27 1 4" / 700c

[Alex11]

I'm currently doing up a vintage Philips racer into a nice single speed.

I need new wheels for it. The current wheels are 27 1 4" but ideally I want to use 700c ones because of source-ability and price. I need an O.L.D of 130mm, and finding a 27 1 4" single speed wheel that's in budget and has that O.L.D is virtually impossible.

Will 700c work?

Cheers all!

 

[fossala]

I thought they're the same.

 

[smutchin]

I replaced the 27" wheels on my old racer with 700C.

You will probably also need to replace the brakes - I used Alhonga deep-drop calipers. I don't use them any more since the frame died, so I would be happy to sell them on for a modest number of beer tokens if you're interested.

What are you planning to do gearing-wise? When I did this, I went from 5spd at the rear to 9spd. Not a problem if you have friction shifters but a good excuse to upgrade to STI at the same time if you have the budget.

 

[smutchin]

I thought they're the same.

Nearly but not quite. They're theoretically the same but in practice, 700C are slightly narrower diameter.

 

[Steve Malkin]

700c wheels will fit OK, but have a slightly smaller diameter than the 27 x 1 1/4, so you may need to replace your brake calipers with ones that have a slightly longer reach.

 

[Alex11]

I replaced the 27" wheels on my old racer with 700C.

You will probably also need to replace the brakes - I used Alhonga deep-drop calipers. I don't use them any more since the frame died, so I would be happy to sell them on for a modest number of beer tokens if you're interested.

What are you planning to do gearing-wise? When I did this, I went from 5spd at the rear to 9spd. Not a problem if you have friction shifters but a good excuse to upgrade to STI at the same time if you have the budget.

Thankfully I'm doing a single speed, so just a single speed freewheel screwed onto the rear hub.

 

[Alex11]

700c wheels will fit OK, but have a slightly smaller diameter than the 27 x 1 1/4, so you may need to replace your brake calipers with ones that have a slightly longer reach.

So they'll definitely fit! Great, thanks so much!

 

[Poacher]

I'm astonished that a vintage Philips with 27 *1 1/4 wheels would accept a 130 mm hub - 126 mm or even 120mm would be more normal.
Has it been cold-set for 130mm?

 

[smutchin]

Thankfully I'm doing a single speed, so just a single speed freewheel screwed onto the rear hub.

Cool. Another option would be to get a 27" rim and build your own wheel onto the hub of your choice - also economical.

 

[Alex11]

I'm astonished that a vintage Philips with 27 *1 1/4 wheels would accept a 130 mm hub - 126 mm or even 120mm would be more normal.
Has it been cold-set for 130mm?

I measured it and it seemed to come out at 130mm. I'll check again later.

 

[Alex11]

Cool. Another option would be to get a 27" rim and build your own wheel onto the hub of your choice - also economical.

I've never built a wheel before. Sounds good though. Is it tricky?

 

[Poacher]

I've never built a wheel before. Sounds good though. Is it tricky?

Building a rear wheel on a cassette hub is far from straightforward due to the amazing amount of dishing required, but building onto a fixed/single speed hub like this is certainly do-able, and very satisfying. (NB this one is spaced for 130mm, but adjustable for 120/126mm, according to Spa cycles, so would be easily movable to n+1 without worrying about different spacings). Plenty of info on wheel building on t'internet - I find Sheldon Brown's instructions comprehensive and user-friendly.

 

[Alex11]

Not sure I fancy it. Will most 700c wheels take a single speed screw on freewheel?

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

Not sure I fancy it. Will most 700c wheels take a single speed screw on freewheel?

Most 700c wheels, especially good quality ones with 130mm OLD, have cassette hubs, which you can convert to take a single cog with a spacer kit.

Purists would probably prefer not suffering the dish of a multi-speed cassette hub on a single speed/fixed, but then they would probably use track hubs for ss/fixed applications, which usually have 120mm OLD. You can modify a 120mm OLD hub to 126mm or 130mm by introducing spacers.

It seems to me the first thing you should do is to be sure what the frame's OLD is, and understand what wheel characteristics are you really after.

 

[smutchin]

I've never built a wheel before. Sounds good though. Is it tricky?

It requires a lot of patience and care but it's quite straightforward - especially if you follow the instructions in the Roger Musson book. The first wheel I built was a fixed/ss rear wheel with a double-sided hub, so no dishing. It's very satisfying too.

Will most 700c wheels take a single speed screw on freewheel?

Unlikely. You probably want a dedicated track wheel, though as RAFN says, you need to be careful about the OLN.

Again, building your own will increase your options. I got a double-sided 130mm OLN SS hub from On-One for my cross bike. That was under £20, iirc.