kvb

I am new to the whole road bike deal. I was wondering if there is difference between 27' and 700C wheels? I think there is, I just don't know what it is. And could I replace 27' wheels with 700C ones? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

matimeo

27" is a little bit bigger. As long as your breaks can reach you can usually replace 27" with 700C. I just recently did with an upgrade on an old Nishiki.

VPR

i've read somewhere online that the sizes in inches and in mm are not the same even though they are mathematically equivalent

and i found that out when i bought a road bike tire for my mountain bike and it didnt fit even though the same was the same, read about that later

USAZorro

27' wheels are humongous. I don't think they make tubes or tires that big., and I have no idea how you might ride it. The gear ratios would be very tough as well.

oh? 27"?

27" rims are 8mm larger in diameter than 700c rims. On some bicycle frames and some brakes, you can switch between the two sizes with little or no trouble. With others, you might find that there isn't adequate clearance to get a 27" wheel into the rear dropouts, or that you can't adjust the brake pads to fit the other size.

OrangeOkie

Going from 27" to 700c is all about brake caliper arm reach. Going from 700c to 27" is all about fork length.

Rammer

About 8mm. 27" = 630mm, 700c = 622mm

Many prefer 700c wheels over the older 27" because it is currently easier to find different tires (especially wider tires).

McDave

Just to add to all the above, look at the brake caliper slots where your brake pads are mounted now. If the pads can be lowered 4mm, you're good to go for 700 rims/tires. Hint: A little grinding on the bottom of the slot is acceptable to get the full 4mm drop.

C_LOGAN

You can buy a lowered brake mount which will accommodate 700 c wheels.

Here is a size chart for wheels: https://www.bikecult.com/works/wheelsizes.html

kvb

Thanks sooooo much to all. You guys are awesome. Sorry, the wheels are 27" not 27'. Would 700C perform better then 27" or are they the same in terms of performance? Thanks again.

Scooper

They're essentially the same in terms of performance. It's much easier to find 700c tires.

MKahrl

It's pretty easy to find 27" tires in most bike shops in the sizes you're interested in. If you're picky about your tires then you might want to mail order. There were many millions of 27" bikes made and sold in the 70's and a lot of them are still in use. My LBS has a peg filled with 27" tires and the clerk tells me they turn over the inventory on it every two weeks.

If your LBS is actually not so much a bike shop as a boutique sales outlet for the latest stuff being produced by Mega-Bike-Our-Stuff-Is-In-The-Tour-De-France then they might not carry 27" tires. Avoid them.