you

I've been thinking about building a day to day commuter complete with fenders and chain guard. I was initially thinking 650b because of the hype or 700x 32c because of the compatability. But I realized that a lot of the bikes i've enjoyed riding the most have been clunky 3-speeds with 26 x 1 3/8 wheels. I'm thinking of sourcing a schwinn or raleigh frame for a sort of 3-speed cobble together. I know I can get alloy rims in this size. But are there half-decent tires produced in this size available in the United States? Should I stick with external mechs and 700c wheels for the sake of convenience and long-range support?

gna

Schwalbe Delta Cruisers and Marathons are available in this size. Panaracer Col de la Vie is highly regarded by many.
Here's what Harris carries:
https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/tires/590.html

Esteban32696

BUTTTT,
If you get the Schwinn 3 spd, it may very well have the tires for S-6 wheels. Be careful to buy the right one. Schwinn is 597, not 590.

bikemore 

I guess I am wondering what sort of budget are you thinking of?
Around Boston, a place not known for low prices of anything, you can generally get a ready built 3 speed for under $250 almost any time and under $150
if you are willing to wait (I've sold a few with fenders and chain guard in the $100) range. The biggest drawback of these is that they come with steel
wheels. I can build alloy wheels, but a pair would run about $70 (making a $100 sale pretty unpractical) (27 inch allow rims can much cheaper and would
make a cheaper build).
You can of course build 700c wheels with a 3 speed hub. And put the standard northroads bars on top.

bikemeister

+1 on Schwalbe delta tires. Bought a pair of whitewalls for my Sears 3-speed restoration, they look great.

wahoonc

I run Scwhalbe, Panaracer Col de Vie, Kenda, Cheng Shin and Bell branded tires. You get what you pay for. The Schwalbe are top quality and I usually run those on my everyday bike(s), the ones that get the most miles. I use the Col de Vie on my Superbe which gets a bit less use. The others are decent tires for the price and get stuck on the bikes I typically ride the least. I have a beater Raleigh Sports that only gets the low end stuff to keep it unattractive for thieves, and if it does happen to get stolen I am only out the prices of inexpensive tires versus a set that probably cost more than the bike. FWIW I currently have 7 bikes in the 26x1-3/8 (650A) only two have alloy rims the rest run the OEM steel ones.

Aaron

noglider 

With those Sun rims and Schwalbe or Panaracer tires, you'd do great. wahoonc, how is the ride different between the two tires? And 7 650A bikes? Why? (I know, that's a silly question.)

Hey you, I think you should just watch craigslist or garage sales and wait to see what comes along. You may find a donor bike plus a bike worth it for the frame. All of a sudden, you may have a plan very different from what you propose but better in some ways we can't predict. Lie in waiting like an alligator does. You save the most money that way.

garage sale GT

Wal-Mart has the Bell Streetster in 26X1-3/8 now. It is a kevlar belted tire.

I had the 27X1-1/4 version. They are a good durable tire. They do not roll as easily as a tire with a finer sidewall but would be my choice for rugged conditions because they can withstand sidewall abrasion.

noglider 

That tire is HEAVY.

mickey85

I've got the Bell Streetsters on my Phillips 3 speed - I love them. They're relatively quick, light enough to not be super slow (well, the entire thing is 40 lbs of super slow, but you know what I mean), and cheap! I take them down gravel roads and they do well. I will say though that they don't like snow, and they don't like mud.

That said, I'd love to build up a set of alloy rims and get the Panaracer Col de la Vie tires, but until $200 falls out of my butt, I have the feeling that that's not happening.

wahoonc

The Col de Vie make a bit of road noise, but the more aggressive tread helps on the local Rails to Trails and the occasional gravel road. The Schwalbe's Marthons are probably my first choice in tires. On the Superbe the alloy rims give the bike a slightly less harsh ride and make it seem a bit more Sporty, huge improvement on braking too. The Cheng Shin, Kenda and Bell tires all seem to roll about the same. I am a bit over 200# on the Col de Vie and Schwalbe I can run higher tire pressures to help compensate for that, which I am sure helps out the rolling resistance more than a bit.

Seven 650A....because I can? I prefer the style and feel of the old Raleigh 3 speed and just ended up with that many at the moment. I also have three 406 wheeled bikes too...

Aaron

noglider 

I have so many bikes that they're spilling out all over. At the moment, I have one on the front porch and three on the side of the house near the basement door. My workshop is in the basement. Yesterday, a neighbor came over to pick up the bike I had tuned up for him. I told him to take it up the street to try it out. He rode off, and I realized I wanted to follow him, so I grabbed the handiest bike, which happened to be my Raleigh Twenty. It's nearly all "stock" with the steel rims. The bike had been standing in the snow, so the rims were wet. I had forgotten how bad wet steel rims, combined with the super-lousy brakes the bike comes with. It was like squeezing one of those hand-strengtheners totally disconnected from a brake. No stopping power at all. Better try some Kool Stops.

David Newton

If it ends up being the schwinn S6 rim, I got some tires for you. That ebay seller was selling 26 x 1 3/8" gumwalls for $15 the pair, insisting they were for English, turns out they are marked "schwinn" and he's gone missing.
Sell e'm cheap to you.

noglider 

I may have an S6 tire, too. Brand new.

wahoonc

I only have 2 bikes that use S-6 tires and the last time I checked I had at least 5 of those hanging on the rack.

Get Koolstops on the Twenty they make a huge difference on the steel rims. If you have the OEM brakes there is not much to do about the flexible rear brake without some upgrades.

Aaron