Need help! Rim Size?!?
 

Im quite fresh to the sport of cycling. Over the last month ive compacted knowlegde on bikes in this tiny brain of mine. That being said, when i started up i bought cheap bikes to work on, so i could just get my hands dirty. I bought and old Sears "FreeSpirit" bike as the first bike i would tweek with. I found out the hard way that my rims/wheelset required a certain wheel size. 26x1 3/8, and that no other 26inch wheel would fit my rim. So now i have a set of bikes, and this FreeSpirit bike just collects dust. I would like to take the tires off the old bike, and install them on a newer one(my tires are worth more than the bike at this point). My question is what size rims/wheelset do i need to fit these types of tires? And where can i find them? I usually do all my shopping on ebay, obviously for the great prices. But im unsure in on WHAT to buy. I know people are gonna say that its too expensive and not worth it, but it was never about the money. So please just positive comments and helpful ideas would be great plz!! Hopefully the pic helps, thanks again!!!!!

I believe that is an older British size ? Try the Sheldon Brown website, I'm sure some others will chime in here.

I already did, couldnt find the info i needed. Just all the things i already know about my tires. Thanks you for the recemondation.

Here's the Sheldon Brown page on tire sizes that Leebo mentioned:

Tire Sizing Systems

Over the years, there have been at least a few different "26 inch" tire sizes that aren't interchangeable. There are even multiple "26 x 1 3/8" sizes that aren't compatible with one another. I'm guessing your Free Spirit has rims designed for EA3 tires with a 590 mm bead seat diameter. (Same size as the French 650A size.) According to Sheldon, that size was used on "Most English 3-speeds, department-store or juvenile 10 speeds". It's not a common size, especially for modern bikes.

650A rims are available, but scarce. AEBike.com lists them on their web site HERE, but it's just a rim -- not an assembled wheel. You'd have to lace the rim to a hub yourself or have it done ($$$).

I'd personally be really hesitant to buy used "26 inch" rims for those tires because there's a good chance it'll be the wrong kind of "26 inch" rim. You'd want to measure the rim before buying it to be sure, and I'd guess many online sellers wouldn't bother. And if they did, there's a pretty good chance they'd get it wrong. Off by just a few mm and you might buy the wrong (incompatible) size.

Oh, and then there's the challenge of finding a bike that'll fit 650A wheels.

Honestly, I think the most practical use for those tires may be to leave them on that bike.

Thanks skydog, i figured that might be my best answer unfortunetly. I was just playing with the thought. Maybe ill just find some frame that might fit all the componets. Maybe the only feasable route.

Installing an obsolete wheel size on an otherwise modern bike is like buying a car to fit an old muffler you found. And new wheels will cost more than better replacement tires for whatever bike you wish to install them on.

26x1-3/8 tires are pretty rare. Rims to fit them are even more rare.

Why not fix the bike to a serviceable condition and sell it?