3sp Jamey

Can anybody please help me identify the correct tire size for a Starjet Women's Deluxe, ca 1960-64?

Hi, all. Long-time reader, first-time poster.

I have an adult ladies single-speed Starjet Deluxe believed to be from ca. 1960-64 that I rescued and rehabbed. The bike is pictured at left as my account avatar. (I'd post higher-res photos but this site doesn't permit new users to attach or link to media until after the 10th post.)

Starjet was one of the brands made by the Chain Bike Co (manufacturer of Ross Bikes and some private store labels). I think this bike was similar or the same as the Ross Deluxe in case this helps jog anybody's memory.

The [very old] tires that came mounted on the bike--one a Goodyear, the other a Kenda--have no specific wheel size noted on the sidewalls, just that they are 26" x 1.75. The tires have no other markings (ISO, etc),

I thought a Schwinn 26" would fit, so I ordered a set of Kenda K75 S-7 Schwinn 26" (ISO 47-571). The' diameter of these tires was too large for this bike's rims.

I've checked the Sheldon Brown site and other resources. There seems to be a consensus that there are at least five 26" tire sizes.

I thought that maybe somebody here has a Starjet or Ross Deluxe and can tell me which size they're using.

I appreciate any help you can offer.

Thanks!

-3spJ

merziac

Older Schwinn and Raleigh each had their own standard most all others were regular 26in. like modern MTB of which there are many street tire versions, Kenda makes them as well as Continental, Michelin and many others.

Bianchi84

I'm guessing that the Schwinn Ties you ordered were 26 x 1-3/4 and not 26 x 1.75 ? Though numerically equivalent, they are not the same size. Since 2 different brands of 1.75 tires seem to fit, I would think a standard 1.75 would work.

3sp Jamey

I checked my order confirmation. You're right, they are 1 3/4 and not 1.75. Good call. Will use this info to narrow my search.

Thanks!

3sp Jamey

Yeah, have seen this a lot. Makes sense, as makers fabricated almost all their forged/stampe parts (e.g., Raleigh, when they were in Nottingham). Contracts with companies like these were a component-maker's holy grail. Hopefully somebody on BikeForums has a Starjet or Ross coaster bike of similar vintage and can give me the lowdown.

Thanks!

Hondo6

OP: this might help if you haven't seen it:

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/26.html

Per the late Mr. Brown, tires sized 26 x (integer.decimal) are ISO 559 BSD. Pretty sure that's the size you need.

But if you're buying locally, you might want to take one of your old tires with you and compare before buying - just to be sure.

T-Mar

While there are several bead seat diameters for 26" tyres, I'm only aware of two that are smaller than 571mm, and those are 561mm and 559mm. The former is a Swedish standard, so that seems unlikely, while the latter is the standard used on 26" ATB wheels and it does use a decimal format. I'd just take the front wheel down to your local bicycle co-op or a local bicycle shop and fit a 559mm, to see if it is correct..

Generally, what I do when I have an tire with an unknown bead set diameter, is take it off the rim. I then put a piece of tape on the floor and a draw a radial line on the rim sidewall. I align the two, then roll the wheel for one revolution along a straight edge, such as a 2" x 4" piece of lumber. marking the end of the rollout with another piece of tape on the floor. I then measure the distance between the two pieces of tape, which is the circumference of the rim. I repeat the process a few times, to ensure the measurement is consistent. Dividing the measurement by pi (3.14) will provide the rim's outer diameter. One you have that, you can go to rim charts, which will tell you the bead seat diameter, which is typically 12 or 15mm smaller than the rim's outer diameter, depending on the rim sidewall style.

Here's a better picture of the OP's bicycle...

Hondo6

Interesting. Not the typical ATB/mountain bike.

I wonder if the wheels (or rims) are original or a replacement set?

nlerner

I agree that if a 571mm was too large, most likely a 559mm will fit, and that’s a very common and available size.

Kai Winters

We encounter this problem a lot at our shop when working on vintage bikes. Some brands, especially Schwinn, touted their own wheel diameter, which thankfully died out, which makes it a bit more difficult to offer the correct tire/wheel to customers needing repairs to their bike. The three digit code...559, etc...are the keys but it also limits the tire choice as there aren't a lot of choices and often you have to take what is available.

3sp Jamey

While there are several bead seat diameters for 26" tyres, I'm only aware of two that are smaller than 571mm, and those are 561mm and 559mm. The former is a Swedish standard, so that seems unlikely, while the latter is the standard used on 26" ATB wheels and it does use a decimal format. I'd just take the front wheel down to your local bicycle co-op or a local bicycle shop and fit a 559mm, to see if it is correct..

Generally, what I do when I have an tire with an unknown bead set diameter, is take it off the rim. I then put a piece of tape on the floor and a draw a radial line on the rim sidewall. I align the two, then roll the wheel for one revolution along a straight edge, such as a 2" x 4" piece of lumber. marking the end of the rollout with another piece of tape on the floor. I then measure the distance between the two pieces of tape, which is the circumference of the rim. I repeat the process a few times, to ensure the measurement is consistent. Dividing the measurement by pi (3.14) will provide the rim's outer diameter. One you have that, you can go to rim charts, which will tell you the bead seat diameter, which is typically 12 or 15mm smaller than the rim's outer diameter, depending on the rim sidewall style.

Here's a better picture of the OP's bicycle...

<snip>

Thank you, T-Mar!

LBS was kind of stand-offish about measuring. They wanted me to pick out and purchase a comparable tire beforehand and they would adjust the price for the actual tire. Seemed kind of unethical, or at the least very labor intensive. I guess they're fed up getting burned dispensing advice so folks can order online.

Anyhow, will follow your advice. My guess is that the tires are 559, but will confirm.

3spJ

T-Mar

The 559mm bead seat diameter pre-dates ATBs. It's just become closely associated with ATBs, as they have been the prime user of that size for the past four decades. The pioneer ATB manufacturers selected it has their preferred wheel/tyre size but it goes back much earlier. For instance, I have a 1966 catalogue showing the Araya 7A, which was available in 559mm bead seat diameter, in both 1.75" and 2.125" widths.

RustyJames 

If you want to confirm size on the cheap, find a shagged MTB/ATB/Cruiser tire at a co-op or on CL, FB Marketplace, etc and see if it works. In my locale, I wouldn’t need to look long to find something for $5 or less. I have a few floating around my place that would be free to someone if they wanted ‘em.

Hondo6

You're right as usual, of course. I'd forgotten that 559mm was also the BSD of the old 26-inch "balloon" and "middleweight" bike tires.

wrk101

There is a time to visit a local bike shop and NOT buy tires on line. This is one of those times.

Never assume older bikes have original parts. I had one old. JC Higgins cruiser, wheels were two different sizes (both looked original, both looked to be the same size.). As I recall, one was 590, the other 597. Both were 26- 1 3/8 sized..... I ass-u-me'd they were both 590s. Wrong! Someone had swapped in a Schwinn 597 wheel.

Hondo6

One could also remove the old tires and measure the rims to determine the BSD:

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/rim-sizing.html

Inusuit

I have three bikes that use 26 inch tires and have put new or different tires on all of them. I didn't know any of this so was apparently just lucky.

Vintage Schwinn

Most non Schwinn, other makes' cruiser bicycles from the 1940's through the 1980's are 559mm TWENTY SIX.

Many of you, perhaps have forgotten, or just aren't aware that the original mountain bikes adopted this ancient 559mm TWENTY SIX wheel size.

YES, THERE WERE NO International BEAD SEAT DIAMETER markings (with the metric 559mm) prior to the mid to late 1970's.

That is because there was no international bead seat diameter "convention" prior to that time. There was much confusion as Mr. Sheldon Brown explains in great detail.
The old SEARS catalogs, if you go online and view them, likely will have something like "Replacement Tires for Schwinns" , and " Replacement tires for Other Bicycles".


As wrk101, accurately points out, you can't always be sure of what the heck wheels or mis-matched wheels, on any old bicycle BECAUSE OFTEN PARTS SWAPPING HAS TAKEN PLACE over the years to keep the bicycle happily rolling along.

Still, though if the wheels are original to your Chain Bike Company (ROSS) from the early sixties era, if you're bike has their original wheels, I believe that they are (559mm) TWENTY SIX.
Now if you ever go over to the C.A.B.E. forums, you will see that though your Sixties era cruiser bike is classified by the cabers generally as an ordinary middle weight bicycle, .....those caber folks often like to install the fattest tire that they can, so that it has more of an appearance of a "balloon tire" bicycle.
NOW while all 559mm tires will match your wheel's bead seat diameter, and fit on them BUT THE WIDEST VERSIONS might not have adequate clearance.
You can probably go wider than say for example a (47-559) tire, as I'm guessing that is about what was probably close to original. You just need to check if you have the side to side clearance between the frame. The fatter tire will give you a more forgiving, comfortable ride, and might provide better traction & braking depending upon the actual tire tread pattern/design and tire manufacturer. Most all of the 559mm TWENTY SIX tires are excellent and very well made. Stay away from knobby tread UNLESS you plan to only ride it off road on dirt. Knobby tread won't hurt you, but on the street it makes the ride a little rougher and not as smooth & not as swift. There is a unique, more modern tire design that is extremely comfortable and the most swift riding (fast) for such a TWENTY SIX (559) tire.
For example: KENDA Kwest tire with a smooth tread design with a bevel, tread patch, sort of like a phonograph stylus/needle or modern motorcycle tire.
The wire bead 559mm version of that particular tire comes in a bunch of different widths. Its a great tire if you like a comfortable cushy ride, and it is also perhaps the fastest tire that any ancient beach cruiser could use. Now this Kwest tire will not last 20 years like a traditional beach cruiser tire would, because the rubber tread compound is softer, and it isn't as hard and thick, but this smooth tread Kwest tire should give you at least six years of great use on your cruiser.
This type of tire is the best riding bicycle tire that I have ever experienced on a beach cruiser. Nothing is wrong with the traditional beach cruiser tires. They are great too. Basically, you just want to be riding tires that aren't too old. How old? If the tires are still flexible and look okay, REPLACE THE INNER TUBES & RIDE THEM, but don't go nuts like the idiot Cabers who want to ride tires that are dated from the time that the bike was made. Riding on a concrete hard brittle cracked rubber 1961 BF GOODRICH tire on your 1961 bicycle is just stupid. Your butt will thank you when you ride on tires that aren't too aged & ancient, and you'll be more safe and secure with better road grip and stopping ability. Again, that becomes critical if you will be riding your bike enthusiastically. If you're only planning on going at about a 6 mph pace on a path or lightly trafficked paved road that is level, with no undulations or hills, than it really doesn't matter if your bike's tires are 85 years old like the 1937 Elgin bicycle. I wouldn't ride really ancient and concrete hard, dried out rubber, tires on any bicycle, although hard core Cabers seem to love doing it. You might as well have cave-man , Flintstones wheels carved out of stone, like something that Pebbles Flintstone and Bam-Bam Rubble had on their bikes.

Vintage Schwinn

BikeSmiths, BikeTiresDirect and others will probably have better pricing than what you'll see on Amazon.

47-559 is gonna be 26 x 1.75

40-559 is gonna be 26 x 1.5


Your bike has 26 x 1.75 tires on it.

Your bicycle REQUIRES tires with a wire bead.


Specifically, the Kenda K-193 Kwest 26 x 1.75 47-559 wire bead was the "modern tire" that I referred to earlier.

There is the basic , cruiser replacement tire, the Kenda K-123 26 x 1.75 which looks very much like what you have and what might have come in 1965.

GOOGLE those and see all the online bike shops and their ebay stores (just search whatever tire and all categories on the bay) and amazon sources. You can use Amazon to read the hundreds of reviews on whatever tire.
*********** DO NOT LIMIT YOUR SELECTION POSSIBILITIES TO ONLY KENDA!!! I simply highlighted these two just as examples. There are so many possible choices from so many great manufacturers. I don't think that you'll find any bad tires in the "cruiser bike" sizes.
I am no expert on the current offering of cruiser bike tires so don't listen to me on choice of particular tire..........get what you like and think would look nice on your bicycle. YOU SIMPLY NEED A TIRE WITH wire bead and 26 x 1.75 (47-559mm)..............you should be able to go wider than 47mm but how much I cannot give a decent opinion........you would be able to fit a narrower tire 26 x 1.5, but why would you want to do that, as doing that (using a 26 x 1.5 ) would be the wrong way to go on your bike.
***THERE ARE PLENTY OF BRANDS & A HUGE AMOUNT OF TREAD STYLES......none are expensive, some are under $20. All are widely available, although you won't find much or any selection at your local bike shop. You might find one tire at Wallyworld in the store. Your best option is to have your fingers do the walking on your keyboard and have the big brown truck bring it to your doorstep in four days.
Perhaps other folks here on bikeforums will chime in on what particular beach cruiser tires that they recommend. You may need to go into the Beach Cruiser specific forum here on bikeforums And ASK, folks that question. If you go over to the C.A.B.E. (classic antique bicycle exchange) forums and ASK over there, you should definitely get a few responses, and they might be able to definitively tell you what the the widest tire that would fit within your frame, if you wanted a fatter tire appearance and perhaps, depending on the tire, more cushy , ride. Most of the Cabers though, would rather have what they deem to be "the right look" rather than optimal comfort or ride quality.

3sp Jamey

100% agree. But I draw the line at a LBS making me pay in advance for tires without knowing which ones I'd be getting, or when. Again, I understand the person was trying to protect their nut from online retailers. But they could have done more to provide transparency and reassurance that I wasn't going to be ripped off. My goal wasn't to take their info and save money online. I didn't want to sink $70-90 into a bike I might ride 3-5 times/year.

3sp Jamey

Thanks. I really appreciate the answers!

USAZorro

I picked up a distressed Star Jet a few years ago and totally re-did it. While I replaced the very crusty original wheels with ones I built myself (converting it to a 3-speed coaster brake), I stuck with the original size of 559. I put a set of budget slick tires that I'd gotten from Nashbar a couple years before that on those wheels.

Here's a link to the Flickr album I made showing a portion of the project.

3sp Jamey

Thanks. Great idea to go with a 3sp!