Road Bike tyres

[boybiker]

I have got my hands on an old road bike , i couldnt tell you what gear set etc but it rides nicely. The only trouble is the tyres are very old so i could do with a new set and while I'm at it i will replace the inner tubes as well, as I'm guessing there pretty old too. On the tire wall it says 27 x 1 1/4 but when i look at tyres they are all 700 x XX so I'm slightly confused what ones i need and the same goes for the inner tubes that i need.

Please help me

 

[mickle]

27 inch is the old British standard for tyres which was replaced by 700c, the continental standard. The last ever bike to be made with 27" wheels was around 1986 which shows how old your bikes is!

You can still get 27s, ask your local bike shop to order you some Schwalbe tyres in that size.
Luckily, 27X1 1/4 and 700X28c are so close in diameter that the inner tubes are interchangeable so you'll have no trouble finding some in any cycle shop.

 

[boybiker]

27 inch is the old British standard for tyres which was replaced by 700c, the continental standard. The last ever bike to be made with 27" wheels was around 1986 which shows how old your bikes is!

You can still get 27s, ask your local bike shop to order you some Schwalbe tyres in that size.
Luckily, 27X1 1/4 and 700X28c are so close in diameter that the inner tubes are interchangeable so you'll have no trouble finding some in any cycle shop.

Thanks like i said it rides nicely but to be fair i have nothing else to compare it to, although i have enough in the way of gears for hills etc and is 10 speed . So could i use 700x 28c tyres or does it not work like that?

Thanks for your help i didn't realize how old the bike was!

 

[mickle]

27" tyres and wheels are not compatible with 700c tyres and wheels.

Inner tubes on the other hand, being rubber and flexible, are interchangeable as long as the cross section is a similar dimension.

A 27"X1" tyre for example will happily accept a 700X25c tube. A 27"X1 1/4" tyre will accept a 700X28c tube and so on. It'll tell you on the box that the tube comes in.

 

[RedBike]

27" wheels are larger than 700c.

 

[RedBike]

It's also worth double checking that they are 'clincher' tyes. That is the inner tube is seperate from the tyre

 

[mickle]

Iv'e never seen a 27X1 1/4 tubular.

 

[upsidedown]

My late 70's Galaxy has 27 x 1 1/4, easy enough to get hold of tyres. CRC do Schwalbe Marathons in that size, i got mine from there, 2000 p free miles ago

 

[Liddington]

Hi Boybiker,

I run a 1973 Dawes Galaxy and I too have 27 X 1 1/4 wheels. There isn't a great deal of choice in tyres for these but the modern equivalent size you need is 32 - 630. There is Schwalbe as previously pointed out or there's Vredestein which are the ones I use. There may be others which I'd like to find out about myself. In my ignorance I once tried to squeeze a 700c type tyre on and I can proudly confirm it's impossible!

 

[Ivan Ardon]

Wiggle, Chainreaction and SJS all still list tyres in 27 x 1 1/4. Marathons are good tyres, but heavy-ish. Of course that may not matter on an old ten speed, but there are lighter options available.