Classic & Vintage - 27" tire/wheel fit question and axle swap advice needed

To anyone who knows the answer to this I'm sure it is very obvious and I've searched but can't figure out how to manipulate the search to find the answer. Really just looking for a yes or no- I'm looking at putting Club Roost 27 x 1 3/8 tires on my Bianchi Piaggio commuter/joy rider which has 27 x 1 1/4 wheels. It seems like a 700 x 28 vs 700 x 32 situation but I wanted to check with you all. Since it's dealing with 27", I thought I'd ask here.

I would really rather swap axles to a set of 700c's that are much lighter and would vastly increase my tire choices. Or, put a different threaded axle through my 700 set so I don't have to take apart my 27's just in case, or as a backup set. OR, ideally would like to get the right size quick release to work, if there is such a thing. I don't really want to do any grinding to get the quick release to fit. I know a 700 is a little bit smaller, found that out when I tried forcing a wire bead 700 on my 27" wheel... It looks like there is about 1/2" at most to drop the pads down the caliper arms.

So the 27" set has nutted axles and the 700c set has quick releases?

So the 27" set has nutted axles and the 700c set has quick releases?

Correct

Issues I see are tire clearance issues, axle width issues, derailleur and freewheel compatibility issues. I swapped a pair of 700 wheels/tires into my Schwinn LeTour replacing the old 27s, indeed, the rims are about 4mm smaller, so brakes had to adjust. Axle width was also a bit wider, so the frame had to spring a bit to get it in, no problem. Same number of gears? Indexed or friction? May or may not work, depending on just what you have and what you get. My old, 1979 Shimano 400 FF has NO problem jumping from 5 to 7 gears (friction shifting) but I did need to get a new chain.

I'm confused. What happens when you try to install the 700 wheel? Is it too wide to fit in the frame? If so, that's a spacing issue, not a q/r issue.

due ruote- The axle diameter on the 700 c qr is too wide to fit into the front fork. AKA the part of the fork that the axle fits into (pictured below) is too narrow for the quick release axle. I don't know the measurements but it seems really close. I think if I were to get the dremel tool out it could be done, but I'd rather not do any grinding.

http://www.jitensha.com/eng/images/ebisupics/medium/012-fork-end.jpg

The axle length is also a little long for the front and the fork would flex to fit, but should it? I'm a heavier rider and don't want to do anything to affect the integrity of the fork. I roughly measured the rear axles and they appear to be very close to the same size. I don't have the 700c wheel with me now...

There is a whole lot of clearance. To be technical, I can fit at a finger between the side wall and the fork/seat stay and two above the front and rear tire.

It is set up SS. I would probably take it to LBS to verify sizes and fit for another freewheel on my 700c freehub.

I'm clearly not a professional bike mechanic and have only casually been working on bikes for a couple years, and that's mostly been on newer aluminum bikes, so I really appreciate your help and patience.

http://sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html

It's surprising to me that your axle won't fit in the fork. If it's really close I'd probably file/grind to make it fit. You could file the threads on the axle instead of the fork, although I wonder if maybe the paint is just thick there. As far as the fork width goes, 100mm is pretty standard as you can see on the above chart. Is your axle spacing close to that? You won't hurt anything if you spread the fork a little bit, but it shouldn't need to be much at all.

I work out of town and won't be back around the 700c wheelset for at least 2 weeks. So I'm not sure what the spacing is but I was able to pretty easily spread the forks to fit outside the locknut and on top of the axle. I ordered up some club roost cross terra's for now. I was planning to grind the threads if anything on the 700c axle. Thanks for the help.

There's too much paint/powder coat in the fork ends....file it out or scrap it out with a knife. Most modern 700c front wheels are 100mm spacing.