I am looking for a set of clincher rims to use on a vintage Falcon I just picked up. These tubulars it came with are probably 50 years old. I came across these two rims by the same seller. To me, the un-educated, they seem very similar but one is twice the price of the other.

Any help with discerning the difference and which I would be better off with would be appreciated.

Classic 27" Weinmann RM19 Quik Release Front & Rear Freewheel type Bike Wheelset. $84.80 item#297525052908

Weinmann LP18 27 inch QR Sealed Bearing Doublewall Freewheel Type Wheelset $165.50 item#297599651095

Not sure about the difference in the 2 wheelsets you listed but if the bike originally was set up with tubular tires, is the frame then native for 700c wheels? Or was the bike originally designed for 27” wheels? I guess one way to know is based on brake bridge location and how much adjustability you have to work with with your brake calipers (side pull?,center pull?).

it was set for 27” wheels. Brakes are center pull.

Nice looking bike!
The delta could be the hubs.
Don't know which site you are looking at.

Why revert to 27"? Unless you're determined to get close to OEM specs with 27" wheels, it might make sense to consider 700c clincher wheels instead. Far more wheel and tire choices, and more room for fatter tires.

I would suggest the same thing except the OP's bike in the photo shows that the extra-long reach brakes, that are as long as you can get, are already near their max adjustment for the pads so not likely a 700c will work. Bummer

The rims on the bike are already 700c (standard size for the vast majority of tubular wheels).

The second one upgrades to sealed bearings and double wall rims.
Probably also newer.

site is eBay

I thought the rims on the bike were 27. I guess I should measure when I get home.

I will measure to make sure, thanks.

I thought, whichever gets me in trouble, the Ernie Clements frame came with 27. That is why I looked for the 27 clincher rims.

Thanks, makes sense. I guess I’ll wait until I’m home and simply measure.

site is eBay



I thought, which always gets me in trouble, the Ernie Clements frames came with 27. That is why I looked for the 27 clincher rims. I’ll have to measure and look at the existing tires.

Thanks, makes sense. I guess I’ll wait until I’m home and simply measure.

If those are indeed tubular tires (i.e., the tubes are sewn inside the tires, and the tires are glued to the rims), they're 700c.

Edit: "I guess I’ll wait until I’m home and simply measure."

Not as simple as one might expect. Wheels and tires rarely measure 700 mm or 27" for the (nominal) tire diameter.

The most useful number for determining sizes of rims and tires is the tire bead diameter, a.k.a., bead seat diameter, which is 622 mm for 700c and 650 for 27".

Easiest check: if the tires are glued on, they're 700c tubulars. If not, look for a label on the tire. It'll read either 700c x some number (the width in millimeters) or 27" x some number (the width in inches).

The picture shows tubulars. The base tape is visible next to the rim.. Not to mention the brake blocks are pretty far down in the adjustment range indicating a 700c.

I am sure they are tubulars. Not sure of the size.


thanks.

That's not a reliable indication unless you see rim cement. It could be an open tubular, or just a decent clincher that has that style of tape over the bead.

It's wheels you want, not rims. Unless you're planning on fitting new rims to the existing hubs.

In which case, you can pretty much count on needing new spokes as well.

That depends on the state of the existing spokes/nipples and the new rim - something like an MA2 (remember them?) could be a straight swap.

I don't have enough experience with rims. I've only built about 10 wheels total, and in most of those cases the ERD of the replacement rim was different enough to require new spokes.
So what I should have said was "you might need new spokes."

That could be, except "open tubulars" were not, AFAIK, available in 27" size.

I don't think anyone has confirmed those wheels to be 27". It's all a bit speculative.

There are no markings on the rims or tires which indicate size. The rim is Mavic and has a stamp “Mavic Sport” and the tire has “Falcon.”

outer lip of rim to opposite outer lip is slightly under 25" for 700c... slightly over 25" for 27" rims.

Thank you!! A quick ride to the bike shop will be in order today. I'll order new tires for the rims already on the bike and see if I can get clinchers for riding.

Looks like you're saying that you'll order tubular tires and are planning to get (700c, not 27") clincher wheels and tires at some point.

Might be a good idea to bring one or both wheels with you to the store, to ensure that they order the correct tires.

In addition to ordering at least three tubular tires (including a spare), order tubular glue too, since very few bike shops stock it.

Tubular tires are available in a wide price range, from training-weight tires at around $40 to a couple of hundred bucks.

The cheap ones are heavy and will probably look a bit crooked after you glue them on the rim.

The more expensive tubulars are hand-assembled and usually go on the rim pretty straight.

They're also the tires people have in mind when they talk about the "magic" ride of tubulars. Inexpensive tubulars ride no better than clinchers in my experience.

While you're waiting for the tires to arrive, watch some videos that detail the gluing procedure.

In case the videos don't mention these tips:

---Before you pick up the tires, have the bike shop inflate the tires to about 3/4 of full pressure (e.g., to 70 psi or so) to check whether they leak.

---Leave them inflated at that pressure for 24 hours or so at home, to check for slow leaks. Best to do that off the rims; distributors won't take back leaky tubular tires under warranty if they have any rim glue on them.

(Note: you'll probably buy inexpensive tubulars with butyl tubes sewn in the tires, but if you buy the more expensive tubulars, they might have latex tubes, which lose pressure faster than butyl.)

---If the tires hold air, stretch them onto the rims (hope you have strong hands and/or the videos offer tips about installing the tires) and follow the video instructions for gluing.

You'll probably get various opinions about which glue is best, whether to use solvent to remove the old glue before applying the new, how much glue is needed, how long to let the glue set. etc. For your first tubular installations, I'd err on the side of caution.

What @Trakhak stated + read the Totally Tubular - Bike Forums
I would add that if you get the low cost tubulars, be careful about how you stretch them. Don't treat them like a rubber band but try to distribute the stretch around the tire. The reason is a possibility of inducing a bulge in the tire. I think it has to do with tread count. The lower thread count, the less costly. My preference is 320 thread count.