RemyArgo

Or therelackof. Hey, does anyone have any opinions/recs. for tires that'll fit old Schwinns (74 Conti) ? -BSD 597 mm

I've seen pyramids, kendas, and a few other e-bay specials so far.

thanks!

Bikedued

Anything 27 inch, pretty much? They were one of the only steel Schwinn rims that were a normal size, IIRC.

Just make sure it's seated well, and don't put more than 90 or so pounds. Panaracer Pasela tourguard, if you plan to ride it seriously. Or Serfas Secas if you're on a budget. I've only had one flat out of hundreds of commuting miles using the Serfas, and rode them on the MS150(177 miles) without a worry. Not the prettiest tire out there, but they ride way nicer than Racelites. RL's are almost bulletproof, but ride like bricks, IMHO.,,,,BD

cyclotoine

There are a number of manufactures as you say... drop by your LBS and see if they will allow you to browse their distributor catalogs... Schwalbe makes a lot of obsolete size tires.

Bikedued

Wait a second. 74 Conti is 27 inch, not 26x1 3/8? Any 27" tire should work, unless someone changed the rims. Your brakes would be grabbing tire instead of rim if that's the case. Collegiate would have 26".....

cudak888 

597mm is a Schwinn S-7, a.k.a. American 26x1-3/8, alias English EA-1 26x1-1/4. This size was used mostly on Schwinn's upright bar machines, and not on the Continental.

The Continental uses conventional 630mm 27x1-1/4" tires. You wouldn't happen to have a Schwinn Collegiate, do you?

-Kurt

USAZorro

You probably already saw this. I'm thinking that bike isn't too special for a set of the Pyramids.

If it is 27", there's nothing wrong with Kenda gumwalls. If you want a little better, you might try Panaracer Paselas. I wouldn't spend any more than that for tires.

RemyArgo

thanks all for the replies. silly me - i assumed that the conti fell under the category of "schwinn 'lightweight'" as per sheldon !

infinityeye

nope those continentals like 'em o'er medium or scrambled.

USAZorro

They do - but they always came with 27" wheels.

akcapbikeforums

I just got a set of Kenda's from Niagara Cycle Works in Buffalo, circa $7 each. They have a bit of tread, they're called hybrid's, and though I haven't finished restoring the bike, I'm looking forward to seeing how they do in less than optimal conditions.

By the way -- the suggestion about making sure the tires are seated correctly... these tires seem to want to seat incorrectly, or rather unevenly. I haven't been able to get the gumwall to seat in a way that doesn't like the tire has a flat spot.

Thoughts?

Caferacernoc

I have that trouble sometimes. I have two techniques I use to remedy it. Sometimes one works, sometimes the other. First is to deflate to lower pressure and try to manhandle the tire so it's even. Then inflate to full pressure. Repeat as necessary.
Second is to overinflate and see if it straightens out. I usually need to do this on higher end folding tires.
Then bring back down to riding pressure.

Bikedued

I've gotten around it by inflating and deflating 4-5 times, and sometimes using a light cleaner such as 409 or Fantastik. It seems to give it just the right slip without greasing the tire all up. It also seems to dry quickly and not harm the tubes or tires.

akcapbikeforums

The folks at Niagara didn't have any insight into this, considered it a defect, and sent me another tire. I'll do the 409/inflate/deflate thing. Thanks

Pompiere

Even plain water will lubricate the bead enough to help it slip into place.