MrMook

I'm fixing up a friends tiny Motobecane children's road bike. Neat little guy. Doubles up front, and 3 speed cassette in the rear, bar-end shifters. I've got the thing torn down, and I'm going to freshen up all the bearings, run new cables, new chain, new bar tape, but what it really needs is new tires and tubes. But it has 450x32a tires (also known as 450a apparently).

Is there another size still in production that could work on these hoops? Anybody know where to pick these up or have any lying around they might want to get rid of? Even Harris Cyclery can't find them anymore.

Sorry for the crappy cell phone pic (the seat post is hardly inserted here... I just set it there for the pic).

King of Kadence

Schwalbe makes that size.

https://www.schwalbetires.com/product...0%5B%5D=451-25

Bill Kapaun

https://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#iso

Look at the 390 MM.

riva

Schwalbe only lists a 37mm 450a and looks out of stock. I couldn't find any US sites with anything, but I saw this-

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/category-Tyres--450A-(390)-342.htm

Maybe you can special order from hutchinson through an LBS.

rotharpunc

I badly want one of those tiny motobecanes

banjo_mole 

That's awesome. Do they still have children's road bikes today?

Amani576

The handlebars and seat look so disproportionate on it. They're HOOGE compared the rest of the bike. What's the standover on that thing? I'd love to see something like that in person, make me feel like a giant. It's too bad the only small bikes they make anymore like that are (")BMX(") bikes or mountain bikes. Why do people think kids don't want to go fast anymore?
-Gene-

riva

Looks like one of those newfangled minivelos.

MrMook

Yeah, I had already started to tear it down when I snapped the pics. The stem is out, so it looks wicked tall, but the bars themselves are actually pretty well proportioned to the rest of the bike. The saddle (hard plastic BMX style) is what was on it when I got it...no idea what the stock saddle looked like, but that's easily replaceable.

Thanks for the tips on tires. I called around to a few places up here in VT today, and was directed to a shop in NYC that might be able to order them for me. I guess this size (or similar) is also common on folding bikes.

Some more pics (also from the cell phone):

Panthers007

Aren't these about the same as the wheels/tires one uses with a recumbent bicycle?

cudak888 

They spared no expense stuffing an AVA death stem for the kiddies, eh?

-Kurt

Panthers007

But it also sports those nifty "suicide-levers" on the brakes. Bear in mind - this is a true Motobecane - it's made in France.