Classic & Vintage - Is it impossible to find 27x7/8 tires? What are my options

I just figured out that the bike that I just bought (1986 Raleigh Technium 480) has 27x7/8 tires on it that are severely dry rotted. Is there anywhere I can get new ones or am I out of luck? I really dont want to go all the way to 27x 1 1/4. Is my only option to go to 700c wheels? If so what is the cheapest way that I can do this? Estimated cost?

it looks like these come in 1 inch up to 1 1/4 inch

http://www.biketiresdirect.com/product/panaracer-pasela-road-tire-27-inch

Thanks but I was looking for more of a performance tire

The Pasela is about the best you can do. If you really want high performance, you should switch to 700c. And in my opinion, there is no performance advantage to going any narrower than 25 or maybe even 28mm.

I bought the last of Harris Cycles' Avocet 27x7/8" tires, and I still have 4 left. PM me if interested, but they are not cheap. I have not seen any others except they show up on ebay every now and then.

27" x 1" or 27" x 1 1/8" tires (starting at about $6 a piece) would probably do it. The Pasela 27" x 1" is about $19, but Paselas tend to run bigger in size on the widths I've tried.

Niagara Cycle Works:

http://www.niagaracycle.com/index.php?cPath=131_167&sort=2a&page=1

Bontrager may also have the 1" and 1 1/8" widths.

http://www.bontrager.com/products/components/tires/en

Get the Avocet tires that were offered to you above!

And in my opinion, there is no performance advantage to going any narrower than 25 or maybe even 28mm.

+1 And Jan Heine would up the ante to 42mm!

I just figured out that the bike that I just bought (1986 Raleigh Technium 480) has 27x7/8 tires on it that are severely dry rotted. Is there anywhere I can get new ones or am I out of luck? I really dont want to go all the way to 27x 1 1/4. Is my only option to go to 700c wheels? If so what is the cheapest way that I can do this? Estimated cost?

You can get 27x1" tires at Performance rather cheaply. Usually around $8 each.

Thanks but I was looking for more of a performance tire

If you're outriding the Paselas 1) you're outriding a 1986 Raleigh Technium 480 and 2) you'll NEVER find anything that will please you in a 27" tire.

Try the Paselas, you might be pleasantly surprised.

The cheap Performance 27x1" tyres work really well. I'm running them on my '72 Fuji Finest, and love them. As for that 1/8" difference . . . . . . would you notice the difference between a 700c-23 and a 700c-25? I didn't think so. That's exactly what you're looking at.

Paselas seem to be the gold standard for 27" clinchers.

After visiting the local diy bike salvage shop I have come to the following realization. I can get a decent set of aluminum 700c wheels, tires and tubes for around $50. So do I spend the extra ten bucks to have access to more tires or just go for the Paselas? Im kinda on the fence

Get the Avocet tires that were offered to you above!

Ditto on that! :thumb:

If they are anything like some which I'd found in a local bike shop, you will not be disappointed.

What I found were among the last that the shop still had and they probably dated from the 1990s. They were FOLDING tires [yeah, never thought I'd see that!] with a Kevlar bead and they had a perfectly smooth tread - which I love. They were a bit more narrow than the stated width and rode beautifully. I was very surprised how well a set which I mounted had lasted, in spite of what seemed to be a modest depth of tread.

These were probably the very best of what you could ever expect from a 27" clincher tire. In terms of performance they compared very nicely against more modern 700c clincher racing tires.

:50:A shame they discontinued these. There are still millions of nice older bikes out there with their original wheelsets.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3035/2319149081_026268dcf2_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2062/2319150025_35f5d283f8_o.jpg

I bought the last of Harris Cycles' Avocet 27x7/8" tires, and I still have 4 left. PM me if interested, but they are not cheap. I have not seen any others except they show up on ebay every now and then.

The Tt30's are fabulous tyres but as a daily driver they are not what you want... as a pure performance tyre they are very prone to damage.

After visiting the local diy bike salvage shop I have come to the following realization. I can get a decent set of aluminum 700c wheels, tires and tubes for around $50. So do I spend the extra ten bucks to have access to more tires or just go for the Paselas? Im kinda on the fence

$50? If the set isn't junk, I say go for it. Just remember, "high performance" (aka high TPI) 700c road tires will run you $30+.

FWIW I can't tell the difference between 23 and 25 when riding if they're both pumped to high PSI. 28 is where I notice the difference, mainly in comfort, but they're still plenty fast. If you're in a group ride and you can't keep up, it won't be because your tires are 28s and the guys pulling away are on 23s.

In my experience, if you switch to 700C, you can generally mount up to 32c tires underneath fenders.

They're good enough for all around riding.