photogravity

Yeah, I hear you. When I recently built wheels for my Norman Rapide, I made the decision to go with 700c specifically because I wanted a decent tire selection. I still have the original wheels, but they're boxed up for future use while the wheels I built are for riding on a regular basis. I'm running a pair of Grand Bois Cyprès on the wheels.

mparker326

Everything that is old becomes new again. 650B was dead and it was revived with only high end tires available for a while. Chainstay brakes that were maligned in 80's are showing up on road bikes.

Once all the cheap bikes that run 27's are completely replaced by hybrid's and old MTB's, look for manufacturers to start touting the snob appeal of high end 27 inch tires.

The Golden Boy 

I actually went from 700c to 27 when I re-built my 1986 Trek 400 Elance. I didn't think of measuring brake reach and I REALLY wanted tri-color brakes on that bike- 700c was out of reach for those calipers. So I went to 27 x 1 1/8. I had to go from 32s to 1 1/8 because of the height of the tire on the 1 1/4 hitting the brake bridge.

MKahrl

I am astounded at how many 70's and 80's era bikes are still on the road. They are easy to spot from a distance with their narrow handlebars and auxiliary (safety) levers. They're everywhere on the bike paths being ridden by all ages and being used as commuters on the streets of Columbus. The bike corral at OSU games holds hundreds of bikes of every description and every age.

I sometimes forget that there is a huge population of cyclists out there that are riding around on old bikes going to classes, getting to work, enjoying a bike path down by the river; who have no desire to participate in the local bike clubs weekly hammerfest. Their needs are being met with current 27" offerings and don't see any need for tires that cost $130 a set.

The Venn diagram of People Who Ride Old Bikes Set and People Who Spend Lots of Money on Bike Parts Set probably has a very narrow overlap.

SJX426 

This may appear warped but I just ordered a pair of 700C and 27" clincher rims (more tubular rims on hand than I can handle). One set to use up the 27" tires I have laying around and the other just to have a set of clinchers I can use. What is worse is they will be laced to Campy HF Record hubs with 36 holes!

ThermionicScott 

I am curious -- how good did 27" tires get back in the day? It seems like they always played second-fiddle, first to tubulars, then to 700C clinchers.

old's'cool

I don't know if they still do, but I have a pair of 27" Vittoria Zafiros from 2010 that are still going strong, after lotsa miles.

old's'cool

More than good enough for the likes of myself. My 78 Moto GJ is still sporting a quite narrow front tire purchased around 2000 that has lots of miles and is still going strong (last time I checked). I'd give more details on the tire but it is quite out of my reach at the moment.

gaucho777 

I don't know, but pb*bikes has these vintage Panaracer Tour Guard tires on sale for $175, so they must be really good, right?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-PANARACE...item41752f3ac4

Actually, these Specialized Armadillo tires look better than anything else I see currently available--but not $165 better.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-SPECIALI...item4857b7fb8b

I've had mixed results buying NOS tires. I like my tires fresh.

stanman13

https://www.rei.com/product/786321/vi...tire-27-x-1-14

At a reasonable price, too.

puchfinnland

I got a bike lately with new panasport 27"
I am highly impressed with them and can recommend them
other people sell them...


https://www.amazon.com/Panaracer-Pase.../dp/B001CN6NMS

or
https://www.amazon.com/Panaracer-Pase.../dp/B001CN6NMS

old's'cool

A Pasela with a redesigned tread? Or am I missing something?

amsocrates

New to thread. I must of lucked out in getting a pair of Conti Ultra Sport in 27X1 and 1/8.
Must have been NOS. Well pleased with them.

ThermionicScott 

Those Amazon listings must have outdated photos -- you can tell by the tire labels. The 27" Paselas I bought about one year ago have the same tread you see on the 700C models, like this:

puchfinnland

regardless...the quality looks good and I will buy another pair for the girlfriend before I return.
(prefer she buys them!)

The Golden Boy 

I think the same things as well- for me, I usually spot the non-aero cables sticking up in the air.

There are times that I'll be out riding- we have a wonderful rural rail trail- although I see plenty of modern fancy pants carbon and aluminum bikes- there are times that I see nothing but people on old bikes.

dddd

Zaffiros still seem to be available in the practical 1-1/8" width, actually measuring more like 26mm.

They're a very good, inexpensive, long-lasting tire. Not quite race-light, but much closer to a race tire's tread profile than Panaracer's Pasela imo.

The 27" tire situation would be closer to desperate without this model imo.

Old tires, even if stored well, have a shorter tread life and are more subject to the main cause of outer ply failures (the failure of the bond between overlapping plies). The bead area also becomes extremely fragile, with rubber and/or cloth chafer strips falling away.

Lighter riders who can safely run lower pressures will not see as high of a rate of failure of older tires on average. I've had good luck running older tires at 80% or less of rated pressure in recent years.
Lower pressure seems to extend tread life and improve traction on gravel-strewn pavement.

Lastly, old tires can be slippery for a while, or for the life of the tire with more open tread designs such as CX treads.

jimmuller 

I first built the Bertin with 700cx25. The frame's handling has always felt odd and the BB was lower to the ground than I was used to. So on the premise that the bike had been designed originally to sit higher off the ground I recently built up a set of wheels with 27" Fiamme rims on high-flange Normandy hubs, then mounted 1-1/4" tires. I think the bike is happier!

Velognome 

I'm thinking they must have been pretty good. I've have a Hetchin's No.6 frame (Tour of Britain ) High end builder, frame geometry is definitely for racing, and it was spec.ed with 27's. Can't see spending that kind of money and spec.ing a wheel size that was known to be less than optimal.

Turbo231

+1 This. My local Canadian Tire carries Kenda 27 x 1-1/4 cheap and for the riding I do, they work great and are much better then the 20+ year old rubber that was originally on my bikes. For the 10 to 20 mile jaunts that I do, they are excellent...and cheap at $15 each.