Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - 27 1/8 vs 27 1/4

I built my first single speed (not fixed) the bike is an old Fuji it originally came with 27 1/8 wheels, the spokes are all rusted so I replacing the wheels. The only wheels I can find are 27 1/4 is there that much of a difference ? The fat tire is kinda look goofy on the 27 1/4.

Let me ask this can I mount a 27 1/8 tire on a 27 1/4 rim. If I do what are the on consquences if any ? Any feed would be greatly appreciated

you can mount 27 x 1/8th tires on those wheels, your better bet is to move to 700c wheels if you can, you'll have a better choice of tires and room for fenders if you want them

Yep, bet a 700c wheelset is the 27"s are toast.

Yep, bet a 700c wheelset is the 27"s are toast.

Say again, over?

You can totally put skinnier tires on there, but sometimes it looks a little weird. You don't have the same latitude with tire widths as you do with 700c.

If you are going thorough the trouble of swapping out the wheelset, consider moving to 700c. you have a wider range of tire choices and rims. Just make sure your brakes will reach.

Say again, over?

Sorry. That's what happens when you post when blitzed. I meant to say, get the 700c's if the 27"s are toast.

Yes, it will fit fine. But if you want a reference for rim width/tyre width recommendations, go to this page:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tyre-sizing.html

Measure the inside diameter of your rim and see how it looks in regards to the chart at the bottom of the page. By the way, 27 x 1 1/4 is approx. 32mm wide, and 1 1/8 is 28mm.

In regards to the 700c vs 27", I am in favour of 27"s all the way!! In fact, I am in the process of changing my 700c bikes over!! Sure there's only a couple of rims to choose from but I'm happy with those choices. And the bigger the diameter (albeit 8mm) the better as far as I am concerned. I think they look much better.....

I agree with Wotan. Go with 27" wheels. Older frames will accomodate this wheel size + fenders. 700c wheels just dont look right on old frames, unless you use really big tires to fill up all the extra space and to keep the BB at its intended height. I have a custom set of 27" wheels with Sun CR18 rim and Surly hubs on my old conversion. With those wheels I've used Panaracer Pasala Tourgards and Continental Ultrasports, both 27x 1 1/8. Both tires performed really well. For what its worth, the continentals are slightly fatter than the panaracers and they just barely fit under my narrow planet bike road fenders.

700c wheels just dont look right on old frames
You must have some eyes, because I sure as hell can't see the 4mm difference in radius. I think my 27" bike looks fine on 700c's, personally.

You must have some eyes, because I sure as hell can't see the 4mm difference in radius. I think my 27" bike looks fine on 700c's, personally.

I can tell, especially with 23mm tires, which amounts to about cm difference in radius in comparison to 27 x 1 1/8. It just looks way better with the right size wheel to me. Its the extra clearance that looks dorky to me. If you run big tires, like 32mms, then 700c would be OK, and would also put the BB at the proper height.

Stick with the 27's. There are lots more tyres and wheels available now as more people are using old bikes for fixie conversions. You can pick up 27" wheelsets off eBay and Gatorskins etc in 27" now too.

Running 700s on a bike built for 27"s isn't a good idea in my opinion. I do it, and am planning on switching back when I can afford new wheels. The huge clearances are ugly, it can be a pain finding a long reach caliper if you plan on running a brake, and even with 165 cranks the drop in BB height is noticible enough to really piss me off.