Here is the situation. What do I do? Here are some pictures.

Here is the situation.

24" Hookworm tire rubs on suspension part of 26" fork , yes the V-brakes wont work, discs will.
Clearance between the top of the tire and the bottom of the forks brake bracket brace.
25mm - 26" wheel on 26" fork on 26" bicycle.
vs
37mm - 24" wheel on 26" fork on 26" bicycle.
12mm (0.48") difference.


What do I do? (In order of preference.)

1) Find a MTB 29" fork (There is a great chance to find a used one in the used parts bin for cheap, like $5 cheap!)

2) Find a taller tire (If there is a taller tire!)

3) Re lace hub into a 26" (Got rims.. no spokes.. buy ebay $10 generics.. a month or two wait!)

4) Bolt & Weld alum extensions onto the alum fork dropouts (4043 rod only on DCEP. I have AC welder, no converter, probably $50 and ebay wait!)

5) Hammer fork in where its rubbing (Not a good option, not at all!)


Here are some pictures.

Here is my current 26" ride, took pictures to get a feel for distance from top of tire to bottom of brace.



24" wheel on a 26" bicycle and 26" fork, doesnt look too bad with the fattish tire on it.


Tire Rubbing
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markz said:

2) Find a taller tire (If there is a taller tire!)

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Worth looking into, maybe. It looks like a small difference in the tire profile would do it, right?

donn said:

markz said:

2) Find a taller tire (If there is a taller tire!)

Click to expand...

Worth looking into, maybe. It looks like a small difference in the tire profile would do it, right?

Click to expand...

Worth looking into, yes indeed, that is why I posted this here thread on the matter at hand.

The Hookworm tire has quite the fatness bubble to it. So I am not sure if I can get a tire with added height without extra sidewall buldge, if that makes sense.

TBH the rim itself isn't that good. Single wall and the nipple heads feel quite large, which makes sense for 12G. I can't see the nips with their glorified wider then normal electrical tape appearance "rim tape". Not really up to snuff IMO. All that is leading me to waiting for spokes and lacing into 26" but winter snow is coming so so fast. Plus I got no use for a 24" Hookworm tire, it came off my $20 BMC V1 stripped gears wheel. So fab dropout extensions with some sort of bolt on deal, highly unlikely for front fork also seems not safe, options are hire a welder but Im cheap, or find a friend of a friend that welds ( I may have one ) Find a mtb 29" fork, they aint open till Thursday, should have went today, oh well.

markz said:

The Hookworm tire has quite the fatness bubble to it. So I am not sure if I can get a tire with added height without extra sidewall buldge, if that makes sense.

Click to expand...

There must be some references on tire profiles, though of course it's complicated because you have to take rim width into account. I just know, my 1.75 Marathon Plus were surprisingly tall and not very wide, on an 18mm inside width rim. I missed something, though, if you really need added height. If you just need to slim down the tire, that ought to be easy.

What do I do? (In order of preference.)
1) Find a MTB 29" fork (There is a great chance to find a used one in the used parts bin for cheap, like $5 cheap!)

Click to expand...

Errrm... Sorry. "Problem" is? :wink:

Great point donn, the look of the shorter 24" wheel doesnt matter to me, but the rubbing would matter. Looks may matter to recipient.

donn said:

if you really need added height.

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Yes the 29" mtb fork I am hunting now, I dont remember seeing no 29" mtb forks in the $5 bargain box of forks.
26" mtb rigid fork is an option, tons of those, no wide sections like a suspension fork, problème résolu

LockH said:

Errrm... Sorry. "Problem" is? :wink:

Click to expand...

Good hunting! :wink:

View attachment 1

LockH said:

Good hunting! :wink:

Click to expand...

Consider running a thinner tire on the front. I find a 1.5 inch tire just as traction worthy as a 2.5 inch tire, and I they feel more responsive in the event of a quick turn maneuver requirement.

Doesn't look too bad at 0.75" (19mm) difference in tire height.

Yeah I will see what size that 24" Hookworm is. Its a big balloon easily taller then any 26 x 2.00 and even 2.10 I have seen.

e-beach said:

Consider running a thinner tire on the front. I find a 1.5 inch tire just as traction worthy as a 2.5 inch tire, and I they feel more responsive in the event of a quick turn maneuver requirement.

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Front is 24 x 2.50 Hookworm - Total tire height is 24.75"
Rear is Kenda 26 x 2.20 - Total tire height is 26.25"
Next I will see what a 26 x 1.90 looks like.
Can't have the rear tire too thin looking from the side, would look too goofy.

If the person seeing the bike from its side did not know the front and back were off by 1-1/2"
then I doubt anyone would even notice.

Its too upright a sitting stance for my cruiser bicycle liking.




I may just ride this tomorrow if the snow aint that bad.

markz said:

if the snow aint that bad.

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I would say 4-1/2" maybe 5"
With a non-knobby front, add snow, no dice. More snow pics to come right here, yes I am riding in this shit! Makes me wonder what the temperature right now in my dream location of mine Portugal. In the USA it would have to be Southern Oregon.

Edit - Sorry I did not take any pictures, it was a quite lame snowfall. I was expecting fluffy pow!
Snow melted where the vehicle tires went, also melted a bit where footsteps were but those footsteps still held mass to move the front tire around. Gotta get on buying a fat fork, fat front wheel for this winter. Sunilte is affordable.

Wide rim, I mean 50 mm wide, will make your hookworm narrower. That is expansive and maybe a job you are not willing to do, to save 3mm off tire sidewall width, but it would make your tire a better ride too.

looks like your tire is just rubbing the boots on the fork. In my opinion that's no big deal. Judging by your pictures that bike is not in the best condition anyways maybe you should consider buying a new bike. you can pick one up at wallmart for less than $100. Personally I was considering buying a beach cruiser myself which was only $80 and it has plenty of room for battery controller and they ride very comfortably. If you don't want to buy a new bike just run the tire like that it's not going to hurt anything that tire is going to outlast those Forks in those boots on the forks will stop making noise after a while.

MadRhino said:

Wide rim, I mean 50 mm wide, will make your hookworm narrower. That is expansive and maybe a job you are not willing to do, to save 3mm off tire sidewall width, but it would make your tire a better ride too.

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Thanks for the great tip MadRhino, I did not know that. Yes you are right I wont be doing nothing to the wheel itself.

biggy - That bike was free and in perfect running order. I just cut the brake cable off, and took one pedal off. There are hardly any scratches on it, sure there is a little rust here and there but it surely wasnt outside, just in a shed more likely. The rear wheel I used on another bicycle. I havent taken a look at the "boots" as you call them, what do they do? just seal the dirt out? Perhaps a slight grind down was my intention, previously posted.

biggy said:

looks like your tire is just rubbing the boots on the fork. In my opinion that's no big deal. Judging by your pictures that bike is not in the best condition anyways maybe you should consider buying a new bike. you can pick one up at wallmart for less than $100. Personally I was considering buying a beach cruiser myself which was only $80 and it has plenty of room for battery controller and they ride very comfortably. If you don't want to buy a new bike just run the tire like that it's not going to hurt anything that tire is going to outlast those Forks in those boots on the forks will stop making noise after a while.

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yes the rubber boots pretty much just keep the dirt out. If it's just rubbing a little on the Rubber and making noise no big deal but if it's rubbing to where the wheel is not being able to move freely then its not safe. Don't get me wrong I love free bicycles free anything but when it comes to your safety you might want to look around for something that fits a little better to your needs. trust me, flipping over on your face at 20mph + really sucks, ive done it lol. Also having the motor Hub in the front puts extreme stress on the dropouts of those Forks and they look old and not very strong. shopping around would be well worth it i promise.

Also after reviewing your photos further I can see now that it looks like the V brake mount is also rubbing I would not hammer on that because it is made of aluminum I believe and could crack that crossover that is the structural Integrity of the fork. You could grind the edges down just be very careful not to take too much material away.