Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Myth Busted "There are very few options for 27 inch tires"

On one of the bike mailing lists I frequent a gentleman was building up a old school mixte for his lady friend and wanted suggestions for 27 inch tires, in response several well meaning folks mentioned that there were "very few options" for 27 inch tires.  On other bike forums I have seen this expressed by members urging people working on old 10 speeds to convert them to 700c wheel-sets "so you have tire options".  Now I do not dispute that 700c tires have a tremendous variety of widths and options BUT as one who has spent way too much time searching online for tire deals I can tell you  the 27 inch tire cupboard is far from bare.

Sizes

You basically have 4 widths to choose from for 27inch tires from a 25c narrow width to 37c fat width -see options below


27  inch size  ISO 700c equivalent
27 x 1 630x25 25c
27 x 1 1/8 630x28 28c
27 x 1 1/4 630x32 32c
27 x 1 3/8 630x37 37c

Brands

There are a bunch of companies making 27 inch tires including;  Avenir, Bell, Cheng Shin, Continential, Kenda, Michelin, Panaracer, Schwable, and Vittoria to name the big ones.  Just do a search on Amazon and you will see for yourself.

Price Range

You can spend $8 a tire for some Cheng Shin gumwalls or $36 a tire for Continental gatorskins and every where in between.

Options

You want a traditional gumwall, my favorite, you have choices in every size.  I personally like the Kenda K35 which is a great looking tire, sturdy and a very good bang for the buck.
You want a lighter tan than the gumwall but not quite a whitewall then go with a skinwall like the Kenda K36
You want to "pimp your ride" with cool white walls - no worries check out the Schwalbe HS159
Like a more modern stealthy all black look - your covered with something like the Vittoria Zaffiiro


You like color matching the side walls or treads to your bike?  your covered- check the selection from Junky Rusty Bikes
You want something knobby for cyclocross of just winter commuting check out the Kenda K161 I put on the Tiger rebuild


Conclusion

So if you want; skinny or fat, colored or black, hip or retro, road or cross, you have choices with 27 inch tires.  Don't get me wrong 700c is a great size with tons of options just don't convert your old school 10 speed to a modern wheel size out of the misguided notion that there aren't many options for the old school 27 inch tires.  That's just a myth..  As Always....

Ride.Smile.Repeat.
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7 comments:

  1. I converted Little Miss Dangerous to 700c more out of consideration for the drive train than for tire selection, and I left the front tire at 27" for a year or so after converting the rear. Truth be told I miss the 27 inch front, it looked cool and I will always be convinced that a 36 spoke low-flange 27" tire is smoother than any other.

    For some reason the Panaracer tread in 700c does not match the same tire in 27". That little detail is why I put a 700c on the front during her transformation from Me Little Darlin' white bike to the Black Shadow...

    But one day I will buy a nice 27" front wheel with 36 14g stainless spokes and mount the fattest 27" tire I can find and convert her back to her old hybrid ways.

    Ryan: what do you think the future holds for the availability of the 27? I think the reason there is such a good choice right now has something to do with the fixie thing and should that fad(?) fade, what then? (Although if all those hipsters start selling their bikes for pennies on the dollar we will have a heyday converting them back to their original glory, won't we?)

    Are their any after market 27 inch wheels you have used?

    tj





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    1. Hey TPC, I think in the immediate future that there will be plenty of tires, tubes, chains and even rear derailleurs for old ten speeds. First of all, like old school air cooled VWs there are so damn many of them made that there should see a demand/Market for things like 27" tires. Jim Thill an LBS owner in Minneapolis (www.hiawathacyclery.com) posted once that in 2008 with the economic downturn and spike in gas prices alot of OTS came out their hiding places and the demand for 27" tires skyrocketed and as a result almost all the tire manufactures now have at least one 27" offering.

      For 27" wheelsets I have been fortunate to be able to reuse existing wheelsets or get them used from Bikeworks, however, there are number of them on Amazon and you can also get them from www.bikeman4u.com who have their own built with quality parts. I would look for Aluminum rims, stainless spokes and a decent hub, something like this -http://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Master-Weinmann-LP18-Set/dp/B0040DRGB4/ref=pd_sbs_sg_8. Cheers brother

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  2. I hear ya. This is the same thing that happens when someone finds an old British three speed that takes 26" x 1 3/8" aka 650A aka ISO 590 tires and asks about tire selection on an internet forum/mailing list. People will say there is "no tire selection", despite the fact that all the tire makers you listed above make one or two or sometimes three tires in that size. Nope, the doubters will quickly convince anyone listening to convert it to 650B because of "better tire selection". But better here doesn't necessarily mean "a bigger selection", just that the tires made in the 650B size are usually higher-quality (and higher-priced) tires. There are no $10 CST or Kendas in the 650B size, as far as I know, but 650A can be found in the Wal-Targs of the world.

    That being said, I can see two perfectly good reasons for 27" to 700C conversion. The first would be for fenders, as the smaller diameter of the 700C tire can make fender installation on older road bikes a lot easier. The other is you can get 700C tires wider than 37mm wide, thanks to mountain bikes and the desire for fatter tires in general. Of course, that probably won't help with old road bikes, as there won't be enough clearance to go much fatter than 37mm.

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    1. Hey Adventure thanks for stopping by, I agree with your reasons for going to 700c, I have been able to get fenders with standard 27 x 1 1/4 tires on a number of old 10 speeds but I agree the more room you have to work the better! I think the limiting factor for most old 10 speeds is the width of the rear chain stays, I just measured an early 70s Raleigh Record I am working on and it comes in just shy of 40mm according to my calipers. If your going for fatties a 650b might be a better option than 700c for an old 10 speed. Personally I have come to like fat tires but I think I could live with 630x37c on an old 10 speed (minus fenders).

      Cheers

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  3. Hey Ryan,
    Well done :) You have included all my favorites Kenda, Panaracer Michelin, Continential and then some. Just remember to match those ISO numbers as well. I remember learning that one the hard way.
    Cheers

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  4. Hey Hugh thanks for stopping by and I agree checking ISO is key especially when you are dealing with funky sizes like English 3 speeds or Schwinn specific tires etc I once bought some 3 speed specific tires thinking I was buying MTB tires because the description said 26 inch....

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  5. lol.... been there and done that :)

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