grayvw

Hi,

I apologize if this has been discussed before. I wasn't able to find the answer in a forum search.

Anyway, I was about to replace the 26" (BSD 590mm) wheels on my English 3 speed with 700c alloy wheels. Then I discovered the wheels wouldn't clear the original steel mudguards. Has anyone managed to get 700c wheels in there AND retain the original mudguards? I installed 700x35 tires on the wheels if that is relevant. Thanks.

nlerner

That's a pretty fat tire. You might try with 25 or 28mm tires and see if you have enough clearance, but it's also easy enough to install new fenders. Lots of options available there, such as Velo Orange's offerings.

Do you have to swap the brakes out for ones with shorter reach? I ask because of a similar project I'm contemplating.

Neal

hhabca

Seeing as you're in Boston, you could visit these people and get some alloy 590 rims;

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/rims/590.html

unworthy1

I just fixed up a Rollfast for our student intern and it was missing the front wheel when donated. The rear was a complete steel Rigida EA-3 with a 26X1/38" fat whitewall tire (same size as English 3-speeds and easily as fat as a 32C). I tried fitting a 700 wheel and a 26" mountain wheel and neither would work with the original brakes and fenders (one too big, one too small). Luckily I found a complete wheel with tire at a swap meet: $5.

grayvw

I upgraded the brakes to Weinmann centerpulls, and they're currently maxed out on the reach. So, this particular brake should work with 700c.

I already built up the 700c wheel with the S-A hub, so I'm not thrilled with the idea of giving up and buying the 590 rim to build the wheel up again.

I know Broadway Bike used to upgrade English 3-speeds with 700c wheels, but I think they also replaced the fenders. So, I'll probably have to go ask them.

nlerner

Another possibility is to just replace the fender stays. You can hack off the existing ones (or drill them out at the rivet holes) and replace with wrap around stays such as these Honjo ones. If the paint on the frame and fenders is still good, that's how I'd probably proceed.

Neal

NormanF

If you install 700C wheels on an English Sports bicycle that originally took 590mm-650A tires, the biggest tires you can mount with the fenders is 32C. Any larger width will mean you have to run them sans the fenders.

grayvw

Thanks for the info, NormanF. As it turns out, I bought the Sun CR-18 rims in the 590mm BSD and transferred my spokes and hubs over to the new rims.

I ended up putting the 700c wheel with the S-A hub on a Shogun 400 bike that I picked up at a garage sale.