Touring - tire size question for my Le Tour

I have a Schwinn Le Tour s/n M5H105832 that I've been changing over for the past two seasons to touring. It has Araya 36 hole rims and the LBS installed racks and fenders. When I got the bike back they installed these thin tires 700x 23's they said they couldn't go bigger because the fenders would contact. I am looking for a solution I really do need fatter tires at least 700 x 28's any suggestions? Wardie

remove fenders, mount larger tires

Wardie, The shop may exchange the fenders and tires so contact them first. If the Le Tour was originally equipped with 27" wheels there should be ample clearance for 28 mm (possibly 32 mm tires) tires and fenders.

Brad

Is it possible the fender mounts at the bridges stick too far down and different attachment would fix that? I thought LeTours could easily take 32mm tires. Get the tires you want then modify the fenders to fit. What year is the bike?

700c is bigger than 27", so you've reduced the space available
between the tire and the fenders. a wider tire is going to be
taller than a narrow tire.

mount your rear fender to the underside of the rack.
a wider mtb fender will catch more of the spray than
your thinner 27" dealies.

*edit* damn, i was sure i remembered the measurement was
of the tire's outside diameter. but then, i haven't run 27"
since about 1988.

700c is bigger than 27"
Not true. A 27" wheel has a 630mm bead seat diameter, while a 700c wheel has a 622mm bead seat diameter.

Bottom line the 700C is smaller diameter than the 27" despite the confusing nomenclature.

Oops, newer LeTours look to be more road bike in clearance.

Agree with others... most fenders can be improved by improving the mounting points. If you are still at the stage of needing to pay a LBS to put on tires and fenders, you are not likely to have the skills at hand (yet) to massage or redo the fender mounts. The LBS for hire will take the item out of the box and install it following the generic instructions from the OEM.

If you can post some good pix of the mount points with the current fenders, then we can probably suggest if and how you might improve that so you can get back some space for more tire clearance. Note; No comment here from me regarding how big around wheels or tires are; assuming other posters dealt with that.

Oops, newer LeTours look to be more road bike in clearance.

Agreed. Pretty sure that LeTour in French doesn't always translate in English directly to "Touring Bike". More marketing crap than anything else...

I should of been clearer. The fender mounts to the brake caliper. These aren't Vee Brakes they are standard road brakes. Fender bracket rides in caliper pinning bolt. No movement necessary I don't know what to do. most touring bikes have Vee Brakes that use studs on the forks to mount them. Maybe a fork change is in order. I don't even like the look of skinny tires with fenders. Just looks wrong. Wardie

Offer to provide more aide after you provide some pix stands.