Demens

Over Easter, I was rummaging around in my grandparent's barn, and I found a Brittany FreeSpirit hanging from the ceiling.

It is a 10 Speed bike, and in pretty amazing condition. Just for fun I aired it up in the barn, and the tires held and it rode perfectly. No rust anywhere on the bike at all... Anyways, this is all besides the point.

I'm kind of wanting to upgrade the wheels on the bike, and I was wondering if it would be possible to bump them up to 700c wheels, rather than the 650a wheels that are currently on the bike... Reason being there are much more wheel options as well as tire options available in the 700c size.

Do you think that it would fit? Has anyone done this? I know the bike probably isn't worth a ton... But I would still like to modernize it a little bit, anyways.

Let me know,
Thanks.

rotharpunc

all you can do is try it, it will work on mountain bikes a lot, but they are designed for larger tires. There is a big difference in rim size though, 559mm v. 622mm if I recall

Bianchigirll 

I am not sure what a Brittany Freespirit is. on a road bike the general reason for 650 wheels is for standover height on a very small frame. OH yeah Tri bikes used the to save weight for awhile. the wheels on it now are quick release? unless you you have 700c wheels you are not using it may not be worth it.

Demens

They are not quick release... And as far as size of the wheel, a 650a is 590mm. So, not sure if I can squeeze a 700c on there or not... I'm relatively new to the whole road bike scene and don't have much reference for size differences in the wheels...

I think I may be able to, because as it stands right now, there are fenders over each tire... I imagine if I remove the fenders that would give me enough clearance for the larger tire. Though, this would sacrifice the cool-factor of riding around with some sweet fenders :-P haha


Do you think I should try it out? Or just suck it up, upgrade the wheels to a newer model of a 650a (sheldon brown has 4 listed on his site here...) I wouldn't mind hanging on to the 650a if you think there are the same caliber of tires available for them.

Thanks for the quick replies and helpin a noob out ;-)

riva

One of our bikes went from 590 down to 559mm and the brakes still reach.. try it.

michaelwc

my father has a free spirit greenbriar. it's virtually identical. IIRC there isnt enough clearence in the fork for larger wheels but your results may vary.

actually, i'm pretty sure it's just a 26" wheel no funny number/letter combo. tires are easy enough to find online at any online retailer worth their s#!t.

michaelwc

honestly, i'd say keep it the way it is. don't remove the fenders and try to make it something it isn't. it's a department store 10speed tourer. put some fatter 26" tires on it and some pannier baskets and use it to run to the corner store. they ride nice just the way they are.

EDIT: Also, it's called a FreeSpirit Brittany. FreeSpirit was Sears' house brand of bike. Here's some more info on them.
https://www.oldtenspeedgallery.com/ow...5-trek-spirit/
https://www.oldtenspeedgallery.com/fo...pirit-brittany

Bianchigirll 

well said Michael

Pompiere

I have a Free Sprit Brittany and I have tried to fit a larger rim. The issue isn't so much the fenders, but the chainstay length. If you were to try to mount a larger rim, you would have to completely deflate the tire to get the wheel on, and you would only be able to fit a small tire, like 700x23.

Panthers007

I'd love to see some photos of this bike. Many better Free Spirits were made by Puch in Japan - and they are well-worth restoring.

Demens

I've decided to stay with the original size and just build up some wheels myself for it...

Panthers - I will post some pictures when I get the chance... My grandparents brought it to my house (but, I'm at college, so it will be a bit before I can go take some pictures of it all)... For an image: it is maroon with gold lettering and some gold pinstriping.

michaelwc

About the only thing I'd suggest on this bike that wouldn't be original would be a different freewheel. Maybe something with a higher than average 5th gear. These were heavy bikes and anything more than a moderate climb could be a real challenge.

Demens

Yeah, since I'm rebuilding the wheels, I'm honestly probably going to get a fixed hub. So, no, not completely restored.... But still look special

sonatageek

Got one of those free this weekend. Low end lugged steel frame and 26 1 3/8 tire sized wheels. Trying to decide if it is even worth fixing up to the point of being ride able.