Effect of 26″ conversion on 2006 Bighit geometry

Hi Lee,

Great site. A quick one:

The Bighit 2003 came out standard with a 24″ rear wheel. I’ve changed the seatstay to accommodate a 26″ wheel and I use the most progressive (bottom) hole on the frame and position A on the shock link. How will this affect the headtube angle? I do a lot of DH and some “downhill” freeriding if I can call it that. I know with the 24″ rear wheel the slackest angle is 66.3 degrees, but I’m concerned it has negatively impacted that angle. I have a 2004 Boxxer Team up front – 7″, and a Fox Vanilla RC at the back.

Regards, Adrian

Hey Adrian,

I raced that bike for a couple seasons. Loved it. I’m sure it’ll be even better with a full sized wheel.

I think that change will steepen your head angle by about 1.2 degrees, theoretically to about 67.5 degrees. These days that would be considered a good “freeride” head angle.

Real quick, here’s how I attacked that question:

Pin it!

— Lee

Me, 2002, at the top of the Mammoth Kamikaze. Note: With that 24×2.7″ rear tire, the rear diameter is almost as large as the front. With a 3″ rear tire, they’re even closer. Don’t you think it’s easier to run a bigger 24″ tire than to convert your rear end to 26″?