eeuuugh

I'm slowly souping up my girlfriend's Schwinn Collegiate. It's got three-piece cranks now, and one dual-pull caliper! The last step is to build a decent wheelset. Unfortunately 26x1 3/8" 36 hole cr18s seem to be out of stock everywhere. The bike originally had ISO 597 rims, and the brakes will absolutely not accomodate 650b rims, unfortunately. Does anyone have other suggestions for ISO 590 rims? Or know of a bike shop with a set of 36-hole 590 cr18s stashed away? I'd like to stick with 36 hole so I can use the original front hub, which is a nice Japanese made Schwinn-approved model, better quality than any modern 5/16" axle 95mm spaced hub I can find. Thank you!

RustyJames 

Oh, you mean like these….

nlerner

Interestingly, the 40-hole version seems to be available: https://www.modernbike.com/sun-ringle-590-26-inch-rims

52telecaster

Terrific with a 40 hole aw.

gna

Is this Collegiate a 3-speed, or a 5-speed with a derailleur? If a 3-speed, you could always get a 40-hole SA hub and a 40-hole CR-18 rim for the back wheel.

I bought a set of 36H 590 CR-18s from Modern Bike a couple of years ago. I had to wait a few weeks for them to get back in stock.
You could email some of the sellers and see if they have any idea when they will see stock again.

Velo Mule

@eeuuugh you happen to be hittin' this project at the exactly wrong time. CR-18 rims are good rims, but my guess is with demand for everything, they are making the more popular sizes first.

SJS Cycles is in the UK is often a good source for Sturmey Archer and other English bike components. I don't know what the shipping will be, but I do know that several members here use them.

Kinlin 26" x 1-3/8" rims, 36 holles

I also don't know much about Kinlin rims.

The Yellow Jersey can also be a good source of parts for English type bikes as well. Here is a link to their website. The Yellow Jersey

You might need to call them to see what they have.

Aluminum rims can make a big difference on these Collegiates and Racers. And you have far better tire availability too.

We are going to need pictures soon.

eeuuugh

Exactly, as long as they're 36 hole! Send me a pm if you're interested in letting go of them.

eeuuugh

It was originally a Collegiate Sport 10 with a Shimano front freewheel system! I'm planning to build a singlespeed rear wheel.

Velo Mule

I've said this before on another thread, I like this tire size. It is not too big, not too small has a good width that serves well as a road tire. This is why it was used on millions of bikes in England, Holland, Japan and the US. Perhaps in 20 years, this will become the hot new wheel size.

Perhaps in 20 years some hipsters will start a trend riding bikes without any batteries.
@eeuuugh we are going to need pictures of this Hot Rod Collegiate.

eeuuugh

Ask and you shall receive:


Front wheel is the original Schwinn ISO 597, rear is an ISO 590 replacement. The dual-pull caliper in the back has about 1.5mm more reach than the original brake did, and the pads are bottomed out to reach the rim.

I like this wheel size too! Sheldon Brown's website isn't loading for me right now, but there's an article on there about gravel touring in Alaska in the 1970s on 26x1 3/8" wheels. 650b is definitely beating it for rim and tire availability right now, but 650b rims are just too short for this frame.

Velo Mule

That looks great @eeuugh .Thanks for the pictures. Aluminum rims are the next step with this hopped up bike. I like the pedals. They look like MKS touring. It looks like you could shift across all 5 (I'm guessing here) and then shift the front to get the other 5 gear ratios. Is that correct? If so, that works.

Hey, what front derailleur is on there? I would have to think it must be from a Varsity, Continental or Suburban because of the skinnier than normal seat tube. Or did you shim it?

I had riser handlebars like those on a Schwinn World and I like them more than I thought I would.

Good job.

Edit: Oh, I see. It started life as a 10 speed. Good idea ditching the front freewheeling system and going this direction.

eeuuugh

An update on this bike:

I completed the rear wheel and converted the bike to singlespeed last summer, but I had a hard time finding an appropriate front hub at a reasonable price. After I finally laid hands on a 36 hole Black Ops front hub to match the rear, my girlfriend mentioned she would like a headlight like mine... I laced up a Nexus dynamo hub salvaged from a defunct bikeshare operation and bought a B&M IQ-XS. The new front wheel and headlight finally went on the bike this past Friday. She loves it Many thanks to RustyJames for passing the rims along!

RustyJames 

Fantastic! I’m glad they found a good home and I hope you’ll get many miles of use out of them.

52telecaster

What a useful bike that has become!