Lively or Not

I got my hands on a 1970s (estimated by component dates) Araya steel-frame bike. I'm beginning to outfit it as a daily transportation cycle to replace my car for in-town needs. The bike came with the original 27 x 1 1/4 w/o HP steel Araya rims, which I plan to keep since the bike is rare, and the rims still look shiny-new (except for a bit of rust on a few spokes, which I'll replace eventually). And to forestall the suggestion, I'm replacing the brake pads with Kool Stop salmon pads.

So here's the question - what tires to use? Right now it has reasonably new Chen Shin 27 x 1 1/4 road tires. My daily route takes me over some pretty rough roads and a haggard-looking RR crossing. I'd be more comfortable with a wider tire, but am unsure a) how wide a tire the wheel can/should accommodate, and b) how to measure prospective tire height for fender clearance.

Bonus points for knowledge of what "w/o HP" means on the rim label. I'm not finding much help with that online.

If pictures would help, I'd be happy to post some.

Thanks!
Lively or Not

JerrySTL

The first thing that you need to check with old rims is if they are designed for beaded tires. If the insides of the rim walls don't have a bump on them, modern beaded tires will not work properly. You'll need to keep them under-inflated or the tires can blow off the rim. I wouldn't go over 70 PSI.

If the rim does have the hooked-bead, then you can usually safely inflate the tires to their max rated pressure. The Chen Shin tires that I've seen do have wire beads.

The 1 1/4 tires should be good enough until they wear out or get too cut up.

auchencrow

If you are going to use this as a commuter, you are going to want to get a set of alloy hoops for it anyway.
KoolStops or no, you don't want the compromised wet braking performance, plus it will "feel" a lot livelier and lighter will alloy rims.

As usual, I would recommend Pasela's. They seem to run a little large, and in my experience, they are a much more reliable tire than the Chen Shins.

Velocivixen

I have a lovely Nishiki Riviera Mixte with 27" rims and I have the widest Panaracer Pasela's on there. I forget the exact size but it's the widest one they sell as a 27". On the rim & inflated they measure 32mm using digital calipers. Nice ride.

Share some photos please.

67tony 

I believe Pasela's only go to 1 1/4", but that would be a good size for commuting, imo. If you're worried about durability you can get the Tourguard model - more money but with a "kevlar" belt!

w/o HP stands for wire-on high pressure, unless someone lied to me when I asked that question a while ago.

Lascauxcaveman 

If they really are steel, non-beaded rims, IMHO, it doesn't matter what tire you run, as long as you don't run it too high-pressure. About 70, 75 PSI is about the max (based on my personal experience - I blew off two tires I had pumped to 85 and left in the sun). Paselas are great, but the Cheng Shins I've had feel about the same at 70 psi; I've run both for plenty of miles. The CSTs may be a little thicker and heavier and for that reason, maybe a little longer lasting. On those rims, I'd run whatever is cheap and not push them too hard.

Check your fork and chainstays for clearance before you try to get anything bigger than a 1 1/4" tire in there. I've never felt the need to go fatter than that for a commuter tire.

zandoval 

At 240# I have had great luck with the Cheng Shins 11/4 - And yes they do feel right at about 70psi - I buy them cheap and replace them or give them away as soon as the center bead gets worn - I have heard they are not such a good tire but all of mine have been so good that when I do get one that does not meet my personal specs I will be due...

Scrutinize any tire you put on your bike no matter who makes it...

zandoval 

At 240# I have had great luck with the Cheng Shins 11/4 - And yes they do feel right at about 70psi - I buy them cheap and replace them or give them away as soon as the center bead gets worn - I have heard they are not such a good tire but all of mine have been so good that when I do get one that does not meet my personal specs I will be due...

Scrutinize any tire you put on your bike no matter who makes it...

OP - 1 1/4 should fit with any fender but going larger may take close figuring and experimentation...

Further note: BEWARE ALL RAILROAD TRACKS - Especially on a bicycle or motorcycle....

RATS - How'ed I make a double post?

eschlwc

dunno how far you are from tulsa, but i would try finding some used aluminum rims/wheels on craigslist there.

or buy some rims and spokes online and build them up yourself using sheldon brown's site and your bike frame as a stand.

i use ...
paselas from amazon
sapim db spokes from danscomp
sun m13ii rims from whoever's cheap

Lively or Not

Thanks for all the insights, folks. At some point I may swap out the steel rims for aluminum, but not yet. I live in a small town where traffic patterns are sedate, so quick stops are not too much of a concern. The number of potholes and rough roads generally is the more serious problem. I'll check the rims' inner walls and adjust tire pressure if needed. Will also post some pics tonight or tomorrow.

The Golden Boy 

I would also get alloy rims.

"Sedate" or not- stopping is important- probably more important than "going."

Seriously, you may be able to score a set of used 27" alloy wheels for $20, or even free. I've seen posts on CL about people offering free 27" wheels because they've changed out to 700C.

It'll make everything about your ride much nicer. For real.


Tire wise- Pasela Tourguard or I think they're called "PT" now.

Essthreetee

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...ce-thread.html

Bill Kapaun

The Sun Rims M13 II's might be too narrow to work properly with the brakes on an older bike.
I replaced a set of identical rims to the OP's and the CR-18 worked well.
I use the M13 II's on my hybrid. I had to move & ADD spacers to the brake pad studs to shim them closer to the rim, else they hit the rim at too much of an angle. That may not be an option on old road brakes.

BTW- When I used the rims (a bunch of years ago) the OP has, I didn't know about hook bead etc. Pumped them us to 90 PSI with the cheapest Chen Shins and had no problems.

David Newton

Araya made 27" alloy rims, lots of them, and would be period correct for your bike. In fact, if you looked for a set of good condition, used, alloy wheels in 27x1-1/4" there's a very good chance they will be Araya rims.

eschlwc

never heard of this problem before.