Originally Posted by
ilbarbaro
Folks,
I still have my ‘89 purple haze master. What do you think of converting it to a “gravel” bike? Can the frame and fork take it? Can the 600 brakes fit a wider tire like a 28 .. or more?
The widest, plushest tire I've been able to fit to my Ironman (Suntour GPX brake, but similar clearance issues) is the Continental Grand Prix Classic skinwall (available only in 700x25), and it will still rub the rear brake bridge slightly until it's worn in. The GP Classic has a raised center tread so it's slightly higher than some other 700x25 tires.
I speeded up the break in process on the indoor trainer. And it still scraped slightly whenever I'd ride through a puddle and pick up road grit. Well worth the effort. Great looking tires, very comfortable -- especially with latex tubes -- durable and reasonably puncture resistant. And I can mount them with my hands, no need for a bead jack or levers.
Next best are Continental Ultra Sport II. No clearance problems in 700x25, no need to break them in. Good tires for only around $15 each. However they are a huge PITA to mount without a bead jack. Get a Kool Stop bead jack and carry it with you when riding any size Ultra Sport II.
Like other folks I've considered converting my Ironman to 650b or something more stable in casual gravel rides, but haven't seen any cost effective way to do it. So I'm leaving the Ironman pretty much original. I already have a Univega 1990s mountain bike/hybrid converted for casual gravel rides.