Please help with tyre sizes

bibibobo

I want to put a set of Continental Sport Contact (26 x 1.3) on my mountain bike for commuting. The mountain bike tyres that are on it at the moment are 26 x 2.0 bontragers and the rims are matrix 750 with 559 x 16 marked on it.
Am I correct in assuming the continentals will fit no problem and that 26 x 1.3 is the tyre size in inches and the rim size is 559 x 16 is mm's.
... Just getting a tad confused with naming standards

.... (its a mixture of mm's and inches on car tyres also !)

daymobrew

I believe that these rims should be okay for the new tyres.

I had 26x1.9 on my mtn bike (Ritchey rims) before I put 26x1.3 Sport Contacts on them. You will need new, narrower tubes too (the Sport Contacts come with a tube - see note on website).

I found that the tyres were quite difficult to put on because the sidewalls of my rims are quite tall. Maybe ask the shop to put them on. I had to buy metal tyre levers as plastic ones kept breaking. Such negative aspects aside, they are fast tyres with excellent puncture resistance.

bibibobo

as a matter of interest, how much day-to-day hopping up and down kerbs abuse could my rims take with these skinny tires? http://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticycle/ti%20sport%20contact.shtml