27 inch tires make a comeback

On Jul 11, 11:10 pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:

The "story" isn't about 27" tires making some sort of a comeback. Rather, it's about people
taking old bikes out of the garage and wanting to ride them again. A noble gesture, but most of
these bikes are way past their shelf life, and usually aren't worth bringing back to life. You
could spend a whole lot of money fixing up some of those old relics, and usually still not have
something as practical or comfortable as a common hybrid.

Sounds like what a friend of mine was told by one LBS concerning his
mid-80s Cannondale. I suggested taking another look and now it sports
new 27" tires and a wider range crankset thanks to another LBS that
was more considerate and helped scrounge through their old parts bin.
He plans to ride it for his solo attempt in the next Furnace Creek
508. Should I really suggest that he use a hybrid instead?

Will wrote:
Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
most of these bikes are way past their shelf life, and usually
aren't worth bringing back to life. You could spend a whole lot
of
money fixing up some of those old relics, and usually still not
have
something as practical or comfortable as a common hybrid.

Yes indeed. Thousands of Trek and Raleigh and Bianchi double
butted,
lugged, 531 frames. Relics.

Come on Mike.... you know a 1985 Trek is worth riding today.
Heck... a
1985 Trek 520 or 620 is better than the stuff Trek's replaced them
with.

I don't know about "bettter", but these bikes can be made
serviceable, particularly with new wheels and rubber stuff.

Of course, I live where it's flat, friction shifters aren't much of
a disadvantage. If I was shifting all the time that might get old.

--
Mike Kruger

"viewed in retrospect, it is clear that it has been quite
predictable."
(David Runciman) "I'd only call it "predictable" if you actually
predict it ahead of time" (Andrew Gelman)

On Jul 12, 8:01 pm, peter wrote:
On Jul 11, 11:10 pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:

The "story" isn't about 27" tires making some sort of a comeback. Rather, it's about people
taking old bikes out of the garage and wanting to ride them again. A noble gesture, but most of
these bikes are way past their shelf life, and usually aren't worth bringing back to life. You
could spend a whole lot of money fixing up some of those old relics, and usually still not have
something as practical or comfortable as a common hybrid.

Sounds like what a friend of mine was told by one LBS concerning his
mid-80s Cannondale. I suggested taking another look and now it sports
new 27" tires and a wider range crankset thanks to another LBS that
was more considerate and helped scrounge through their old parts bin.
He plans to ride it for his solo attempt in the next Furnace Creek
508. Should I really suggest that he use a hybrid instead?

Of course you should, just be sure he buys a Trek Hybrid, preferably
at Chain Reaction Bicycles. Tell 'em to ask for Mike.

On Jul 12, 1:10 am, "Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:
"ZBicyclist" wrote in ...

| "When Steve Flagg reviewed his inventory reports recently, one item
| jumped off the page-27-inch tires. "We were totally unprepared for
| the demand in 27-inch tires," said Flagg, president of Quality
| Bicycle Products.
|
| "Wayne D. Gray, vice-president of KHS/FreeAgent Bicycles, noticed
| the same trend. "We're seeing a lot of demand for them. It's people
| taking their old Schwinn Varsity out of the garage and to a shop for
| new tires and a tuneup." "
|
|
| Sent to me by Bob Matter (who posts on a lot of sites, but not
| r.b.m.)
|http://www.bicycleretailer.com/news/...tail/1558.html

The "story" isn't about 27" tires making some sort of a comeback. Rather, it's about people taking old bikes out of the garage and wanting to ride them again. A noble gesture, but most of these bikes are way past their shelf life, and usually aren't worth bringing back to life. You could spend a whole lot of money fixing up some of those old relics, and usually still not have something as practical or comfortable as a common hybrid.

Gee, what's involved in the "bring back to life"? New tires/tubes, new
chain, new cables/housing, new brake pads and an overhaul. Oh, and
maybe a new freewheel. With all that, the bike will probably be better
than the day it rolled of the LBS sales floor. And, alot of these
"old relics" (as you call them), won't even need that much attention.

How much for a decent "common hybrid" these days?

remainder snipped

In article ,
"ZBicyclist" writes:

The most-common issue with the Schwinn Varsity, as seen a couple
times/week at the shop? People not understanding that the pressure
listed on the sidewall of the tire relates to installation on a
decent-quality rim with a hooked edge. The old Schwinns had smooth
sidewalls on the rims, and a tire rated at 90psi will likely blow
out
at 60psi.

Yes, you need a different tire. I think they were S-7 (not 27). I
think the equivalent 26 inch was an S-6. You can still get these
tires, but they are hard to find. Plus those rims are likely to be
steel.

Schwinn and their proprietism (proprietarity?
proprietariness?)

I'm up to my neck in salvaged alu-alloy 27" wheels.
Many are in practically new condition, and some bear
those lovely Suzue one-piece hubs.

I dunno if they're interchangeable with old Schwinn
wheels though. Oddly enough, we don't get to see many
Schwinns here in Vancouver BC. Most of our bikes (that
are seen actually in use on the street) are of Canadian
mfg or imported from Japan. And the occasional Raleigh
or Peugeot antique.

Those inexpensive IRC 27x1/4" tires are good enough
for workaday use, and readily available in Canada
from Mountain Equipment Co-op and other enlightened
suppliers.

Anyway, a vast quantity of '70s Bike Boom imports
from Japan are still in service here, and I expect
they will be for decades to come, as long as
replacement parts are available for them. It's
unfortunate that so many USA'ans are so deprived
of these Japan-built beauties (mostly Sekines and
Apollos,) many of which sport wonderfully sculpted
lugs and other interesting design features. For
example, my early '70s Sekine mixte has a handlebar
that looks like a GMO experiment between MTB flat
bars, North Road bars and moustache bars. But it's
actually quite ergonomic. It also has Shimano's
One-Key-Release[tm] crankset, where instead of a
crank puller, you just need the appropriately sized
allen key. I've previously mentioned its Front
Freewheel System[tm] which allows a rider to change
gears by backpedalling while stationarily leaning
against a pole and waiting for the traffic light to
change.

At any rate, 27" wheels are not dead yet.
Nor should they be. The only thing wrong with the
size: 27" is, it's in Imperial rather than metric
units. And y'know what? I don't even know if
700[C|D|whatever] is in SI units -- the One, True
Metric System.

I even now derive pleasure from the ol' green-gold
spackle-ish Apollo paint jobs, even though they are
a bit '70s Kitch. At least it's more aesthetically
appealing than shag carpet, shag haircuts, panel vans
decorated on the inside like bordellos w/ CB radios,
and wide lapels & ties.


cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

Tom Keats wrote:
...
At any rate, 27" wheels are not dead yet.
Nor should they be. The only thing wrong with the
size: 27" is, it's in Imperial rather than metric
units. And y'know what? I don't even know if
700[C|D|whatever] is in SI units -- the One, True
Metric System....

27-inch is ISO 630-mm.
700C is ISO 622-mm.
700D is ISO 587-mm and is an abomination (orphaned proprietary GT tire
size).

Sheldon explains all: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
"People who had no mercy will find none." - Anon.

In article ,
Tom Sherman writes:
Tom Keats wrote:
...
At any rate, 27" wheels are not dead yet.
Nor should they be. The only thing wrong with the
size: 27" is, it's in Imperial rather than metric
units. And y'know what? I don't even know if
700[C|D|whatever] is in SI units -- the One, True
Metric System....

27-inch is ISO 630-mm.
700C is ISO 622-mm.
700D is ISO 587-mm and is an abomination (orphaned proprietary GT tire
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
size).

Must be appropriate for r'bents[*] ;-)


cheers,
Tom
[*] I feel too lazy to spell "recumbent" in full.
Aw heck, I just did.

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

============
I understand your point about the rims, but I've known people who
resurrected old bikes and did absolutely fine. I know of a lighter
weight Schwinn (not Varsity) from about 1985 and a Raleigh road bike
from about the same era. Both had decent quality Sun Tour components
and are being ridden happily. Chains and cogs weren't even worn. I
believe the Schwinn didn't even need new tires.
============

There is a world of difference between a 70s-era bike and what we saw in the
80s. There were a very few bikes of the earlier time period that would be
worth trying to make usable, and virtually none of them would be inexpensive
French bikes (be they Peugeot, Mercier or Motobecane, Raleigh anything with
a cheap cottered steel crank and chainrings whose teeth had to be
individually straightened was serious bad news) or Schwinn Varsitys.

There *were* some decent cheap bikes, the first that I came across being a
"Cal Clipper" imported by Merry Sales of San Francisco. That was the first
time I saw a Japanese bike that I wanted to sneer at (because it wasn't
French, so what do the Japanese know about bicycles?) but the more I worked
with them, the more I came to appreciate simple things like frames that were
in alignment, rims with parallel (not variable-width) sidewalls, brakes that
worked... oh my gosh, you could actually have those things in a $100 bike?
What a concept!

But any shop person who's been around for a while will remember
"affectionate" names like the "Raleigh Wrecker" (Record) and other period
pieces of trash.

The 80s generally saw a move to better-functioning equipment and the end of
cheap French stuff that worked marginally at best. No problem with the
better equipment from France, just the cheap stuff that required your best
improvisational efforts to make the stuff work.

Thank goodness it's probably been 5 years (maybe more?) since someone last
brought in a bike with a Simplex front derailleur... one with the simple
pushrod, housed in a plastic casing that broke if you even looked at it.
There was probably a 10 year period where I had to continuously educate new
mechanics that YOU DO NOT TOUCH THE TWO BOLTS THAT CLAMP THE DERAILLEUR TO
THE FRAME UNLESS YOU PLAN ON REPLACING THE DERAILLEUR!!!

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA


"Frank Krygowski" wrote in message
...
On Jul 12, 2:10 am, "Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:

The "story" isn't about 27" tires making some sort of a comeback. Rather,
it's about people taking old bikes out of the garage and wanting to ride
them again. A noble gesture, but most of these bikes are way past their
shelf life, and usually aren't worth bringing back to life. You could
spend a whole lot of money fixing up some of those old relics, and usually
still not have something as practical or comfortable as a common hybrid.

The most-common issue with the Schwinn Varsity, as seen a couple
times/week at the shop? People not understanding that the pressure listed
on the sidewall of the tire relates to installation on a decent-quality
rim with a hooked edge. The old Schwinns had smooth sidewalls on the rims,
and a tire rated at 90psi will likely blow out at 60psi.

I understand your point about the rims, but I've known people who
resurrected old bikes and did absolutely fine. I know of a lighter
weight Schwinn (not Varsity) from about 1985 and a Raleigh road bike
from about the same era. Both had decent quality Sun Tour components
and are being ridden happily. Chains and cogs weren't even worn. I
believe the Schwinn didn't even need new tires.

If many components are beat up, I could understand your judgment. But
surely, many bikes get barely ridden before their owners lose
interest. Do you see problems with those being resurrected?

- Frank Krygowski

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
most of these bikes are way past their shelf life, and usually aren't
worth bringing back to life. You could spend a whole lot of money
fixing up some of those old relics, and usually still not have
something as practical or comfortable as a common hybrid.

Yes indeed. Thousands of Trek and Raleigh and Bianchi double butted,
lugged, 531 frames. Relics.

Come on Mike.... you know a 1985 Trek is worth riding today. Heck... a
1985 Trek 520 or 620 is better than the stuff Trek's replaced them
with.

As I mentioned elsewhere, 1985 is very different from the 70s. And I wasn't
talking about bikes of the quality you bring up either. But even the nicer
bikes, well, they may be worth taking care of if they were yours or mine,
but the reality is that someone looking to bring them "up to speed" with
newer bikes... well, it just isn't going to happen for a reasonable price.
The typical person today is looking for a bike with a much higher handlebar
position than back then, and they're also typically looking for modern
shifting. Those two things are both difficult and expensive to accomplish on
an older machine.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA



"Will" wrote in message
...


Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
most of these bikes are way past their shelf life, and usually aren't
worth bringing back to life. You could spend a whole lot of money
fixing up some of those old relics, and usually still not have
something as practical or comfortable as a common hybrid.

Yes indeed. Thousands of Trek and Raleigh and Bianchi double butted,
lugged, 531 frames. Relics.

Come on Mike.... you know a 1985 Trek is worth riding today. Heck... a
1985 Trek 520 or 620 is better than the stuff Trek's replaced them
with.

"peter" wrote in message
...
On Jul 11, 11:10 pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:

The "story" isn't about 27" tires making some sort of a comeback. Rather,
it's about people
taking old bikes out of the garage and wanting to ride them again. A
noble gesture, but most of
these bikes are way past their shelf life, and usually aren't worth
bringing back to life. You
could spend a whole lot of money fixing up some of those old relics, and
usually still not have
something as practical or comfortable as a common hybrid.

Sounds like what a friend of mine was told by one LBS concerning his
mid-80s Cannondale. I suggested taking another look and now it sports
new 27" tires and a wider range crankset thanks to another LBS that
was more considerate and helped scrounge through their old parts bin.
He plans to ride it for his solo attempt in the next Furnace Creek
508. Should I really suggest that he use a hybrid instead?

But WHY 27" wheels??? If you're going to replace the wheels, very often you
have enough room in the brake pad adjustment to use 700c. Why wouldn't you?
It would make tire choice options so much easier.

I'm not against rescuing old bikes. But I don't understand why people don't
make more of an attempt to bring them up to modern standards when they're
replacing something (and it doesn't make a difference price-wise).

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA



"peter" wrote in message
...
On Jul 11, 11:10 pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:

The "story" isn't about 27" tires making some sort of a comeback. Rather,
it's about people
taking old bikes out of the garage and wanting to ride them again. A
noble gesture, but most of
these bikes are way past their shelf life, and usually aren't worth
bringing back to life. You
could spend a whole lot of money fixing up some of those old relics, and
usually still not have
something as practical or comfortable as a common hybrid.

Sounds like what a friend of mine was told by one LBS concerning his
mid-80s Cannondale. I suggested taking another look and now it sports
new 27" tires and a wider range crankset thanks to another LBS that
was more considerate and helped scrounge through their old parts bin.
He plans to ride it for his solo attempt in the next Furnace Creek
508. Should I really suggest that he use a hybrid instead?