650c to 26 for my daughter’s first drop bar gravel bike

I scooped up this Fuji Ace before I knew 650c was a thing. Turns out, they’re not 27.5 like I assumed but rather slightly smaller in diameter.

650c was used for trials and other speedy bike activities, and the tires were almost always a slick and the rims narrow. The widest tires I could find was were 28mm slicks, and that didn’t seem like a massive improvement from the original 23mm tires.

During my quick research I discover that it may be possible to downsize to 26 in order to expand my tire selection. As luck would have it, I had an unused 26″ wheel set wrapped in 1.95’s and the calipers had enough pad adjustment to make up for the smaller diameter rim. You can the 1.95’s stuffed between the calipers.

Not sure what to try first, I went to a LBS that had a pair of knobbly Bontrager LT2’s in 26×1.5. Those tires cleared the calipers in width but the knobs made the tire too tall and contacted the caliper before the quick release axle was pulled fully up into position.

Damn. After experiencing that 1.5, I opted for the Panaracer Pasela in a 1.25. The rims are 1″ wide outer, inner estimated to be about 21-22mm. The Pasela tires were a pain in the ass to mount w tubes and at 90 psi they didn’t quite blow up to 1.25″ wide. But clearance looks ample! Now that they’re on I’m wondering if the 1.5 model would have fit well.

Anyway, all that just so my daughter can experience her first drop bar bike and hit the gravel roads along side me!

by JoshTaylorUSA