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There’s a remarkable collection of varying standards for bike parts, with more emerging every year. But, one that’s been around for several years is the 700c wheel. It is used with pretty much every road bike and some hybrid bikes.
But ongoing advancements and diversification of biking terms have led riders and manufacturers to consistent disregard. The debate is whether 29ers and 700c wheels similar.
This article will explain different sizes in the easiest way possible, the standard sizes across the globe, and look into ISO and other wheel sizes.
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What are the 29er Wheels?
A 29er is way more than just a wheel size. The bike’s overall layout and frame geometry differ as well. Because of the bigger wheels, the bike is capable of accommodating taller riders. Plus, the frames provide greater ground clearance for a rider to steer through various obstacles. Modern mountain bikes also possess a varied geometry and will conduct differently than a 26-inch mountain bike or a 700c road bike, touring, downhill bike, or cyclocross bike.
What Is a 700c Wheel?
Most modern road bikes and gravel bikes come with 700c wheels, although the word doesn’t imply anything accurately. The 700 parts refer to the overall diameter across the bicycle wheel on the exterior of the tire in millimeters. A road tire’s outer diameter varies based on several factors, like its total width.
A 28mm tire will have a larger external diameter in contrast to a 23mm tire when configured on a rim with an identical inner width. While the tire’s profile will also somewhat influence the overall diameter of the tire.
All of the 700c wheels had approximately similar slimmer inner widths to their rims. Recently, new road bike tires are available in quite a collection of rim widths, ranging from under 15mm up to 25mm, which will impact the size of the outside diameter of the tire as well.
Why C?
C is used for wheels like 700C, as they include a different bead diameter than the other types of wheels. This could result in a hassle between the bike companies and the bike rider.
Back in the day, we had various types of wheels, like, 700a, 700b, 700c, and 700d. Cyclists had the choice of switching these wheels to match their requirements. They mostly used 700a and 700b tires on the rough unpaved courses. Simultaneously, the 700c and 700d were often preferred for racing.
Soon they detected the different externals and bead seat diameters that need different types of tires. It led to several disagreements between the bike rider and the manufacturer. This made the wheel and tire designers agree to use 700c as a standard beat wheel, which is compatible with a wide variety of tires.
Why Do We Have Varying Tire Systems?
The basis of the disarray that most riders feel seeing all the different tire sizes on the market ultimately lies in the records of performance bike manufacturers. Each company creates a tire measuring system based on its location like the decimal, fractional, and French.
Since bike manufacturing is an international enterprise, the clash between measuring systems creates much more of a challenge. Although the cycling industry constantly strives to simplify the size chart for wheels, there are still many disregarding factors involved in the process of deciding an ideal tire size for your wheel.
Therefore, the industry yearns for such a system that works efficiently with all tire sizes.
Nominal Size System Vs ISO Size System
Nominal size doesn’t give an account of what you need to know. While the nominal sizing system provides a measurement of the external diameter and width of a tire, it can’t offer a proper indication of the size of the tire compatible with your rims.
If you want an ideal fit for your newest tires, the ISO (International Standardization Organization) system is highly recommended to fit your tires to the rims.
The International Standardization Organization was developed on February 23rd, 1947, to assemble and establish various international measurements into a single measurement that can be employed and understood worldwide.
The ISO unifies critical measurements across all industries, not only cycling, making sizing convenient for consumers to comprehend and manufacturers to abide by.
As you can imagine, ISO tire size and bicycle wheel sizes (ERTO) are worthwhile when creating a bike by combining parts from different countries.
Are the Tires the Same?
A 29-inch wheel can be similar to the 700c, but you should consider the dimensions of each wheel to specify its compatibility. A 700c tire can fit on a 29-inch rim, implying that it possesses a similar diameter to its bead seat.
A 29er bike wheel is similar to a 700c wheel most of the time. The 29-inch marker is based on the nominal sizing system, conversely, the 700c tag belongs to the French sizing system.
While both wheels 29er and 700c have an ISO measurement of 622mm and are efficiently interchangeable. If your main concern is for the appropriate width, you can safely similarly use these terms.
The only peculiarity is using an old-style rim having less than 16 spokes per side. It can slightly throw off your dimension. There is a bit of space when choosing tires that fit the rims. Even if it doesn’t fit precisely, you can get away with barely too big or small tires for your rims.
However, it will create more chances of reduced friction on the road, pinch flats, and poor handling in case of a sudden flat tire. If a 700c doesn’t suit properly around your rims or you detect something off on your first ride, it’s best to switch it out for the fitting size.
In this case, a 700C tire can suit perfectly a 29er rim diameter without any concerns. You can easily switch between the two measurements understanding that they’ll work similarly.
In a nutshell, these two sizes are identical. However, after making quick estimations, you can conclude that 700mm is not equal to 29 inches. And that is correct. 700c implies the external diameter of a wheel, while, the 29er signifies the outer diameter of a tire that fits on top of a wheel. But still, 700c and 29er are deemed as the same size, just presented by varying measurement systems.
Is There Any Difference Between 29er and 700c Wheels?
If 700c and 29er are identical sizes, what’s the reason to confuse everyone by using different terminologies? Typically, 700c is prominent in the road-riding realm. As it’s in metric units, it’s the global market for wheels or tires. Most of the world employs this measurement system. The c as mentioned above is a width code, which is an old system of measurement ranging from a to d based on the tire width.
In contrast, the 29er is used in the mountain biking domain. Many commuters have been proceeding to work on 29-inch wheels for years. As all the road and cyclocross bikes are compatible with 700c that are approximately 29 inches. Many are available in widths ranging from 18 to 23 millimeters, and the touring tires from 25 to 28 millimeters.
Wider tyres enable a smoother ride, however, the added rolling resistance can slow you down a bit. But the wheels on a 29er are bulkier and were originally planned for off-road use. The tires are developed to move over obstacles while making an extra connection with the ground. Mountain bike tyres are much thicker than 700c, with widths generally falling between 1.8 to 2.4 inches.
