Originally Posted by
machinist42
As someone who recently snagged an '84 Trek 620, I eagerly await the results of your research.
After reading your posting, I went and measured my Lotus Odyssey, and it can accommodate 42s, but not 48s. I know you were interested in the Miyata, but I haven't got one of those, yet.
With the exception of the recent 620 and an 80's Super Sport (which I had to buy as it was silly inexpensive, my size, and now I have a Super Sport from the 60's, 70's and 80's???), I have limited my focus on bicycles from The Long Ago, when Big Tires rolled the Earth. I'll have to have a look see whether my 71ish Gitane TdF can host 48s..?
I am disinclined towards 650B, for similar reasons.
If 42mm clinchers don't spark joy, perhaps 42mm tubulars would?
Thank you for sharing your experience and deep thought!
Is 42 the answer is the ultimate question.
"I try not to die" is still one of my favorite quotes. So apt, at all times!
It seems like a lot of vintage bikes, even "touring" ones of the '70s and early '80s, didn't have a lot of tire width accommodation, my '74 P15 Paramount included. But then...some did. So it's really a case by case sort of thing. I had a 1982 Miyata 1000 that wasn't too keen on anything above 35mm IIRC, but that was several years ago, and I was looking at 32s + fenders as a priority. Maybe it was fine for 38s or 42s even.
42s could be the answer. It's that number! Perhaps it could be that "critical mass" point where any size smaller just doesn't work (for me), but at a certain large enough size, it just works. For me, that point is somewhere above 38mm and below 48mm. And now that I have a taste for the biggest road size and the lowest (for my weight) pressure, I want to stay there. Anything less is a reduction in 'purity', and I've certainly experienced a lack of such with 33s and 38s. At least in Previous Riddle experience.
I will have to see... I have the 620 propped up against the couch, six feet to my left. Lots of time to admire, stare, and contemplate. Still looks cool. Crazy!