obrentharris 

I'd like to put together a town bike, but the nearest town of any size is 9 miles away. The most enjoyable routes to town are a combination of paved roads and dirt trails. The Bruce Gordon Rock 'N' Road tires, at 700c X 43, seem like just the ticket for towing a Bob trailer into town for groceries. Any suggestions for a vintage bike that will accept those tires? It will pretty much have to have cantilever brakes or v-brakes to allow easy removal and installation of the inflated tire.

I don't know enough about the various touring frames like the Nishiki Cresta, Specialized Expedition, Schwinn Voyageur, Raleigh Portage, etc. to know whether they will work.

Thanks,
Brent

bikemig 

More than a few old vintage touring type bikes do not take very fat tires. For the kind of commute you're looking to do, I'd pick up a vintage mtb with a rigid fork. There out there. They don't tend to cost much esp. compared to vintage road bikes esp. touring bikes. And they're very versatile. You can set them up with drops or with trekking bars and have a killer town bike. Go 26 x 1.5 or fatter; you'll be happy that you did.

clasher

My miyata 1000 might take 700x43 tires but I dunno if there would be any room left over for fenders... and there might be rub, depending. I imagine some of the early hybrids could take those size tires too. Most of the hybrids in the late 80s and early 90s had canti posts but some are spaced at 65mm so they don't place nicely (or at all) with modern cantilever brakes.

Wheels Of Steel

Accommodates 700x47s:

https://www.somafab.com/archives/product/saga

obrentharris 

Thanks bikemig. I considered an mtb but would rather avoid going that route if I can. 2 reasons:
1. I really prefer drop bars for anything except technical mountain biking. MTB frames tend to have longer top tubes so by the time you add drop bars your reach to the drops is pretty long. This works great for folks with long torsos but I'm exactly the opposite, long legs, short torso. (Imagine a reverse dachshund!)
2. The list of appropriate 26" tires with a semi-knobby tread in a 1.5 to 1.75 width is short and getting shorter every day.

Brent

fender1

Most Rivendell's will fit that without fenders. Most of the older road/touring frame won't take a tire that large. Tires that size were pretty much relegated to mountain bikes.

obrentharris 

clasher, thanks for the info about the Miyata 1000. Fenders don't matter to me so maybe that bike is a candidate. If you could measure for me when you get the chance I would appreciate it. I think that the distance from the dropout to the chainstay bridge may be a critical one.

Brent

obrentharris 

Wheels of Steel, fender 1,

Thank you both for the recommendations for newer frames that will do what I want them to do. I know Bruce Gordon and Black Mountain Cycles (both local to me) and quite a few other companies are now making exactly what I am looking for: I was just hoping to find something vintage that would work. Maybe this is a wild goose chase, but I figure if anyone knows, it will be the members of this forum.

Brent

KonAaron Snake 

I really don't think you need a 43c tire for dirt roads - any thing over 28c can handle that just fine.

mikemowbz

Not vintage, but if you're inclined to consider more or less classic-styled steel, the Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross frame would be just brilliant for your purposes.

Basic steel frame with long-ish chainstays, cantis, and clearance for 700x50, or very easily for those Bruce Gordons and fenders.

They're in your neck of the woods, too...just north of the Bay Area at Point Reyes station. There was a guy selling a used f/f/hs on the Paceline recently as well (62cm).

I was researching a 'cross/gravel bike purchase recently, and would've picked that one up if it has a TT a bit under the 60cm it stands at.

Probably more money that you're looking to throw at a grocery-getter, and not really a proper answer to your question, but thought I'd throw that out there. Well-reviewed by owners, and looks like a great all-arounder.

I feel like a lot of the vintage Japanese touring frames would be a stretch to squeeze in those Bruce Gordons (even w/o fenders).

EDIT: Nevermind, I see this conversation moved well along while I went to answer the door with the 'reply' window open! Excuse the irrelevance.

obrentharris 

I agree with you Aaron. I ride Challenge Grifos on my Motobecane and I can ride all day on good dirt roads with it. But its not so fun on the rocky trails near my house, especially with a trailer.
Brent

obrentharris 

Funny you should mention that Mike! Black Mountain Cycles is about 15 miles from my house. I was in there recently salivating over exactly that frame, but I am hoping to spend a bit less.

Brent

Reynolds 

My '90s hybrid frame has a lot of clearance with 700x37, probably would take 43 with fenders too. The front fender looks close, but that's because of the front rack.

obrentharris 

Thanks Reynolds. Do you know who made the frame? Clasher (above) also suggested looking into hybrids. Am I safe in assuming that most bikes marketed as hybrids have similar tire clearance?

Brent

KonAaron Snake 

Gotcha...I can't think of any vintage bike I've had that would take a 43c tire, and that includes my Koga, which is very similar to a Miyata 1000 (if anything it has wider clearance). Maybe a 650b conversion would get a bit more clearance? Might be tricky with cantis.

Sizzle-Chest

The 1992 Bridgestone XO-3 and the '93/'94 XO-5's came with 700x38's with clearance for fenders, and the catalog picture seems to indicate you could go much larger. Further, you should be able to locate either one for relatively reasonable price.

obrentharris 

I just spent a few minutes looking at hybrids on Craigslist and noticed that, by definition, they have upright bars. So I looked up the top tube lengths for a couple of new hybrids (Trek and Cannondale) and discovered that the top tube to seat tube length ratio is similar to mtb's, probably won't work for me with drop bars.


Thanks Sizzle-Chest. I'll definitely look into these!

Brent

Reynolds 

I don't know the brand, bought it used and repainted. Looked for help here for ID: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-ID?highlight=
Expert T-Mar said it was probably entry level, '89 or '90.

lord_athlon

A Raleigh super course would easily.

My 90 crosscut hybrid has 37's on it now with an inch to spare

CO_Hoya 

Would it be simpler to consider a 650b conversion, and use something like the Panaracer Col de Vie (650b x 38)?

Here's an old thread about frames suitable for such a move.

gomango

I go wide in deep, fresh gravel.

Also in sand.

If I know I will run into a section of sand, like along the river bottoms here, I let some air out for a little float.

Easy to pump up afterwards.

Casey has my Merckx right now and we are going to investigate whether Bruce Gordon's tires will fit in the stays.



If not, I'll likely go with Challenge Chicanes.



I just thought of this, but my Bruce Gordon could fit some really wide rubber as well.

Maybe not 700X40+, but just about anything else.

obrentharris 

I like that idea (other than the fact that I already own a couple pairs of perfectly serviceable 700c wheels and would have to buy new rims and spokes at a minimum), but what brakes would I use that would accommodate both the longer reach and the increased tire width? Cantilever bosses would be in the wrong place for the 650b rims and I don't know of a center-pull or side-pull that will open wide enough to allow a fully inflated 38mm tire to pass through. Suggestions?

Brent

kroozer 

My '92 Trek 520 has Ritchey 700x42 knobbies on right now, and there's plenty of room to spare.

CO_Hoya 

Tektro R559s are often recommended, there are others.

I have a pair lurking somewhere out in the shed, hoping to be re-used for such a conversion.

obrentharris 

I know the newer Bruce Gordon Rock 'n' Road bikes will accommodate the Rock 'n' Road tire and I have a sneaking suspicion your older frame will also. That would probably be my favorite solution, to find a used rock 'n' Road frame in a 58 to 59 cm at a reasonable price. I've been looking but they are few and far between. Patience is not one of my strong suits when I have a project in mind!
Brent