hchoy

I have an old Canondale ('88) road bike installed with 27 x 1 1/4 tires.
I found these tires a bit too narrow to ride dirt road occasionally run into.
My question is what size tire would be interchangeable.
Is it possible to install tires with wider width?
Thank you.....

Harry

bikemig 

There are two parts to the answer. (1) You can find a little fatter tire like a 27 x 1 3/8 tire but the selection of 27 inch tires is not that great since the standard is now 700c. A 700c tire will not fit on your rim (but a 700c tube will). (2) A larger volume tire may not fit your frame properly as it may lead to drag or rub along the brakes or frame. You won't know until you try.

I'm guessing you may have a reasonable chance of making this work as you are running a 27 x 1 and 1/4 without any troubles which suggests you have reasonable clearance. Do you have a touring bike with cantilevers? If so, this should work.

Some pics of the bike might help provide a better answer.

alcjphil

You might be able to find a tire that comes in 27 x 1 3/8, but that is about as wide as 27" tires are made:
C979D
However 27 x 1 1/4 isn't really all that narrow. They are about the same width as the 700 x 32 tires I have on my touring bike and I have no trouble at all riding on unpaved roads. I have even done considerable distances on unpaved with the 700 x 25 tires I have on my road bike with little difficulty

Bill Kapaun

I friend put a 27x1-3/8 on the rear of his bike.
He has to deflate the tire to remove the wheel.
Not a problem if he has a flat, but he has to install the wheel before he can pump it back up.

dbg

Fit will be a little bit of trial and error. BUT, I'm a big fan of converting older 27's into 700C wheels. New wheels, better clearance, much better options for tire choice. Often the existing brakes will adjust to fit. Just sayin... might be a good opportunity for new 700C wheels.

fietsbob

Or bite a Bigger bullet and go to 650B wheels for their 1.5" width capacity ..

alcjphil

Changing wheels is a lot more expensive than buying a new wider set of tires.