Vintage Lightweights with Twenty-six-inch Wheels?
04-30-16, 05:10 PM
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Vintage Lightweights with Twenty-six-inch Wheels?
I was over at Nikilgariff, and was looking at an advertisement for the 1936 F. H. Grubb Anglo Continental.
https://www.nkilgariff.com/FGcats/Gru...ontinental.gif
It indicates that one could purchase the bike (or frame) in a size for 26" wheels.
I was just wondering if that option was at all common on European racers?
https://www.nkilgariff.com/FGcats/Gru...ontinental.gif
It indicates that one could purchase the bike (or frame) in a size for 26" wheels.
I was just wondering if that option was at all common on European racers?
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Last edited by 1989Pre; 04-30-16 at 05:27 PM.
04-30-16, 06:12 PM
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Yeah, there was a fair amount of that going on. I'm probably not remembering this story right but it might have happened when Dunlop developed the hooked bead and introduced the EA1 as a sportier alternative to the 28" singletubes that everyone was using. A 26x1 1/4 actually has a larger diameter than a skinny tubular or 700.
04-30-16, 06:38 PM
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Wow! You learn something every day! (or should, anyway...) I knew that the old 3-speed internal hub bicycles used a 26" wheel, but I did not know that the racers were available in that size, too.
I don't know what an EA1 is, and I am unfamiliar with the word "singletube".
I can imagine that these 26" racers would be just-the-thing for path racers.
Dunlop invented the clincher rim?
Very nice example, there, in the photo. (Quite long stays, I see).
I don't know what an EA1 is, and I am unfamiliar with the word "singletube".
I can imagine that these 26" racers would be just-the-thing for path racers.
Dunlop invented the clincher rim?
Very nice example, there, in the photo. (Quite long stays, I see).
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Unless you climb the rungs strategically, you’re not going to build the muscle you need to stay at the top.
Unless you climb the rungs strategically, you’re not going to build the muscle you need to stay at the top.
04-30-16, 06:56 PM
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in late 1946 Hobbs of Barbican were still using 26" rims, these ones are the original Conloy Asp rims
it was towards the end of their use as set out at Wheels for 1945-60s classic lightweights
as I understand it, a long wheelbase gave a better ride over the poor quality roads.
it was towards the end of their use as set out at Wheels for 1945-60s classic lightweights
as I understand it, a long wheelbase gave a better ride over the poor quality roads.
04-30-16, 08:01 PM
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EA1 is 26x1 1/4 or 597. More common these days is the EA3, 26x1 3/8 or 590. Fact check me before you spread that Dunlop bit around. Here's a good read;
Tire Sizing Systems
Tire Sizing Systems
05-01-16, 08:18 AM
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Great bike, Big, and thanks for the info. Sail: I am going to put 1.25" tires on my 26" atb. It should be interesting.
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Unless you climb the rungs strategically, you’re not going to build the muscle you need to stay at the top.
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05-01-16, 09:20 AM
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in late 1946 Hobbs of Barbican were still using 26" rims, these ones are the original Conloy Asp rims
it was towards the end of their use as set out at Wheels for 1945-60s classic lightweights
as I understand it, a long wheelbase gave a better ride over the poor quality roads.
it was towards the end of their use as set out at Wheels for 1945-60s classic lightweights
as I understand it, a long wheelbase gave a better ride over the poor quality roads.
05-01-16, 09:22 AM
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1938 Raleigh Record Ace on Cape Cod Rail Trail.
05-02-16, 05:55 AM
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The phrase "26 inch wheel" is pretty ambiguous. I have bikes with five different rim sizes that are all "26 inch wheels." That said, if you went into a bike shop and asked for a bike with 26" wheels they would most likely show you something with 559 mm rims, which is the smallest size called 26". As far as I know, no bike factory has ever produced "vintage lightweights" with that size rim.
English bike frames from the 30's to the late 50's were sized to fit any wheel size between 26 x 1 3/8 (AKA 650a, AKA EA3) up to 27 x 1 1/4. For "Lightweights" the most common size was 26 x 1 1/4" (AKA EA1).
Dunlop introduced the 27" clincher rim and tire in the 1930's and by the 1960's that size had become standard. At that time the standard tubular size tubular tire was called 27" or 28" more or less interchangeably.
English bike frames from the 30's to the late 50's were sized to fit any wheel size between 26 x 1 3/8 (AKA 650a, AKA EA3) up to 27 x 1 1/4. For "Lightweights" the most common size was 26 x 1 1/4" (AKA EA1).
Dunlop introduced the 27" clincher rim and tire in the 1930's and by the 1960's that size had become standard. At that time the standard tubular size tubular tire was called 27" or 28" more or less interchangeably.
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