cause you to hit your pedals on the ground. So unless you can find a custom fork with the same length added to the bike as the smaller wheel would remove I would not recommend it.

Something else I have noted on this blog, much like the fabled 22 inch wheel I have yet to see a gooseneck on a bicycle. I think they have always been referred to as stems. I think the only place you might see a gooseneck is in the wild or at a butcher shop.

mike
 
I wouldn't do it just because it would look stupid in my humble opinion.
I have a west coat choppers bike (20") and i put a 24" front wheel on it while keeping the stock 20" rear wheel.
the bike looked out of proportion with a 20" wheel on the front and the back, because of the long forks and raked frame.
the 24" front wheel helped make the bike not look stubby (for lack of better words).
if you look at real choppers you will find that a lot of them run 18" rear wheels, and 21" front wheels...which helps establish the correct look with the raked frame and long forks.
think of putting a 13" space saver spare on a monster truck....it just won't look right.
 
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As far as I know they don't make a 22 inch wheel. They make a 20 inch wheel and I would not recommend changing it. 20 inch wheels have a smaller diameter and so they have to spin more in order to go the same distance as a 26 inch wheel. This creates more loss due to the deformation of the tire on the road. and the actual increase of wear by fiction of the moving parts.(the same reason large skateboard wheels go faster than small ones)

Even if you could get away with installing the wheel on the fork it would change the geometry of the frame and probably cause you to hit your pedals on the ground. So unless you can find a custom fork with the same length added to the bike as the smaller wheel would remove I would not recommend it.

Something else I have noted on this blog, much like the fabled 22 inch wheel I have yet to see a gooseneck on a bicycle. I think they have always been referred to as stems. I think the only place you might see a gooseneck is in the wild or at a butcher shop.

mike
Ok, first off the "fabled" 22 inch rim does exist, I have 4. Also, I know how to read a tire size. They were very few made, one bike that had them was a schwinn enduro made in the 80's and some french bikes. Also, i have about ten 22" tires....I have changed out the crank to a shorter one so the pedals arent so low either and the rake isn't too bad, i'll post pics in a few days.
ok now that that is settled, thanks all I wanted to know is if it was a good idea to make a schwinn krate style motorized bike, and I can see it's a resounding no. Which is good because now I can get another bike for the collection
 
Ok, first off the "fabled" 22 inch rim does exist, I have 4. Also, I know how to read a tire size. They were very few made, one bike that had them was a schwinn enduro made in the 80's and some french bikes. Also, i have about ten 22" tires....I have changed out the crank to a shorter one so the pedals arent so low either and the rake isn't too bad, i'll post pics in a few days.
ok now that that is settled, thanks all I wanted to know is if it was a good idea to make a schwinn krate style motorized bike, and I can see it's a resounding no. Which is good because now I can get another bike for the collection

what do you mean "a resounding no"?
if you are trying to make a 26" Krate looking bike, it will look goofy because the proportions would be way out of whack.
you could go with a 24" frame, 24" rear wheel and a 20" front wheel on a schwinn fastback or manta ray frame, with a springer front end.
original krates had 20" rears and 16" fronts...4 inch differeence in diameter which would be the same as going with a 24"/ 20" combo on the smaller 24" frame.
or if you just go to a 20" crate style bike, it'll look awesome. granted mine isn't a krate, and it doesn't have a 16" front wheel...but you get the idea. mine is more lowrider than Krate.

low1.jpg
 
what do you mean "a resounding no"?
if you are trying to make a 26" Krate looking bike, it will look goofy because the proportions would be way out of whack.
you could go with a 24" frame, 24" rear wheel and a 20" front wheel on a schwinn fastback or manta ray frame, with a springer front end.
original krates had 20" rears and 16" fronts...4 inch differeence in diameter which would be the same as going with a 24"/ 20" combo on the smaller 24" frame.
or if you just go to a 20" crate style bike, it'll look awesome. granted mine isn't a krate, and it doesn't have a 16" front wheel...but you get the idea.

low1.jpg

ok so why is a 4 inch 22"frt/26"rear difference a bad idea on a 26" bike, if it's ok for a 24" bike to have 20frt/24rear?
isnt it the same thing? only on a bigger bike?
 
I never said that a 26" / 22" was a bad idea, i just said that it would look funny in my opinion. Krates have a certain look to them and i think the only way to accomplish that look, is to go with a 24" frame, 24" rear, 20" front wheel, or to go with a 20" frame, 20" rear, 16" front.
I just think that a 26" rear with a 22" front would look way out of proportion.
besides that, to get the right look you would need the right tires (a rear slick) and i have never seen a 26" slick.
 
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