1989Pre 

This tire I tried to install yesterday, and size-wise, the circumference is not even close to being large enough. It is probably from the 1980s, maybe one of IRC's first folding tires, and is so far-off, that I am wondering whether it was labeled incorrectly (is it a 26 x 1 1/4?) I had not previously encountered this type of situation. I might add that this touring tire is very robust (thick) and stubbornly refuses any shaping upon (attempted) installation on my Super Champion Gentleman. Do I just throw the tire out, or is there a way to re-constitute it?

Kabuki12

The color and texture of the tire tells me it has been stored appropriately but tires continue to change as time goes on . I have one set of Super Champion wheels that are extremely hard to get tires off and on but it is doable , even on the side of the road . The rest of my Super Champion wheels are very easy with minimal intervention with a tire tool. I have never heard of a tire shrinking but I guess it could happen. I have had to set folding tires in the sun before to make it easier to work with . I shape them in as close to circular as possible to get the folded areas to lay out.

1989Pre 

That is helpful. This is my first set of Gentlemans. I took the original tires off and threw them out. I had no difficulty getting them off. I wish I had another 27" tire, loose, that I could contrast it with, in regards to mounting on this rim.
The front Gentleman rim accepted a wire-bead IRC Roadlite High Racer tire with no problem. My Modele 58's have 27x1" wire-bead tires, and were very easy to work with. My 27" Constrictors were no problem to mount 27 x 1 1/4" wire-bead tires on, as well. I agree that the Handy Tour looks well-kept. It's hard to tell from the photo, but there is no way this tire is fitting on a 27" rim.

Johno59

If it it is a Sprint rim it will be 1/4 inch bigger than a regular 27 inch. There is a difference between a 27x1.25 tire and a 27x1 1/4 tire. Use a chart that lists the old 27 1 1/4 tire. You can force them or but you'll damage the bead.

1989Pre 

The Gentlemans are not sprints. Thanks, though. I did not know that about sprint rims. I have some 700c Nisi sprints on my Grubb, but they seated a tire just fine. This tire is about 4 inches away from clearing the rest of the rim when I have as much of it installed as I can. I think it was mis-labeled. I am going to see how it fits on a 26" Dunlop Endrick rim.

SJX426 

My first thought.

1989Pre 

Yeah, My '65 Hercules sports bike needs a new rear tire, so I'm going to try to set it up on that Endrick rim. I think some people are looking for a 26 x 1 1/4" tire, so maybe it'll work out.

sd5782 

Not arguing, but has anyone ever had a verifiable mis labeled tire? That would sure be quite the manufacturing defect.

wschruba

Hot patches, yes. Co-molded into the tire, no. A wrong hot patch is easy: someone picked up the wrong stack of patches, or a single patch from a different size run got thrown into the stack, but is otherwise identical in terms of dimensions.

Johno59

If you have a 700c rim, stand it next to the rim you are having problems with and see if there is a 4mm difference in height.
British sprint rims haven't been manufactured for nearly 40 years so they usually appear on the Raleighs from that era.

Kabuki12

I think your best option is to get different tires . I use the Panaracer tires for my 27” and most of my 700c tires. I have Gentleman wheels on a few of my bikes and run both folding and wire type bead. My 27” wheels are Rigida blue label and I think all my Gentleman wheels are 700c. It sounds like you were right with your assessment that the tire either shrunk or was mis labeled. Just for fun try those tires on a 700c rim?

1989Pre 

Yes, I agree. I will probably purchase some Pana-racers. I have not yet ridden on them before, but all I hear about them is good. I've actually had very good luck with wire-bead tires, and like them, as long as they are high-pressure and no more than 320-340g.

pastorbobnlnh 

Paul, almost two decades ago, as I was returning to cycling, IIRC, I picked up a pair of 27X1 or 1&1/8 IRC folding tires and encountered the same challenge. I believe I ended up mounting wired-on Panaracers on the same rims with no issues. So, it had to be the IRC tires.

1989Pre 

I have been using IRC tires since 1981, and this is the only one I have had trouble with, Bob, although I have not tried one of their early folding tires. I think the "clincher" here, is that it was the same type-and era as the ones you had a problem with: 27" folding. It looks like IRC may have had some difficulty making the transition from wired-bead to folding. Do you know if, when you bought them, they were already N.O.S? I tested the tire out today, to see if it would fit on a 26" (590) Endrick rim. It was, in-fact, too big, but to correct the flattened condition of it, I "mounted" it to the rim (minus the tube) with the use of heavy string, and hopefully, it can regain some of the desired shape. I'm going to leave it for a couple of weeks, and sometime in November, I'll take it off and try one last time to get it onto the 27" rim it is supposed to inhabit. If it is a "no-go" again, the project will remain a humorous question mark. I am aiming for a Pasela 27x1" and all the specs and reviews of that tire look good.I'm glad I wasn't carrying this tire in my satchel!