Is it possble to covert 26x4 to 3 onch tire and rim combo

[FredE]

I'm looking for advice regarding the wheel size conversion for a Juice Rip Current S that I recently purchased.

As you can see in the photos and pictures below, the bike comes standard with 26x4 wheels. I would like to convert the bike to 3-inch wide tires while keeping the bike's original geometry as close as possible to stock (bottom bracket clearance, set height). I do not want to modify anything other than the wheel, and I understand that this will require rebuilding the wheels.

My thought was 27.5 x 3

Here is something I found that seems promising (would this work?)

HTZ i40 Rim

E-bikes add to the riding experience by providing more for less. More distance, more laps, more climbs and more descents. With all those “mores” also comes more weight continually bashing on the components of an e-bike. In order to overcome the increased forces induced by the technological...

www.wtb.com

HTZ i35 Rim

Upgrade to the HTZ i35 e-bike rim for superior durability and performance. Engineered to withstand tough rides and varied terrains. Explore the features today!

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Ranger 2.8/3.0

Discover the Ranger Plus tire, designed for enhanced grip and versatility on diverse terrains. Ideal for riders seeking reliable performance and durability. Shop now!

www.wtb.com

My reasoning for doing this is to create a more nimble and agile bike. I am not expecting to turn this into a hardcore off-road mountain bike, but rather something that I would take on gravel, very light trails, and Jeep paths. I am not looking to take this over roots or boulders.

My ultimate outcome is a bike that is simply more nimble, easier to dart in and out of cars, and ride around town or commute. I hope to end up with something easier to navigate.

I would appreciate any suggestions or advice you may have.

Thank you for your time,

 

[linklemming]

Wheel size specs can be found here:
http://www.bikecalc.com/archives/wheel-sizes-article.html

26x4 has a diameter of 762mm with a radius of 381mm
27.5x3 has a diameter of 736mm with a radius of 368mm

So to use a 27.5x3, you would be lowering your Bottom Bracket by 13mm or 1/2 inch. This would have effects on handling and potential pedal strikes. You might not care or even notice but its worth considering.

I know Al Hicks did something like this awhile back (using 27.5), unfortunately he passed away but you might me able to find info he posted.

I considered doing this on a RipCurremt but I was going to use 29x2.8
29x2.8 has a diameter of 764mm with a radius of 382 mm so only a 1mm rise.

While I build my own wheels, I have never built a wheel using a non fatbike rim on a wider fatbike hub. There will be increase angles at the spoke nipples if you do this. Not sure if it would be an issue but most fatbike rims have offset spoke hole to minimize this.

 

[Chargeride]

I built a 24x 32mm rim onto a fatbike geared hub, spoke angles were pretty extreme as you can imagine.
Road it over everything, never broke a spoke

 

[m@Robertson]

There is most likely no need to work so hard at this. 3" tires will absolutely fit on rims made for 4" tires. To give you an extreme example, 26x2.5 tires were a common upgrade for Sondors Original fat bikes, and those bikes had 80mm (external width) rims. From what I see of the Rip Current S, you have 80mm rims as well, although Juiced's specs for the wheel rim reads "36 Hole 19mm inner wheel width" which is ridiculously in error. Thats the sort of width you would use for a 1.5" tire. Visually, the rims look exactly like Weinmann double-walled rims - the same rims are also sold branded as Origin8 DHL-80's

If I were you, the first thing I'd do is pick yourself up a pair of Duro Beach Bum 26x3.0 tires. They too are a common downsize for fat bike rims. Its amazing how much sidewall a tire like that has on such a wide rim. Be careful if googling images of them as most show the things mounted on 100mm rims which makes for a skinny tire.

I have personally put 26x2.35 tires on 80mm rims. They worked fine with slightly smaller tubes, but in terms of ride comfort I took it too far and they rolled like rocks.

You might also consider a slightly more plus size. The Vee Chicane or the Vee Speedster are both available in 26x3.5 and they have downright tall sidewalls and roll really, really fast. they're just relatively narrow, being only a little wider than the rims.

EDIT: @linklemming 's point about fat-frame hub widths versus narrow rim widths is worth worrying about. I would absolutely go with a tire change and see if you can live with that. Additionally I would not tear apart perfectly good wheels to re-use the hubs. I would build new wheels so you don't effectively destroy something that works in favor of building something that you hope will work.

 

[Slick50]

I also thought about converting the Juiced Ripcurrent S 26x4 to a wheel sized for 2.8 to 3.0 tires. I called a LBS with that question and the mechanic said it was a matter of finding a rim that could accommodate the fat hub (spoke angle issue). I suggested a 29 in wheel (see post above) to avoid lowering cranks with 27.5 in wheel. His ballpark estimate for labor, spokes, wheels was $500+. It's probably more for a decent wheel. Unless the motor has low miles (mine has 1500mi), I don't think it's worth the cost. I haven't tried 3" or 3.5" tires on the 80mm rims. That sounds much easier.

 

[m@Robertson]

His ballpark estimate for labor, spokes, wheels was $500+.

That sounds about right. And you won't know for sure if you will like it until you've already jumped off into the deep end.

This Youtube vid shows a Vee Speedster in 26x3.5 on what I am pretty sure is an 80mm rim. That tire looks pretty big, right? So a 26x3.0 is not going to be crazy-small. Most likely a 3.0" tire is not going to be recommended on any tire/rim compatibility chart you will ever come across, but urban fat ebike riders have been downsizing the rims for years without issue. The risk is to ride comfortand I don't think a 3.0" tire is anywhere near the extreme.

 

[Slick50]

The unknowns and cost lead me to think that putting $ towards a bike that already has smaller tire size makes better sense.

 

[m@Robertson]

meh its no big deal to change the tire size. And if you don't like it its not like you wasted the cost of the tires. You still have a bike you can ride.

Make an incremental change and see what happens. Save the giant wallet-drainer for another day.

One thing that doesn't make this project any easier is the fact that plus sized 26" off-road tires are effectively nonexistent. If you want something that can handle mud, you can pretty much write that idea off and yes you do need to start over. But if its light gravel, hard pack dirt roads and city streets... shouldn't be difficult at all. My Speedsters work fine on dirt roads and gravel (I am using the 26x2.8 on 32mm rims). I loaded up my leftover 3.5 Chicanes into the car this morning as I am going to try and fit them on those 32mm rims and see what happens (they're probably too big and I will need to use the Duro's).

 

[Chargeride]

All my friends have converted their fat bikes to 29x2.8, actually on carbon rims to help weight intertia.
They swear by them for sand, and we have a lot nearby, mud and road.

 

[m@Robertson]

All my friends have converted their fat bikes to 29x2.8, actually on carbon rims to help weight intertia.
They swear by them for sand, and we have a lot nearby, mud and road.

That reminds me, the Surly Big Fat Dummy had two wheel options. 26"/80mm fatties and 29" plus sized. Same frame for both options. Probably not a bad idea to do a little scouting and see how Surly did it.

 

[Litebike]

I don't know if this will work for you but I've been running this Eunorau 27.5x3" fatbike wheelset with no problems. It was simple to install and inexpensive too.

27.5*3'' Wheel Set For SPECTER-S

27.5*3 Wheel Set For SPECTER S The wheelsets do NOT include disc rotors and thru-axle. The Kenda Havok or Chaoyang tyre features a reflective sidewall stripe and K-Shield puncture-resistant tire liner. 27.5" x 3" Wire bead 30 TPI casing Compatible with: EUNORAU SPECTER-S *Note: The wheelset for...

eunorau-ebike.com

They also sell this wheelset. https://eunorau-ebike.com/products/...97600&pr_ref_pid=8175598895360&pr_seq=uniform

 

[m@Robertson]

I don't know if this will work for you but I've been running this Eunorau 27.5x3" fatbike wheelset with no problems. It was simple to install and inexpensive too.

27.5*3'' Wheel Set For SPECTER-S

27.5*3 Wheel Set For SPECTER S The wheelsets do NOT include disc rotors and thru-axle. The Kenda Havok or Chaoyang tyre features a reflective sidewall stripe and K-Shield puncture-resistant tire liner. 27.5" x 3" Wire bead 30 TPI casing Compatible with: EUNORAU SPECTER-S *Note: The wheelset for...

eunorau-ebike.com

They also sell this wheelset. https://eunorau-ebike.com/products/...97600&pr_ref_pid=8175598895360&pr_seq=uniform

He has a hub motor ebike and those wheels are traditional bike... meant for a mid drive.

 

[m@Robertson]

Another thing I just noticed in the original post is those two rim examples are both asymmetrically drilled. That is a very specialized sort of thing and before you go and use a rim like that, you'd better have yourself some expert advice that signs off on such a niche. I've done many bike builds and all of them have custom wheelsets... I've never had a need for an asymmmetrically-strung wheel.

 

[Daffyh]

When my current 4" tyres wear out ill be trying some 3 inch ones.

 

[BlueRidgeBoy]

Ok, I’ll be the heretic here: @FredE, if bike mechanics is a hobby of yours, than the different tire/tyre size strategy is a simple one. But I doubt the tweaking (and cost) will stop there. And I’ll say this with love as a fellow ripcurrent owner: all the time and money in the world isn’t going to make this bike particularly “nimble or agile”. If you strip it all the way down to the frame, it’s still a beast. In my humble opinion, the bike just isn’t optimized for urban agility. You can get something like a Ride1Up Roadster for well under $1k. Whereas with the RCS, you may find yourself $500 in the hole with neither an agile commuter nor the fat bike you started with. Don’t try to make Arnold Schwarzenegger into a ballerina!