mstateglfr 

I have an 87 Prelude frameset I am building up with the Exage Sport LX components which came on an 89 Schwinn 564.
The current wheels have 23s on them and they obviously fit. The 87 catalog shows 25s were on the Prelude(and the other Tenax bikes) so there will be room for 25s.

While the space between the stays is typically the suggested way to figure out tire size, I am more concerned about the brake bridge limiting the height of a 28mm tire.

So- anyone use 28s on their Prelude/Tempo/Super Sport? If so, what tire do you use(since tires vary in width and height etc etc etc)?


If 28s are too big, ill go to my default Clement Strada LGG 25s, but I thought this could be a good time to try something different.

tyler_fred

I have a wheelset that's mounted with 700c x 28 Kendas. This evening, I can easily mount the wheelset on my Tempo to verify clearance.

FYI_I ran this wheelset on my Cannondale SR500 for a very short while with no interference issues.

Lascauxcaveman 

1987 Tempo owner here: 28mm tires fit just fine.

Once when I decided to take it out for a day of gravel grinding, looking for the biggest tire I could get in there, I squeezed a 27" x 30mm Schwalbe HS159* on the back, but clearance limitations made me keep the 700x28 up front.

(*The HS159 is ambiguously labeled 28-32 630 (27" x 1 1/4") and it measures exactly 30mm wide on the the Weinmann RM19 rims I have them on)

mstateglfr 

Good news, thanks.
What 28mm tires have you run on your tempo?

Lascauxcaveman 

Here it is with the ol' standby Panaracer Pasela 700x28mm:


On these rims (Mavic Askium Race) they measure exactly 27mm wide, but you can see there's still gobs of room. And a bit more down between the chain stays. Some "28mm" tires will measure smaller than the Pasela, very few will measure larger, but the profile of the rim it's mounted on will make the same tire measure a little wider or narrower. At one time I also had some of those cheapie CST colored tires on different rims, I think they measured just bit narrower still.

mstateglfr 

thanks for the effort on the pics and all! I swear my brake bridge is closer to the 23mm tire than yours is on those 28 Panaracers, but its probably just the pic angle or something. Great to know this should work. The stock rims are probably 13 or 14mm inner diameter so whatever is mounted to them wont sit wide.
I am setting it up with a compact double using an old Sakae triple crank since the granny ring mounts are flush, it can be used as a road double too. This will by my creative experiment build for sure.

tyler_fred

Have you ever tried to fit a 32mm on your Tempo? I was just wondering if that would fit..

coolkat

On my '89 Prelude the limiting factor is the fork crown. It depends on the tire, as you can see below:
Gatorskin 700x28 fits (but crappy tire!)
Clement Strada LGG 700x28 does not fit
Michelin Pro4 Endurance 700x28 fits

Lascauxcaveman 

At your prompting, I just did. I pulled the wheels off my Grandis - Campy Gamma Strada rims wearing 32mm Paellas - and mounted on the Tempo, the front tire rubs a little on the bottom of front brake caliper. A relatively undersized "32mm" tire could probably squeak in there.

On the back, the 32mm fits with a enough clearance that I wouldn't hesitate to ride it that way, but it's maxed out, for sure. On these rims, the 32mm Pasela measures 30mm wide, pumped up to 90psi.

Maybe there was variable QC at the Greenville, MS Schwinn plant, and my brake bridge was mis-placed on the stays? Maybe mine is actually some other Tenax model that got sent out in Tempo livery? I'm wildly speculating here. Or maybe yours has more clearance than you knew. Be good of you to followup once you get chance to try cramming some larger tires on yours.

Chris Chicago

wonder how fat a 700c tire an 86 prelude would take given they came with 27in wheels

Tim_Iowa

I have an 88 Prelude; I picked it up for less than $100 as a project bike or flip. It was in original condition (still had the red brake lever hoods and white tape) but with a lot of miles on it (several RAGBRAIs, according to the seller).

On mine, a 28 mm tire on the rear rubs under the brake caliper. It's a Clement Strada LGG mounted on a Mavic Open Pro/Shimano 600 Tricolor wheel I had lying around. The front tire clears, but it's tight.

I'll measure the tire when I get home, and I'll double check that the tire nor the wheel has a hop that's causing the rub. But I'm disappointed in the limited tire clearance.

tyler_fred

Thanks Caveman! I'll steer clear from 32mm tires. Any debris picked up by the tire could prove to be disastrous.

coolkat

See my similar experience with the Strada LGG above--it's a big, fat tire.

seedsbelize 

Fyi, my 87 Prelude won't take 28mm Panaracer Paselas, but it will take 28mm CST

Hardrock23

I have an 87 Prelude and use 28s. They're Vittoria Randonneur tires

RiddleOfSteel

Good to know these all fit. I fit 700x32s (Bontrager RaceLite Hardcase tires) on my agressively-geometry'd Super Sport and they cleared the brakes+bridges with about 1.5mm to spare. Close, but it counts.

tyler_fred

You know the rules; pics or it didn't happen...

mstateglfr 

Ha, well this has turned into a funny thread as the same tire wont fit on seemingly similar(and identical in one instance) bikes.

Looks like Ill try some 28s, have a 50-50 chance of them working, and post some probably conflicting results when compared to others in the thread!


Appreciate the responses- I know its at least worth trying to get 28s on the bike.

RiddleOfSteel

Awww, man, RiddleOfSteel is slacking!

1984 Schwinn Super Sport. 700C wheels (newer Shimano Claris 8-10s, mostly black--great looking rims actually). Bontrager 700x32 tires.

Pictures go 1) front wheel - no brake cable/tension 2) rear wheel - no brake cable/tension 3) rear wheel - simulated (via my squeezing it) brake cable tension. You get another 1mm of clearance with the brakes set up ready to ride, which is nice. 1.5-2mm clearance in pics 1 & 2, almost 3mm or so in pic 3.

tyler_fred

That's tight. Are you running full pressure on the tires? Also, what's your rim width?

RiddleOfSteel

I'm in the 75 PSI range on these--so yes, full or running pressure. The tires as you can see aren't brand new, so that center strip isn't as tall as it could be (0.5mm or so less?). I've run 1mm of clearance (less than this) with 28C Conti's on my 3.0 Cannondale at full pressure and had no problems. I surmise this would be a similar situation. External rim width is 19.60mm.

tyler_fred

My rims are Sun Mistrals 22.48mm wide. What does your clearance at the chainstays look like?

RiddleOfSteel

I have about 3mm or so on either side of the tire. The tire gets pretty close (4-5mm) to the seat tube, and I have the axle adjusters set more forward in the dropouts. It's snug in there, but safely so. I don't even have to deflate the tubes to pop the rear wheel in, which is nice (and couldn't be said of my old Peugeot). With a wider rim, the tires shouldn't show to be that much wider overall. I experimented with this on a narrower rim and then a 24mm or so rim. I got a few tenths of a mm, IIRC. Kinda bummed it wasn't more noticeable!

tyler_fred

Thanks for the useful info.

Tim_Iowa

Yeah, it seems like Schwinn reduced the clearance of some of their road bikes over the years.
1) The early-80s Panasonic-built bikes seem to have more "classic sport-tourer" clearance, and 700 x 32 usually fits (helped by the original 27" wheels). I fit 700 x 28 tires easily on an '83 Super Sport 19" for my daughter.
2) Then, the Greenville MS-built (Tenax tubing) bikes had a bit tighter clearance, but still fit a 700 x 28.
3) For 1988, they tightened the clearance even further, and a 700 x 25 is the largest tire that fits.


I saw a NOS '89 Prelude (red/white/blue) at my local Trek shop (Hall bikes) the other day. I should have looked at the tire label, but they couldn't have been wider than 19 mm actual. Way too skinny!

This shop sold Schwinns until the bankruptcy, and they have a cool collection upstairs. It's not open to the public; we were up there for their staff party (my girlfriend works there).
I've been bugging them to at least do a picture session and setup a virtual museum on their website.
They also had a NOS '88 Premis, a NOS '80s Predator, and lots of other cool Paramounts, Raleighs, and vintage Schwinns. Many of them were family bikes (currently 5th generation owners), trade-ins, or just bikes that Bud (3rd gen) found over the years.


On my '88 Prelude, I swapped the 28 mm Strada LGGs for some used 700 x 25 Continentals I had lying around. They fit, with not much extra clearance.
I realize that I will probably ride this bike very rarely; 28 mm tires are already almost too skinny for my liking. I guess I should just tune it up and flip it.
My '88 Project KOM-10 MTB, on the other hand, is a gem that I will probably never sell.