Bicicletta89

I think I’m gonna spring for the Panaracer Paselas in 27x1 for my 27 inch wheels.

Kinda thinking maybe I should’ve hint to 700c instead of spending money to replace my rear wheel with a 27. Wish I could use those Continental Grand Prix classics. In general, so many more 700c tires with a more subtle tread. I’m really not into chunky treads.

rustystrings61 

For a couple of years I’ve suggested renaming 27 x 1 1/4 “The Dirty Six-Thirty” - tire choices may be limited, but 27 x 1 1/4 Paselas at 70 psi are awesome!

bwilli88 

You all ought to try 635ERTO or 28" wheels and tires. 28x1 5/8x1 1/2 they cruise right along. I have 2 bikes with these installed.

The Golden Boy 

They used to make them with 120 TPI- but they don't make them anymore.

https://www.swifttire.com/hi-there/

It's interesting that I think that's the Loose Screws guy's bike. I thought he divested from all the bike stuff...

merziac

Many bikes that came with them are outfitted for them, especially the brakes, there can be other things that are a PITA to change as well.

One of the "Paramount" tenants can be "do no harm", many of the bikes that are original with them and are still original this far down the line need to stay that way to preserve them.

Case in point. 1958 Paramount,

Original wheels, including hubs and spokes.






And another Paramount, 75-6?

Original wheels laced to old Phil Wood hubs, likely very early on as this was fairly common back in the day.

merziac

Continental makes the Gatoskin and Hardshell in 27in.

I get great use out of them on several bikes including my rain/winter bike.

trailmix

Why can't we do both, it makes as much sense as the current hype sizing. We can use 30er for smooth road tires and Dirty 630 for more aggressive tires. I am all for making tire sizing even more confusing considering the BSD for 27" tires is larger than 27.5 and 29.

tkamd73 

1977 Trek TX900
I actually took apart the 700c wheels that were on the TX 900 I bought, Mavic Blue rims with Campy hi flange hubs, and used the hubs and some nos Super Champion 27in rims to build new wheels for the bike. Reason was simple aesthetics, bike looked better with 27in wheels. Only difference in ride, was in going from tubulars to clinchers, noticeable, but not gonna deal with gluing tires to rims. Gotta a good price for the rims from a fellow forum member.
Tim

Bicicletta89

That’s a rad bike. I’ve always loved that font and styling they use on the old Trek insignia. Great color combination too with the white blue.

tkamd73 

Thanks, I’ve been pretty happy with it. Not much of an issue finding good rubber for 27in rims, as you have probably realized by now.
Tim

Road Fan

1. Some of us prefer to keep some vintage machines in as original condition as possible or feasible and still take them out and enjoy riding them, the way the generation just before us could have, or the way we actually did when young.

2. In some cases, like some early Raleigh sportive club racers (I have a Rudge of this type), the rear spoking is 40 holes and the front is 32 holes. Such rims are hard to find in 700 as well as in 27 x 1 ¼, and to say "I have to have aluminum" just tightens the search more. You could build an alternative wheel on a 36 hole Sturmey-Archer rear hub and find a 36 hole front hub, but this Raleigh (as many) have special dropouts and axle nuts, plus the OLD is quite narrow front and rear. Basically a wheel swap isn't just a wheel swap.

3. Finally, some C&V bikes are not "rides," they're collectibles. In this group we have everything from "wouldn't that nice frame, older than I am, work great with 1x12!" to "this bike is historically important and I'm responsible for making sure that our descendants can see it as it was when new."

Road Fan

Now you're talkin'!

Velo Mule

If the bike came with 27" wheels and they are in good enough shape, whey would I change them. I even took a pair of wheels that had good 27" rims on it and re-spoked it with double butted stainless steel spokes.

As far as tire availability, it is good enough. I need an inexpensive tire for when I flip bikes and my lower performance bike, and a good tire for my current rides. They doesn't need to be 100 choices.

The Kenda K35 is inexpensive enough, available in gumwall so it looks right on a 70" or early 80's bike an rides well for a low to mid performance tire.

There are lots more choices for better performance tires. I can even get vintage looking skinwall tires. I will be ordering Pasela's soon.

If things came together where I didn't have 27" rims, and had to buy new rims, and the bike and calipers would fit 700c, then I would go that way.

My LeTour, Traveler and Continental all have 27" wheels. I don't have a bike with 700c wheels.

rustystrings61 

It occurs to me that this has been alluded to, but maybe not said outright, out loud - sure, there are more tires to choose from in 700C, but are they better choices? How many of those tires are specialized for a specific event kind of ride? Do I really need all those funky colors? Do I really need to spend $XXX on bike tires when I would be perfectly happy with the $xx variety? Does the greater number of potential choices of tires actually equal better choices in tires? How does that square with how people actually ride in the real world?

As far as bikes with historical content, it occurs to me that I went middle of the road 20-odd years ago when I was putting a Dawes Realmrider with a Sturmey FW back on the road. The original 32/40 27-in steel rims were badly rusted and pitted and pretty much unsafe. It was not such a high-dollar rarity that it required tracking down NOS rims, but it was still kinda cool and a lovely example of a British club bike. I could have rebuilt the wheels with 700C rims, but I got lucky and found some Mavic 27-in rims with the correct spoke holes, and my goodness was that a lovely bike to ride.

I learned several years ago that while there ARE more expensive tires, for the rides I do I am beautifully served by basic Panaracers in whatever size I need. I used to ride Rivendell's Rolly-Poly 700C tires on my Rivendell Road Custom. It was a revelation to realize that basic 27 x 1 1/4 blackwall wire bead Paselas at 70 psi don't really make me any slower, and they surely are comfortable.

sheddle

They're perhaps a boring tire choice, but I've never had any issues with the basic Conti Ultra Sports- they ride fine, and puncture protection is good enough that I've never felt a real need to opt for the Gatorskins.

Only downside: blackwall!

sheddle

It's maybe a silly complaint but enough old 27'' bikes are tourers that being able to use Compass/Rene Herse stuff would be really nice. To be honest I'm surprised they don't offer at least some 27s, since I imagine there's decent crossover between Rene Herse buyers and C+V bike guys.

thinktubes 

Because the metric system is just a passing fad.

Bicicletta89

I stayed with 27 for similar reasons given its whole geometry was designed with them in mind. Figured I’d hate to switch to 700c only to realize it no longer looked or handled the way I liked.

Boy do I wish the Continental Grand Prix Classic came in a 27 though. Oh well. I think the Paselas I’ve ordered will do just fine, especially considering the rave reviews they get here.

Murray Missile 

I've seen more people out riding bikes in my little hick town of 900 people than I've seen in the past 10 years combined. I've also had a lot of them coming to me to resuscitate their rusty, dusty old BSO's. I only charge them the price of the parts and enough to cover my cleaning supplies, lubricants and beverages. The nearest LBS is a 40 minute drive and they won't work on most of the bikes these folks have. I don't blame them either LOL.

T.W.O.

I second that! I have a late 60's Carlton Flyer that came to me with 700c wheels on it. The bike looks better with 27" wheels.

guy1138

This is 100% the case. Supply of 27" tires was so low all spring and summer I was buying out all the stock of Bell tires at every Walmart w/in 30 miles, just to keep my flip bikes moving.

RandolphCarter

Why did I switch? Because the rear hub I wanted (Shimano 105 5800) couldn't be found on any off-the-shelf 27" wheels. In my case, when I built up my Trek Elance 310 all I had was a frame, fork, and headset. I didn't need to worry about compatibility with other existing parts.

noglider 

Inertia is not always a bad thing. I picked up my 1971 Raleigh Super Course from the trash on my town's bulk trash day. I rebuilt it with wheels and components from my previous commuter bike. The previous bike had 27" wheels, and the Super Course originally had 27" wheels so it made sense. I hand built those wheels in 1983! I've rebuilt the Super Course many times. The rear wheel developed a flat spot or two from potholes. That wasn't a deal breaker. The rear axle broke and the freewheel came apart in a single incident. I found a donor axle and cones from another hub. Eventually this year (2020), I wanted to rebuild the bike entirely another time, and I decided to go with 700c wheels and a cassette hub. I didn't mind the 27" Pasela tires on the Super Course, so the tire selection wasn't the most compelling reason to switch, but I'm glad to have nicer tires now. The bike has Vittoria Voyager Hyper tires, wonderful tires that are now out of production.

branko_76 

I've been riding the Continental Ultra-Sports, both 27" and 700C for about 15 years, they ride great.

I prefer all black tires for my road bikes...

Kabuki12

I have 27" wheels on a few of my bikes. Are they any better or worse than 700c ? Not to me they aren't. I have no trouble finding nice tires for 27" wheels and they look great on my large frame bikes( I take a 25" frame). I have no desire to replace them for 700's . The 700c wheels are great too , I have them on a few of my other bikes. I don't change tires that frequently unless they are worn out and I rotate through a few bikes so tires last a while!