Public Service Announcement!

Do NOT buy the Kenda K184 27x1-3/8" tires. Worse tires I have ever owned. I built up an old Peugeot mixte as my main city bike, and with much anticipation rode it for weeks with these tires. It was slow and difficult, and taught me what rolling resistance means. On top of them being a literal drag to ride I started to realize both tires were out of round, to the point of feeling a bump every revolution once I became aware of it. Absolute crap quality.

I swapped them out for Schwalbe Marathons and I now can ride 2 cogs higher with less effort. Now the bike is great, just what I expected. I've built a dozen+ of these old mixtes so I know what they feel like with good tires and wheels.

And if you're thinking it's the extra width, that's not it. I rode a Raleigh with Michelin World Tour 26x1-3/8" for the last couple of years and really like the feel of the bike with those fatter tires. That's why I tried it on the Peugeot.