Which Size Tire Fits Which Size Rim?

Bicycle tires come in a bewildering variety of sizes. To make matters worse, in the early days of
cycling, every country that manufactured bicycles developed its own system of marking the
sizes. These different national sizing schemes created a situation in which the same size tire
would be known by different numbers in different countries. Even worse, different-sized tires
that were not interchangeable with one another were often marked with the same numbers!

This page covers sizes in common use as of its writing, and a number of older sizes. Sutherland's
Handbook for Bicycle Mechanics, 3rd through 6th edition, covers dozens of additional, antique
sizes. The 6th edition is available on CD ROM from Sutherland's. Better bike shops will have a
copy.

Traditional Sizing Systems

The traditional sizing systems are based on a measurement of the outside diameter of a tire. This
would usually be measured in inches (26", 27", etc.) or millimeters (650, 700, etc.).

Unfortunately, evolution of tires and rims has made these measurements lose contact with
reality. Here's how it works: Let's start with the 26 x 2.125 size that became popular on
heavyweight "balloon tire" bikes in the late '30's and still remains common on "beach cruiser"
bikes. This size tire is very close to 26 inches in actual diameter. Some riders, however were
dissatisfied with these tires, and wanted something a bit lighter and faster. The industry
responded by making "middleweight" tires, marked 26 x 1.75 to fit the same rims. Although they
are still called "26 inch", these tires are actually 25 5/8", not 26". This same rim size was adopted
by the early pioneers of west-coast "klunkers", and became the standard for mountain bikes. Due
to the appetite of the market, you can get tires as narrow as 25 mm to fit these rims, so you wind
up with a "26 inch" tire that is more like 24 7/8" in actual diameter!

A second number or letter code would indicate the width of the tire. (26 x 1.75, 27 x 1
1/4...650B, 700C...)

Does Point Seven Five Equal Three Quarters?

Note that the inch-based designations sometimes express the width in a decimal (26 x 1.75) and
sometimes as a common fraction (26 x 1 3/4). This is the most common cause of mismatches.
Although these size designations are mathematically equal, they refer to different size tires,
which are NOT interchangeable. It is dangerous to generalize when talking about tire sizing, but
I would confidently state the following:

Brown's Law Of Tire Sizing:

If two tires are marked with sizes that are mathematically equal,
but one is expressed as a decimal and the other as a fraction,
these two tires will not be interchangeable.
Dishonesty in Sizing
Competitive pressures have often led to inaccuracy in width measurement. Here's how it works:
Suppose you are in the market for a high performance 700 x 25 tire; you might reasonably
investigate catalogues and advertisements to try to find the lightest 700-25 available. If the Pepsi
Tire Company and the Coke Tire Company had tires of equal quality and technology, but the
Pepsi 700-25 was actually a 700-24 marked as a 25, the Pepsi tire would be lighter than the
accurately-marked Coke 700-25. This would put them at a competitive advantage. In self
defense, Coke would retaliate by marketing an even lighter 700-23 labeled as a 700-25.

This scenario prevailed throughout the '70's and '80's. The situation got so out-of-hand that
cooler heads have prevailed, and there is a strong (but not universal) trend toward accurate width
measurements.

B.S.D.

ISO, the International Organization for Standardization has developed a universal tire sizing
system that eliminates this confusion. (This system was formerly known as the "E.T.R.T.O."
system, developed by the European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation.)

The ISO system uses two numbers; the first is the width of the tire or rim in millimeters (The
actual tire width will vary a bit depending on the width of the rim. The rim width is the inner
width measured between the flanges as shown in the diagram.)
The second ISO number is the critical one, it is the diameter of the bead seat of the rim, in mm
("B.S.D."). Generally, if this number matches, the tire involved will fit onto the rim; if it doesn't
match, the tire won't fit.

For example, a 700 x 20 C road tire would be a 20-622; a 700 x 38 hybrid tire would be a 38-
622. The width difference between these sizes would make them less-than ideal replacements for
one another, but any rim that could fit one of them would work after a fashion with the other.

A general guideline is that the tire width should be between 1.45/2.0 x the inner rim width.

If you flatten out a tire and measure the total width from bead to bead, it should be
approximately 2.5 x the ISO width.

If your tire is too narrow for the rim there's an increased risk of tire/rim damage from road
hazards.

If its too wide for the rim, there's an increase risk of sidewall wear from brake shoes, and a
greater risk of loss of control in the event of a sudden flat.

The following is a partial listing of traditional tire sizes, with their ISO bead seat equivalents.
The ISO comparison list at the bottom of this page covers all sizes which we know to be in
production as of 2016. The fractional, decimal and French lists cover common sizes.

Fractional sizes:
Fractional ISO Applications

36 inch 787 mm Unicycles, some novelty bicycles

32 inch 686 mm Unicycles, some novelty bicycles

29 inch 622 mm This is a marketing term for wide 622 mm ("700C") tires.
English, Dutch, Chinese, Indian Rod-brake roadsters
635 mm
28 x 1 1/2 (Also marked F10, F25, 700 B)
(F.13) Rare Canadian designation
28 x 1 5/8 x 622 mm
Northern European designation for the 622 mm (700 C) size
1 1/4
27 x
anything
except "27
630 mm Older road bikes.
five" and
609 mm
Dutch
26 x 1 (650
571 mm Triathlon, time trial, small road bikes. Old Schwinn S-4
C)
26 x 1 1/4 597 mm Older British sport & club bikes
26 x 1 3/8
Schwinn "lightweights"
(S-6)
26 x 1 3/8
590 mm Most English 3-speeds, department-store or juvenile 10 speeds
(E.A.3)
26 x 1 1/2 French utility, tandem and loaded-touring bikes,
584 mm
(650B) a very few Raleigh (U.S.) & Schwinn mountain bikes.
26 x 1 3/4
Schwinn cruisers
(S-7)
571 mm
High performance wheels for smaller riders, common on
26 x 1, 1 1/8
Cannondale bicycles
24 x 1 520 mm High performance wheels for smaller riders; Terry front
520 mm or
24 x 1 1/8 Caveat emptor
540 mm!
24 x 1 1/4 British or Schwinn Juvenile
24 x 1 3/8 547 mm
Schwinn Juvenile lightweights
(S-5)
24 x 1 3/8 British Juvenile, most wheelchairs; common on women's utility
540 mm
(E-5) bicycles in Japan.
20 x 1 1/8
Juvenile lightweights, BMX for light riders, some recumbents,
20 x 1 1/4 451 mm
some folding bicycles
20 x 1 3/8
20 x 1 3/4 419 mm Schwinn juvenile
18 x 1 3/8 400 mm British juvenile
17 x 1 1/4 369 mm Alex Moulton AM series
Older Moulton; Brompton & other folders, recumbent front,
16 x 1 3/8 349 mm
juvenile
16 x 1 3/8 337 mm Mystery tire
16 x 1 3/8 335 mm Polish juvenile
16 x 1 3/4 317 mm Schwinn Juvenile
12 1/2 x
203 mm Juvenile, scooters
anything
10 x 2 152 mm Wheelchair caster
8 x 1 1/4 137 mm Wheelchair caster

Traditionally, fractional sizes are made for straight-sided rims.

High-performance sizes (520 mm, 571, 622 mm etc.) are preferably used with hook-edge rims,
whichcan hold higher pressure and center the tires more reliably.
Decimal sizes:
Decimal ISO Applications
29 inch This is a marketing term for wide 622 mm ("700c") tires.
622 mm Some German tire companies use this non-standard
28 x decimal
designation for 622 mm ("700c") tires.
"27 five" Marketing term for wide, knobby 584 mm tires. Some
584 mm
(meaning 27.5) Mountain bikes
26 x 1.00 through Most Mountain bikes, cruisers, fatbikes etc. Old
559 mm
5.0 Schwinn designation was S-2
26 x 1.25 (rare) Very old U.S. lightweights
599 mm
26 x 1.375 Very old U.S. lightweights
24 x 1.5-24 x
507 mm Juvenile mountain bikes, cruisers
2.125
22 x 1.75, 22 x
457 mm Juvenile
2.125
20 x 1.5-20 x
406 mm Most BMX, juvenile, folders, trailers, some recumbents
2.125
18 x 1.5 Birdy folding bikes
18 x 1.75-18 x 355 mm
Juvenile
2.125
16 x 1.75-16 x
305 mm Juvenile, folders, trailers, some recumbents
2.125

French sizes:
In the French system, the first number is the nominal diameter in mm, followed by a letter code
for the width: "A" is narrow, "D" is wide. The letter codes no longer correspond to the tire width,
since narrow tires are often made for rim sizes that originally took wide tires; for example, 700 C
was originally a wide size, but now is available in very narrow widths, with actual diameters as
small as 660 mm.

French Size ISO Applications

700 A 642 mm Obsolete
700 B 635 mm Rod-brake roadsters.
Road bikes, hybrids, "29 inch" MTBs.
700 C 622 mm
(28 x 1 1/2 F.13 Canada)
700 D 587 mm Oddball size formerly used on some GT models.
 French version of 26 x 1 3/8; Italian high-performance bikes for
650 A 590 mm
smaller riders
French utility bikes, tandems, and loaded-touring bikes; some
650 B 584 mm
older Raleigh and Schwinn mountain bikes
Triathlon, time trial, high performance road bikes for smaller
650 C 571 mm
riders
600 A 540 mm European Juvenile road bikes, most wheelchairs
550 A 490 mm European Juvenile road bikes
500 A 440 mm European Juvenile, folding
450 A 390 mm European Juvenile
400 A 340 mm European Juvenile

ISO Cross Reference:

ISO Bead Seat Diameter Traditional Designations
787 mm 36 inch
686 mm 32 inch
635 mm 28 x 1 1/2, 700 B
630 mm 27 x anything except "27 five" and 609 mm
622 mm 700 C, 28 x (two fractions), 29 inch, 28 x 1 1/2 F.13 Canada
609 mm Rare Dutch size, 27 x 1 1/2
599 mm 26 x 1.25, x 1.375 -- old US size
597 mm 26 x 1 1/4, 26 x 1 3/8 (S-6)
590 mm 26 x 1 3/8 (E.A.3), 650 A
587 mm 700 D -- oddball size made by GT
584 mm 650B, 26 x 1 1/2, "27 five"
571 mm 26 x 1, 26 x 1 3/4, 650 C
559 mm 26 x 1.00- x 2.125, also fatbike tires up to 5 inches wide
547 mm 24 x 1 1/4, 24 x 1 3/8 (S-5)
541 mm 600 A
540 mm 24 x 1 1/8, 24 x 1 3/8 (E.5),
520 mm 24 x 1, 24 x 1 1/8
507 mm 24 x 1.5- x 2.125
501 mm British, 22 x 1 3/8, 22 x 1.00
490 mm 550 A
 Dutch juvenile 22 x 1 1/8 NL,
489 mm
22 x 1 3/8 NL
484 mm 550 B
457 mm 22 x 1.75; x 2.125
451 mm 20 x 1 1/8; x 1 1/4; x 1 3/8
440 mm 500 A
438 mm Dutch juvenile, 20 x 1 3/8 NL
428 mm Swedish, 20 x 2
419 mm 20 x 1 3/4
406 mm 20 x 1.5- x 2.125
390 mm 450 A
369 mm 17 x 1 1/4
355 mm 18 x 1.5- x 2.125
349 mm 16 x 1 3/8
340 mm 400 A
337 mm 16 x 1 3/8
317 mm 16 x 1 3/4
305 mm 16 x 1.75- x 2.125
288 mm 350 A
254 mm 14 x 1.75
203 mm 12 1/2 X anything.
152 mm 10 x 2
137 mm 8 x 1 1/4

Most of this information was compiled by John Allen for Sutherland's Handbook For
Bicycle Mechanics, the bible of bicycle technology. Sutherland's, 6th edition has a more
detailed, more thorough version of this chart.

Got an unmarked rim but no tire? Click Here for how to

measure Rim Size.

Width Considerations
Although you can use practically any tire/rim combination that shares the same bead seat
diameter, it is unwise to use widely disparate sizes.
If you use a very narrow tire on a wide rim, you risk pinch flats and rim damage from road
hazards.

If you use a very wide tire on a narrow rim, you risk sidewall or rim failure. This combination
causes very sloppy handling at low speeds. Unfortunately, current mountain-bike fashion pushes
the edge of this. In the interest of weight saving, most current mountain bikes have excessively
narrow rims. Such narrow rims work very poorly with wide tires, unless the tires are
overinflated...but that defeats the purpose of wide tires, and puts undue stress on the rim
sidewalls.

Georg Boeger has kindly provided a chart showing recommended width combinations:

Which tire fits safely on which rim?

[all dimensions in millimeters]
Tire width
Rim width
18 20 23 25 28 32 35 37 40 44 47 50 54 57
(interior)
13 X X X X
15 X X X X
17 X X X X X
19 X X X X X X
21 X X X X X X
23 X X X X
25 X X X X X
Note: This chart may err a bit on the side of caution. Many cyclists exceed the recommended
widths with no problem.

Wilderness Trail Bikes' Global Measuring System

From the WTB Website:

GMS Global Measuring System The current industry standard for

specifying the actual inflated size of a bicycle tire does not account for subtle variation in tread
and casing size. To address this problem and provide you with more information for comparing
tires, WTB has introduced the Global Measuring System (GMS) for tire measurement.

The GMS uses a two-number system: the first number is the width of the casing, and the second
number is the width of the tread, both in millimeters. These measurements are taken on a rim
which is 20 mm wide at the bead-capturing point, with a tire inflated to 60psi and maintained for
24 hours.

In addition to being able to accurately size a tire, knowing the actual casing size and tread width
provides an indication of air volume, tread characteristics and tread contact area; all of which
provide you with a more concise idea of what ride characteristics to expect from each of WTB's
tires.

Tubular Tires ("Sew-ups")

Tubular tires are mainly used for racing. A tubular tire has no beads; instead, the two edges of
the carcass are sewn together (hence the term "sew-up") with the inner tube inside. Tubulars fit
only on special rims, where they are held on by cement.

Unless special cement which does not allow on-road replacement of a tire is used, tubulars
"squirm" against the rims and are slower than the best wired-on tires, even though lighter -- see
details from Jobst Brandt.

Tubulars existed in several different sizes, but only 700c and 26-inch tubulars are readily
available these days. Beware: sizes of 26" and 24" tubulars are not well-standardized. Take
the rim with you when buying a tire, and vice versa. Size variations of tubulars are covered in
Sutherland's Handbook for Bicycle Mechanics, 7th Edition, available from Sutherland's, and on
the mechanic's bookshelf at better bike shops.

 Full-sized tubulars fit rims of the same diameter as 622 mm (700c) clinchers. This size is
sometimes referred to as "28 inch" or "700". It is also, confusingly, sometimes referred to
as "27 inch." The "27 inch" designation is inaccurate and obsolete, but you'll sometimes
run into it in older printed material.

In clincher tires, there is a real difference between "700c" and "27 inch" sizes, but for
tubulars this is a false distinction. Whenever you see mention of "27 inch tubulars" the
writer is actually referring to standard full-sized tubulars, as used on most racing bikes.

 "26 inch" or "650" tubulars are smaller, mainly used on time-trial or motorpacing track
bikes. There are two common "26 inch" sizes, corresponding to the 584 mm and 571
mm ISO sizes. There are a couple of oddball sizes as well.
  "24 inch" (two slightly different sizes), "22 inch" "20 inch" and "18 inch" tubulars are
sizes formerly used for children's racing bikes, but pretty much extinct these days. The
"18 inch" size corresponds to the "17 inch" (369 mm) size used on Moulton bicycles.

Tubulars are also sometimes called "sew-ups" or "tubs" (British usage.)

If you want to sound like an ignorant yahoo, call them "tubies" or "tubeless tires."

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