UKH

Completely numpty question follows:

I have an old tatty MTB (Cube Analog Disc if thats relevant). It mainly gets (very) occasional use on gravel and bumpy tracks, but mainly road use and farm tracks. I'm thinking about doing more road cycling with a bit of farm/gravel tracks, but rather than get another bike I thought I'd swap the tyres for something more road orientated to cut down on the rolling resistance from the knobbly tyres. If I get into it I'll probably splash out on a gravel bike with better gearing in the future.

Thing is I'm utterly clueless about tyre and rim sizes etc.

The wheels are marked “AX 24//6061H - T6 // Double Wall 559 x 19”

The tyres are “57-559 (26x2.25)”

That may as well be in ancient Sumerian as far as I'm concerned. Could someone advise  me on what size tyres and tubes I'd be looking at to fit those wheels?

Thanks in advance.

Look for 26 inch tyres.

This is the diameter and is the key dimension to ensure they fit.

The current ones are 2.25 inches wide, from what you describe you probably want to go a bit narrower than this. Best not to go too much wider as you might have frame clearance issues. Assuming you're after a semi slick tyre, width will probably be around 2 inches as they don't generally come in particularly wide sizes.

Having a predominantly US origin (or so Gary Fisher would have you believe) MTB tyres are commonly sold according to their imperial size, whereas road bikes are listed in metric.

There are some other archaic sizes that are also referred to as 26 inch but they're very rare and not generally stocked in most bike shops. If unsure you can confirm the metric diameter is correct - 559mm in this case, but it's not something to particularly worry about, just mentioning it before someone else comes along and points it out.

For tubes they come in different diameters and with a with range. So again you need 26inch and a suitable width for the tyres you buy. The width ranges vary between manufacturers but for example if you get a 2.00 inch wide tyre, you might get tubes that fit 1.8 - 2.25 inches or something like that.

If unsure a bricks and mortar bike shop will happily help you out.

E2A: just for clarity if you go to a bike shop ask for a 26 inch semi slick and tubes and they'll sort you out. Most of the bike industry has decided to stop doing 26inch wheels except for kids bikes and such like so lots of shops might not keep much in stock but will be able to order them in.

I bought some for exactly the same reason a few years ago. Then bought another bike, after a lot of encouragement frim MrsJ 😊 Consequently they haven't seen much use and from your information will fit your wheels. Yours for free/charity donation if you don't mind waiting until I get home, just before Easter 

something like this: https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m14b0s122p3016/SCHWALBE-Land-Cruiser-Plus-HS450

Thanks Rob, that's a kind offer. TBH the Swalbes magma linked to are heavily discounted at present, so I've gone for a new set, but thank you.

Thanks everyone, especially a crap climber for the good explanation.

Ridge

Be careful!  It sounds like you are dangerously close to catching the "n+1" virus. I caught it in the same way 25 years ago and I still haven't recovered!