Roger M

Question for any of you that own/owned an Expedition:

What is the largest tire that will comfortably fit on these bike(with and without fenders)? I have done some searching and some folks have said 35s with fenders is about it? Can anyone confirm this?

I don't have the bike yet,, but I'd like to get an idea so I can get some tires ordered.

Thanks in advance for any help here.

picture for attention

gugie 

If that's the bike, guessing it's for your son?

thumpism 

Wait until you have the bike. I think they came with 27 x 1 3/8 back in the day.

Roger M

That's not the bike, Mark. However you are correct in that the pictured bike will be Thomas's project. The tires on it are original to the bike, I believe..

Roger M

I found a 1985 Specialized catalog posted on retrobike. The 700x35 tires posted in my reply to gugie above, are what they came with.

27" wouldn't have been the end of the world though. I have a nice set of 27" 'touring' wheels. And that's another thing I will have to come up with, 700c wheels to handle a load.

badger_biker 

I’m currently running Schwalbe Marathons at 35 on mine with fenders but it will fit 38’s. I even had some 41’s on it but the little nubs on the sides of the tires would hit the rear chain stays. The 38’s were Specialized Nimbus and I cant remember what the 41’s were.

Roger M

Thanks for the information. Unless someone else says otherwise, I'll order some 38 Gravelkings.

Kobe 

I have an '85 Expedition that I was just playing around with last night to figure our this same question. I was able to get a 700x41 in the front on 15mm wide rim, but a 43mm Rock N Road wouldn't fit. The rear looks like it will go a bit larger.

I was also playing around with different brake's too because anything I tried besides the original canti's would cause the brake pads to rub against the fork and the tire would be a tight fit to get in. I may try Tektro 720's from another bike and cut down the pads because the have a similar design to the original Deore-XT's.

polymorphself 

Without fenders?

Markeologist

I have a set of NOS Specialized Expedition tires that are 27 1 3/8. Not for sale.

Kobe 

NO, but I did try it with the original wheels and tires(yes, mine still had the originals tires) and fenders will fit with 700x35.

Roger M

Thanks Kobe

I found a pair of 38 Gravelkings for $65 shipped. I have some hope they will fit with fenders. Fwiw, I had some rocknroads a few years back. They wouldn't fit in a Miyata 1000 either.

Out of curiosity, why don't you want to use the original cantilever brakes?

Kobe 

Gravelkings in 38 are the sweet spot for me. I have them on my Clockwork and find them great both on road and on gravel trails, I guess that's how they got their name. 2000+ miles and still holding up well.

I may try to clean up the original canti's and use them. My Expedition looks like it sat unused and possibly outside for a long time, so they are pitted pretty bad. After battling a stuck stem and stuck seat post I was hoping to take the easy route and just switch to more modern brakes I already had.

Roger M

I took a chance on that frame posted in the classifieds. At 68cm, it is 3cm bigger than the biggest bike I own. I took some measurements, and am pretty certain I can make it work.

Kobe 

Welcome to the land of truly giant frames of 66cm+. For the price he was asking I considered buying yours and just giving up on mine with the stuck seat post. These 2 frames were probably made with in an hour of each other but yours most definitely has had a better life.




Looking forward to seeing how you build this up. I am planing on doing mostly a parts bin build as a bad weather bike.

Roger M

Is there any record of how many 68cm frames were built that year? Can't be too many of these monsters...

I'm sure you already know the drill on stuck posts. Maybe it's time to cut it out? Heatgun? Good luck.

If I can stand over it without any issues.. then I think I can make it work.

I'm digging through my parts bin for this as well. I also have that other small Expedition in the top photo. They will both get back on the road this Spring. This might be my first foray into the dynamo world...

The Golden Boy 

There were also Specialized Expedition 27 x 1 3/8” tires.

Roger M

I see that, Golden Boy(from Markeologists post above). Were the early models (1983) equipped with 27" wheels?

I found a catalog scan for 1985, and it shows 700x35 Specialized Expedition tires as OE.

Kobe 

1) Soaked in PB Blaster for a month.
2) Heat and cold.
3) Oxalic Acid for 3 days.
4) 4' Pipe wrench.
5) Slide hammer.
6) Sawzalled it out this past weekend. Success but damaged the frame a little because it wouldn't budge. Still ride able but it will never be a show queen.

The Golden Boy 

Sorry, missed that!

I had acquired a 27" Modele 58/Avocet wheel set with Specialized Touring (27 x 1 1/4) and Expedition tires.

The Golden Boy 

You might want to read up on some of the '27 to 700c' conversion threads. A lot of people have had trouble with old bikes and Tektro 720s- they have a sort of 'retro' look to them, but they're designed for the much wider spacing that became the standard- as such, they don't work with a lot of bikes- either for a bike that's designed with 27 or 700c- or a conversion thereof. (does that make sense? so even if it's a bike designed for 27" it won't work for 27 or 700c.)

But you can always try- especially if you've got the brakes on hand.

I "like" the MC-70 brakes, but I like the later MT62 and M732 brakes much better.

MC70M732MT62 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

Kobe 

Sometimes it's easier to just Google the solution. Looks like RiddleOfSteel ran into this problem last year and had a Gugification done to the front fork to fit Tektro 720's,but the back was fine.

Specialized brake conversion


Looks like I'll be polishing the Deore-XT's.

Roger M

Well that sucks. Good to hear that it finally came out though. I destroyed an Ironman frame ten years ago, trying to cut out the seatpost. 'Accidentally' drove a screwdriver through the seat tube while removing pieces of the post.

Please keep us posted on your progress with the Expedition rehab.

My ultimate goal for M582770:

'How to make a ginormous bike look just big'

Kobe 

Roger M Can you confirm the seatpost size is 26.8? I destroyed mine getting it out and ordered a 26.8 based on searching the web. The 26.8 seams a touch too big even though I though I cleaned up all of the corrosion on the inside of the seat tube. Thanks.

polymorphself 

This person reports that they needed to modify their fenders to fit 38s: https://www.google.com/amp/s/myfavor...on-review/amp/

This person is running 32s but says 35s will likely fit: https://www.google.com/amp/s/myfavor...on-review/amp/

So it seems 35 is the max with fenders.