Bicycle Mechanics - Tires for Schwinn

I have a Schwinn collegiate with 26" wheels and want to put new tires on it. Since I only use this for one or two mile trips to the shopping center I wanted to know if Wall Mart tires would be ok? The packaging states that the tires fit all 26" rims but I believe I read somewhere that Schwinn required special tires for their rims.

Thanks for you help

Most 26" Schwinn rims require a proprietary tyre bead diameter. Please see www.sheldonbrown.com for a thorough discussion of ISO bicycle tyre sizes. The bottom line is that 26.75 does not equal 26-3/4, and 26.375 does not equal 26-3/8, despite what you may have learned in math class!

John E eluded to it, but I will make it simple. In the grand old world when Schwinn dominated the USA bicycle market, they made their rims so that only Schwinn tires would fit them. Yup, they could get away with it in those days.

That lasted until about the late 1970's. Of course, by that time, most of the bikes were ten-speeds and Schwinn had standard 27" tires on ten speeds.

So, the long and the short of it is, if you have a Schwinn 26" wheel from before 1978, you have to buy a Schwinn specific tire. Ask your LBS if they carry them. Save yourself the time and expense of buying a standard 26" tire. It won't work.

Look on the side wall there shoul be a small logo that looks like this: (26-597) or (26-590). The first is Schwinn the second is every body else. The other way to tell is to buy a tire and try to install it. If you have an embolism trying to get the tire, on you have a Schwinn rim.

Thanks, as always I can get a quick answer here!:) :)

I'd just add that those tires are still available. If the LBS doesn't have stock he can certainly order them. The price should be less than $10.

BTW, the old English Raleigh's used the same size.