Replacing tires
 

I have a 1957 Sears roebuck womens bike 503473960
3222320 those r the digits off the frame I'm having trouble with the tires I bought 27.5 tires they were too tight then I bought 28 inch tires they r too big is there a different size I'm not aware of

I’m going to guess it takes 590mm/EA3/26 x 1 3/8” tires. Do the rims have any markings that might indicate size? Do you still have the old tires to see what they’re marked?

Hello welcome to the forums! We have a great group with a vast reservoir of bike knowledge but sometimes we need you to help us.

Is this a three speed bike or or 10 speed? Was there any markings on the old tires? Any markings on the rims?

no tires were on the rims when I got the bike no markings on the rims

I think it's just regular I'm not really knowing I do know th err say res no detailer or anything just a regular back rim with the brakes and the freewheel gear I cant say that they belong to this bike but they sure appear to b

There r 36 spokes on the rim and I'm going to do my best ty o measure the rim rite now looks like 24 inches across the center

You may find this helpful:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

Sheldon really knew his stuff, and I had the privilege of meeting him when I was on business in Boston. He is gone (far too early, in his 60s, from M.S.), but fortunately his website lives on.

So the 27.5s you tried were probably ISO 584, and the 28s were probably ISO 622. This bike most likely then had tires which would have been marked 26 x 1&3/8 . The two standards of that size at the time were for Schwinn S-6, which is now ISO/ETRTO 597, and the one found on English three-speeds, which is now ISO/ETRTO 590.

So from your description it post #4, it sounds like this is either a single-speed or three-speed bike. Does it say "Made in ......." anywhere?

BTW, you can spell out your words here. This is not a chat with a post size limit. And it's not ephemeral; people will be referring back to the information on these threads for decades to come. Readability is more important than brevity.

As on sheldon brown page above.

measure the rim diameter in mm.
subtract about 10mm and that is your rim size.

I believe it was made in Austria