27" knobbies???
 

Hi all,
I have no idea if such beasts exist so this may be just the warped dream of a twisted noob.

I have an olds cool hybrid with 27" wheels. I have another old bicycle that is basically stripped that also has 27 inchers on it. I'm not planning on doing any extreme MTB-ing, but I thought it would be cool to throw some knobbies on the extra set of wheels. That way I could easily switch out depending on where I'm riding.

Obviously, they would be pretty narrow knobbies, but it would be an improvement over taking street wheels onto the dirt and weeds.

Any ideas? (besides "get a second bike") ;)

Not to doubt you or anything, but are you sure they're 27" and not 700c wheels? If they're 700c, you have a whole lot more options.

Yep, 27" knobbies exist, check 'em out at, http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/tires/630.html (that's sheldon brown's shop)

Sweet!

Now I just have to come up with the duckets to cover the tires and a matching freewheel for the other rear wheel.

Thanks for the tip!

Yep, they're 27" alright. I don't think they sell bikes with 27" wheels anymore. Luckily, they were popular enough at some time that you can still get tires and tubes for them.

Cool. Only reason I asked is because 27" and 700c look similar to people who don't know the difference (you did describe yourself as a "noob" ;)) and I was under the impression that 700c predated the invasion of the hybrids by a while.

What's a ducket? Money?

There is WAY more selection of and demand for 700C tires, so that you can get basic knobbies for only $10-15 each. So maybe someday you'll want to upgrade :)

I'd try Nashbar for 6 or 7 speed freewheels. They're real cheap there, $15, and they shift well in my experience. Also, keep in mind, you might want a wider gear range for the wheels that will be used off-road...

I run 27" "Club Roost" tires on my trails bike and find them to be great
tires for dirt and crushed limestone trails I ride. Matter of fact, I
like'em so much I bought a set for my utility bike that I'll put on
this fall for winter use. ;) ;)

I may be abusing the term "hybrid". This bike was originally a standard Raleigh road bike. I took off the "ram horn" handle bars and replaced them with the handle bars from my son's old "BMX" bike. I put the BMX in quotes because this is a tiny bike with training wheels from back when he was about four years old. I've replaced the seat with a big, comfy one and switched out the suicide shifters for top-mount, thumb shifters. Combine all of this with the tool bag mounted on my rack and it's a goofy looking ride, but it gets me around in comfort. :D

Yep, duckets are dollars. Sorry, maybe it's not as universal a term as I thought.

I've had this bike for years, just gathering dust in the garage. I never dreamed that I would like riding as much as I have, so I didn't want to invest too much in it. Now that I have gotten into it, I'm having a ball and will likely upgrade to a new ride at some point.

Great tip! Thanks.

Oh holy mother of god! We need some pictures of this beast! :lol:

LOL--Okay, I'll post some tomorrow.

it's "ducat."

taken from the name of the (originally) Venetian coin, used throughout Europe for centuries.

probably best known in the modern day from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.

There are also Kenda knobbies out there in 27" - significantly cheaper, if you can find them, and worked well for me...

Here it is:
The chrome bell was a Father's Day gift from my 7 yr old daughter.
http://home.swbell.net/mcpoop//MMACH...east_front.jpg

Yes, that is my coffee cup hanging from the back of the bag. The perspective is a little skewed here, but the tires really are the same size.
http://home.swbell.net/mcpoop//MMACH...beast_back.jpg
I've begun pealing off the decals, on the other side of the bike, preparing for a new paint job. I was thinking about white and red or white and blue. However my wife thinks that due to the hours I have put into my other hobby, geocaching, (which involves painting containers to hide in the woods), that a good camoflauge paint job would be more appropriate. I have to admit, I'm kind of starting to warm to that idea, (plus, I've already got all the camo paint I'll need). I'll post new pics in the commuter bike forum, after I paint it!

I love the classic Raleigh frame, though personally I would have kept the drop bars. Clearly it is a bike that gets used and ridden a lot, so I think it's awesome :beer:

Camo paint********** Why??? Bicycles are hard enough to see as it is why
make it harder. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Sweet ride! No one will mistake your bike for theirs, that's for sure. :)

I promise it won't be concrete on brick. I think it will only be hard to see me if I'm riding through brush and greenbriar ;) .