alanbikehouston

Not true, in any sense.

"Schwinn Approved" parts were parts that were tested in Schwinn's labs for durability and reliability. A "Schwinn Approved" part, in the 1950 to 1980 era, was a part that was superior in quality to the run of the mill parts used on other mid-priced recreational parts.

That is a different issue than Schwinn rims. Sheldon Brown does a good job of detailing the wide variety of rim designs that were used in the 1960's and 1970's. Schwinn designed some of its own rims, because the company engineers were fanatics about safety and durability. Some competing rim designs provided neither.

By 1975 or so, all of the bikes using 27 inch clincher tires in the USA were using similar rim designs, but the rims do vary in width. Schwinn rims designed for 27 inch road tires in the 1970's were designed for tires marked " 1 1/4" in width. (27 x 1 1/4). A tire marked (27 x 1 1/8th) will usually fit well on such rims. DO NOT use a super narrow tire though, such as a (27 x 1), as you may not get a good fit.

Folks sometimes assume that because a 27 x 1 1/4 size tire is marked 85 PSI or 90 PSI that it is a "soft" tire, compared with a 700c 23mm tire marked 140 PSI. That is not true. The 90 PSI setting is the level that provides a firm/hard tire under the weight of an adult rider. If you press your thumb down on these tires at a 90 PSI setting, the tire will be firm.

This is a terrific size of tire for recreational riders. It provides a bigger, better air cushion against rough pavement than the super-skinny tires used by racers and "pretend" racers. You can come backe from a fifty mile ride feeling better than when you started.



During the period from 1970 to 1985, about 70 million bikes were sold in the USA that used the (27 x 1 1/4th) inch tires. As a result, you can find these tires are hardware stores, at Wal-Mart and K-Mart, and a sporting goods stores. BUT, the best quality tires in that size are the Continentals that good bike shops stock. Far superior to the $10 Wal-Mart tires.