CHAN

[Marichen]

Good afternoon all,

I want to change my current 29'er MTB bike wheel size to a 27.5 or even 26'er.

Reason for that is, I bought my bike and did'nt realize that the 29"er is harder to control when doing mountain routes(I have fallen numerous times because of that). I am very short, 1.55cm.

Thing is, I have a medium 17.5 inch frame from Trek and disc brakes Shimano Deore. I do not want to sell my bike and buy a new one. I also don't have money to buy a new brake set.

Is it possible to change wheel size to 27.5 or 26 and still use the same brakes?

[ChrisF]

31 minutes ago, Marichen said:

Good afternoon all,

I want to change my current 29'er MTB bike wheel size to a 27.5 or even 26'er.

Reason for that is, I bought my bike and did'nt realize that the 29"er is harder to control when doing mountain routes(I have fallen numerous times because of that). I am very short, 1.55cm.

Thing is, I have a medium 17.5 inch frame from Trek and disc brakes Shimano Deore. I do not want to sell my bike and buy a new one. I also don't have money to buy a new brake set.

Is it possible to change wheel size to 27.5 or 26 and still use the same brakes?

 

Seems you are paying the same school fees I did with Trek.

 

The 17,5 bike is for riders from 1,61 to 1,72m in length.

 

This impacts various aspects, amongst which :

 

1. Saddle height.  At first glance dropping to smaller wheels will drop the saddle height ....

2.  BB and pedal height ... lowering the bike this way will lead to pedal strikes ....

3. Reach - seat to handle bars .... you will remain stretched out on the bike .... this may well result in a loss of control on the trails.

 

 

Sadly the best solution may be to get the correct size bike.

 

Out of interest ... here did you buy the bike ?

[thebob]

List the bike for sale, get the correct sized one. Putting smaller wheels will not help one bit and will probably result in more crashes.

[Mamil]

First 2 comments are correct. The medium is too big for someone your height.

If you bought it new from.a shop I think they should be forced to take it back and refund or provide the correct size which is probably a small or maybe even an Xtra small depending on brand.

 

[CARANXCycleMobile]

....and fitting smaller wheels to the 29er will cause the BB / Pedals to be lower to the ground " not the way to go if you're trying to avoid crashing

[Danger Dassie]

Your brakes have zero effect on wheel size and won’t be affected.

What Trek model is it? 
The only solution really would be to find a frame that fits you, rather than changing wheels. 
Not sure if you bought the bike new or not or from a retailer. Without speculating though, you do need to be sized/fitted on the correct frame size. 

[Marichen]

Thank you all, sad to hear that I may have to sell the bike.

It is by no means the retailers mistake. I bought the bike with that understanding that it is a medium frame.

The bike is a xcaliber9 2019

[Danger Dassie]

@Marichen
Ok I remember that Trek frames can accommodate both 29 or 27.5 for smaller riders. This was (is) from the Top Fuel etc and also for the X-Caliber. Confirmed both on the site and messaging a friend at Trek. 

So the wheels will work, albeit the frame sizing is more likely still too big for you, at least according to the sizing chart. Which can be found here.

https://www.trekbikes.com/za/en_ZA/bikes/mountain-bikes/cross-country-mountain-bikes/x-caliber/x-caliber-8/p/35069/?colorCode=greydark

Size	Rider Height	Inseam
XS	145 - 155 cm 4'9" - 5'1"	69 - 73 cm 27" - 29"
S	155 - 165 cm 5'1" - 5'5"	74 - 78 cm 29" - 31"
M	165 - 176 cm 5'5" - 5'9"	79 - 83 cm 31" - 33"
ML	173 - 180 cm 5'8" - 5'11"	81 - 86 cm 32" - 34"
L	177 - 188 cm 5'10" - 6'2"	84 - 89 cm 33" - 35"
XL	188 - 195 cm 6'2" - 6'5"	89 - 91 cm 35" - 36"
2XL	195 - 203 cm 6'5" - 6'8"	91 - 97 cm

Not sure where you are based, but reaching to Trek for some assistance won’t hurt. They’re generally pretty good at assisting where they can.

Hope this helps.

Edited 17 hours ago by Danger Dassie

[RobynE]

I have the same bike and it’s a solid medium for sure and I can ride it. You’re 10cm shorter than me so I imagine it’s a little more tricky - the geometry of the frame puts the rider “on” the bike which is awesome in some ways but can be disconcerting in others. I also have a ~2014 Giant XTC carbon medium hardtail and the two bikes are totally different to ride. The Giant is, for me, a lot more confidence inspiring especially on sharp, rocky descents. The Trek makes me feel a bit like I’ll go over the bars if I’m not careful so I tend to second guess myself. Ascending on the Trek though, or putting in distance - it’s fantastic. 
 

As others have said the wheels won’t make a difference. 
 

You could probably sell your X-Caliber and come out with a small frame 29” or a medium 27.5 (also known as a 650b) and a bit of change.
 

I just bought my kiddo (she’s 1.40 with long legs) a medium 27.5 Titan and she rides it so incredibly well. I paid R8500 for it second hand. You could probably sell your X-Caliber for R10-R14k (realistically) depending on condition. 

[tinmug]

I wonder if it’s worth buying a Trek S/XS frame and carry over the components? 
 

(10K on Trek ZA website at the moment)

Edited 5 hours ago by tinmug

[ChrisF]

2 hours ago, tinmug said:

I wonder if it’s worth buying a Trek S/XS frame and carry over the components? 
 

(10K on Trek ZA website at the moment)

 

If the components are in good nick this may be the easiest solution.

 

 

Wonder if the bike has 175mm cranks ?  Possibly 170mm

 

The smaller frames often come with 165mm

Edited 2 hours ago by ChrisF

[Danger Dassie]

4 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

Wonder if the bike has 175mm cranks ?  Possibly 170mm

 

The smaller frames often come with 165mm

170mm on XS to M, so should be fine.