26 inch or 650 Wheels?

Smit Goswami has a bike with 26 x 1 3/8 wheels, he wants to know if he can change to 650 size wheels and if 650 a or 650 c makes a difference, or can he fit 700 c wheels? This he can not do as they will not fit in his bike frame. Here is the good news for Smit

Question:
I have a road bike that has the tire size of 26×1 3/8. I’ve researched and found that this is also ISO 590 and 650A. I want to buy new wheels but its really hard to find 650A wheels…. can I upgrade to 650C or 700c?

Hi Smit,

Yes a 26 x 1 3/8 inch is as near as dam it a 650 a. the 650 is the most important measurement here, the A refers to the width, so a 650 c is a little narrower, you will need to buy the correct tire size for these which will be a 26 x 1 1/4 or there abouts. The bike shop will help you out as you are buying a complete set of wheels and tires etc.

The thing you can’t do is fit 700 c wheels as they will be too big for your frame and will not go into the frame. Are the gears the same on the new wheels, can you fit your old freewheel or cassette? This is very important as you don’t want to have to change your gear levers and have the extra expense that that will bring.