Meridian with 700C rear wheel ?

[borntoride]

Hello fellow builders

I have started work on what I hope will be my very own Meridian. To cut costs I am trying to use bike parts I already have. I have just recently been given a good rear wheel, size 700 c . This is a bit bigger than a 26 inch wheel (about 2 inches bigger diameter). As I have already built the rear triangle of the Meridian for a 26 inch wheel, using the 700c wheel will put the rear of the bike about 1 inch higher above ground than the designed 19 inch. Does anybody know if this will impair stability or performance ? Thanks in advance for any help on this matter.

[Odd Man Out]

No, it will not bother stability. You might want to shorten the front piece of the frame so it won't angle down too far. Shorten it 1-2 inches and you will be fine. As for performance, a 700c will give you higher gear range therefore a faster top end. Lucky you...:punk:

P.S. Welcome Welcome Welcome

[comreich]

Yeah, what OMO said. I've been thinking about the same kind of thing, only taking the kink out of the Meridian and raising the bottom bracket.

[Odd Man Out]

Yeah, what OMO said. I've been thinking about the same kind of thing, only taking the kink out of the Meridian and raising the bottom bracket.

Yeah what Comreich said, I've been thinking about the same thing, only taking the kink out of the Meridian, raising the bottom bracket and sticking a 700c on the front also. Either that or the Tourmaster with 700c's front and back... Can't decide.

[GregLWB]

Yeah what Comreich said, I've been thinking about the same thing, only taking the kink out of the Meridian, raising the bottom bracket and sticking a 700c on the front also. Either that or the Tourmaster with 700c's front and back... Can't decide.


OMO - it would be really easy to do it on a TM with very little change. IMHO.:jester:

Greg

[borntoride]

HELLO ALL

THANKS FOR THE QUICK REPLY. iF i UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY ODD MAN OUT SUGGESTION I SHOULD SHORTEN THE 12 INCH FRONT TUBE SO THAT WILL EFFECTIVELY RAISE A BIT THE FRONT END ? IF THIS IS SO I AM IN LUCK BECAUSE I AM DOING THIS PART THIS WEEK-END .'S

[greenevegiebeast]

HELLO ALL

THANKS FOR THE QUICK REPLY. iF i UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY ODD MAN OUT SUGGESTION I SHOULD SHORTEN THE 12 INCH FRONT TUBE SO THAT WILL EFFECTIVELY RAISE A BIT THE FRONT END ? IF THIS IS SO I AM IN LUCK BECAUSE I AM DOING THIS PART THIS WEEK-END .'S

born to ride, fyi it is considered rude to be yelling in the forum, all caps is considered YELLING. just figured i would let you know. btw, welcome to the family.

[Odd Man Out]

Borntoride;

You understand correctly. A suggestion. be sure you work from back to front. Make sure you have the rear seat stays attached to the frame before you weld the front upright piece on. You can then make sure that your measurement is correct for the front part. You can check for aesthetics. If you work from front to back you will be stuck (until you become best friends with your grinder...) with what you have done. Good luck on your creation and show the pix!!!

BTW no big deal on the first time with all caps. We have all done it.:jester:

[borntoride]

Hello again

Sorry about the yelling part, I am indeed new to this. Concerning the back to front suggestion, I unfortunately did not proceed that way (except for the fact the rear triangle is done). The front angled tube was already welded and it originally measured 12 inch. While doing the fishmouth, I shortened that tube by about 2.5 inch . That way, with the 700c wheel , the back end is 20 inch from the ground (rather than 19) and the front is 15 inch (rather than 14). I will make up for the 1inch extra height by reducing the height of the seat. also the overall wheel base length is a bit shorter but I hope this will not make too big a difference. We shall see how it goes in the road test which should occur in about two weeks ( I hope !). I will post pics. So far great project except I live in second floor apartment and bike and tools are taking over most living space! Thanks for the welcome.

[borntoride]

Hello Omo

I think I misunderstood what you meant by proceeding back to front. I did just that. The rear triangle which holds the rear wheel in place was done first. So I had the benefit of having the rear wheel attached when I did the front. Thanks again.

[mkane53]

Just so you don't have an "Oh My God" moment, as you're getting ready to put it together for that first test ride, keep the following in mind. 700C is indeed a larger diameter than the 26" wheels. Make sure you mount the tires you intend to use on the rims to insure you actually have FRAME clearance - that the rim with a tire mounted on it doesn't rub on the back the of the Meridian frame. It's so much tougher to hit top speed when your tire is rubbing the frame.

Also, keep in mind that you'll have to move the brake bosses/mounts because a 700C rim mounted in a rear triangle that came from a 26" Mountain Bike isn't going to allow the brakes to hit the rim correctly - at least it probably won't. There might be brake calipers out there that would allow for that amount of adjustment, but I don't think that MOST do. It's probably a VERY good idea to attach the rear brake calipers and make sure that you'll not only be able to GO fast ... you'll also be able to STOP fast. We've all used our feet now and again, but that's not the preferred stopping method going downhill, fully loaded to a T intersection with a 4-lane highway. You get the idea.

As a practical matter, 700C tires are harder to find than 26" tires. So if you blow a sidewall in a tire out in the middle of nowhere - and aren't carrying a spare - you're probably not going to find a replacement tire, whereas you can pop into any ?-Mart and pick up a usable 26" replacement tire.

Having said that, those tall tires really smooth out the little bumps and once you get them up to speed are the greatest.