Can You Change Tire Size on a Mountain Bike

Are you planning on hitting the trails this summer and wondering if changing your tire size is a good idea? 

Yes, it’s really a good idea. Summertime is a great time to go outdoors, enjoying the warmth and sunshine by commuting or trail riding. And for doing that you may need to change your tire size. Now a question may roam in your mind “Can you change tire size on a mountain bike or not,” right? 

Let me answer you. 

Yes, you can change tire size and tire width on a mountain bike. According to the American Mountain Biking Association (AMBA), unless you’re riding on a designated mountain bike trail, you’re free to go with whatever wheel size you feel comfortable with.

Can You Put Different Size Tires on a Mountain Bike?

Want to explore new trails? Thinking about upgrading your mountain bike to have better traction and more stability?

Well, now, you don’t have to change the whole bike to make your ride more fun and challenging, just put different-sized mountain bike tires on your mountain bike, and it’s ready to cruise new trails. 

Yes, you heard me right. You can put different size mtb tires on a mountain bike. Just ensure the wheelbase (distance between the brake lever and front axle) of your bike remains unchanged for proper suspension performance.

If you have an old mountain bike that you want to modify to use for commuting or trail riding, put a narrower tire and get started.

Mountain Bike Tire Size Chart

You can change mountain bike tires, but it doesn’t mean you can just put any wider tire or road tires on your MTB bike. So, which tires are suitable for which bikes?

For your better understanding, I’ve prepared a mountain bike tire size chart and shared it below. So carefully check out the MTB tire size chart and know what size tires will fit your mountain bike tires.

Tire sizing chart

Bike Size	Changeable Tire Size
26	24, 26, 27
27.5	26, 27, 29
29	27, 27.5, 29,

Can You Put Street Tires on a Mountain Bike?

A street bike and a mountain bike have lots of differences. A road bike is specifically designed with narrower tires to be used for riding over flat terrain at a faster speed. An MTB bike is designed larger wheel to ride slowly over rugged terrain. Plus their diameter is also different. So it’s not a good decision to put road bike tires on a mountain bike wheel. 

But still, you can put street tires on a mountain bike if you want to use it for commuting or trail riding.  Road bike tire is lighter, narrower, faster, and have lower rolling resistance. So road tire has less traction, which makes them unusable for mountain biking on difficult MTB trails.

However, while putting street tires or narrow tires on wider tires MTB bikes keep in mind, that the tubeless tires fit the rim diameter, otherwise, your mountain bike won’t be able to handle it. In addition, never think of changing the fat bike tires.

Can I Put 24 Wheels on a 26 Bike?

Getting the wrong wheel size bike isn’t something new, in starting most of the riders are unaware of the right mtb bike size and end up buying the wrong wheel size bike. Last night I got a kind of similar email, “Can I put 24 wheels on a 26 bike”. So I thought why not share the answer with my other beloved readers, maybe they are also confused about bike wheel changing.

Yes, you can put 24 wheels on a 26 bike. But you may have to face decreased stability, increased wear and tear, pinch flats on the rear tire, and reduced speed. Because a 26 bike comes with a wider tire, larger rim width, and some more differences than a 24 bike. 

So basically 24 inch bike with a smaller wheel will put unnecessary stress on both the axle and frame of a 26-inch wider tire bike which will greatly reduce the overall longevity and performance of the mountain bike. 

Can You Put 28-inch Wheels on a 26-inch Bike?

When it comes to replacement tires on a mountain bike, we all need to pay great attention. Putting larger and wider tires on an MTB bike is possible but not every time. 

Many new riders ask me can you put 28-inch wheels on a 26-inch bike? Let me share the answer I gave them. 

A 28-inch wheel has a 622mm (wider rim) while the maximum diameter of a 26-inch bike is 597mm. I hope you have already got the answer, and if not, let me clear you. 

You can’t put 28-inch wheels on a 26-inch bike. Yes it’s possible to change tire size but there is a condition, the tire diameter has to match or close. And here, the rim width difference is too much. Plus the tire width also doesn’t match. So clearly, it’s just not possible to replace 28 inch wider tire with 26 inch tire.

If you do so you will face several problems while mountain biking, like-

• Difficult to maintain balance and stability.
• Incapable of riding at high speeds
• Insufficient stopping power
• Increased friction and decreased maneuverability, 
• The frame can’t support the extra weight of the wheel

Can I Change My 27.5 Bike To 26 Wheel?

Does your bike seem a little larger than you need?  No worries you can change and easily switch to lower wheels and make the bike match your size. 

Did you just get freed up worrying about whether can i change my 27.5 bikes to 26 wheels? 

Not yet? Yes, you can change the 27.5 bike wheel to the 26 bike wheel. As we know, the condition of changing the bike tires is matching the rim diameter, and you meet the tire width and rim width. 27.5-inch rim diameter is 584 mm and 26 inches is up to 597. So it perfectly meets the rim brakes diameter requirements and allows you to change your slick tires without worrying about a flat tire.