28 inch wheels

Recently I saw a bike at a store that had either 28 or 29 inch wheels.
I think it was a Fugi. I also noticed that KHS sells a bike with large
wheels. What is the advantage of large wheels? Right now I ride a 26
inch bike and put on about 5500 miles a year. I have problems with my
drive train wearing out after about 18 months ( I tried various
suggestions), and recently I have had a number of broken spokes. I do
not go off road, but I do most of my grocery shopping with my bike,
and there are a lot of hills in my area. Would a larger wheels size
such as 28 or 29 work better? I would think buying tubes and tires
would be a pain, but would the back wheels provide more support, and
would the fewer times its goes around reduce the amount of pedaling?

Thanks

Tom

On Sep 5, 4:20 pm, "
wrote:
Recently I saw a bike at a store that had either 28 or 29 inch wheels.
I think it was a Fugi. I also noticed that KHS sells a bike with large
wheels. What is the advantage of large wheels? Right now I ride a 26
inch bike and put on about 5500 miles a year. I have problems with my
drive train wearing out after about 18 months

5K killing a chain and cassette is about right. I used to ride close
to 10K city miles per year (!) and found an internally geared hub, a
Nexus 7, to be the answer. I changed chains, a cheap bmx model, twice
per year. That's it.

( I tried various
suggestions), and recently I have had a number of broken spokes. I do
not go off road, but I do most of my grocery shopping with my bike,
and there are a lot of hills in my area. Would a larger wheels size
such as 28 or 29 work better? I would think buying tubes and tires
would be a pain, but would the back wheels provide more support, and
would the fewer times its goes around reduce the amount of pedaling?

622 wheels are common, some say they roll better than 26" wheels. I'm
a tall guy, so I prefer large wheels simply because they look more
proportional. In my twisted universe, we'd have 27" wheels, which are
larger, still commonly sold.

You might be a candidate for one of REI's Novara Nexus hubbed
commuters--not cheap, but they pay for themselves in lack of hassle
and cheapness of maintenance. Other folks like Breezer make these kind
of urban bikes as well.

My next bike's coming in next week and will be 8spd rear/Deore.
Replacement cassettes in 8s and chains are also cheap enough to not
worry.

Have fun!

wrote: (clip) would the fewer times its goes around
reduce the amount of pedaling?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
No. If you choose a gear that matches your strength and cadence to the
road, the size of the wheels cancels out.