A couple of replacement parts? Try the entire mechanicals can be replaced with either NOS, remanufactured parts, or used, but in the used parts department is only for those who don't want to spend the money for NOS or remanufactured...anywho the parts for the Model t is not obsolete, if they were there would be no running model t's left. And now with 3D printing even more parts will be made.

I can't imagine the state of mind one must be in to think that the method of dominating a topic is by claiming that the Ford Model T is not obsolete as a vehicle in 2014...

The car is but not the parts or TIRES, they still make the stuff needed to keep them running forever.

And besides I have a weird state of mind.

Model T is certainly not obsolete as a novelty or as a Model T club member's ride. It is obsolete as a highway or commuter transportation vehicle though.

Likewise, 27" tires aren't obsolete as tires for vintage-bike rider's bikes. They seem to be obsolete as a bicycle designer's choice of tire however.

The latest year of bikes that I have owned which came with 27 inch tires is about 1988, and both the Motiv and Lotus were (albeit decent) low-end bikes.

Bikes like the cheap "Firenze" giveaway bikes with 27" wheels were perhaps made a year or two longer, but these were truly at the department-store level of quality.
Does anyone remember any 27 inch wheeled bikes offered into the 1990's?

Schwinn Voyageur.

http://sandro.knot.org/blog/wp-conte...comparison.pdf

My 1990 Cannondale ST400 has 630 rims but my 93 T700 has 622s. Not sure when they made the switch.

Mostly low end, mid end, to high mid end came with 27" tires but there were a few high end bikes that also came with 27" including all French bikes like the Peugeot U10 and the Vitus 979, and on the other side of the pond Schwinn Paramount. So 27" tires were not exclusive to low or mid level bikes but the they were quite a bit less common on high end bikes.

And if I remember correctly Walmart was selling new bikes with 27" tires as late as the late 90's.

I wouldn't know the exact years off hand but higher end Fuji touring bikes used 27" rubber. Also, our 1980 Santana tandem is built with some of the best available components and strongest wheels for the era. It rides on 27 inch rubber.

Fuzzy memory, but sort of recall my brothers 1980ish higher end Miyata racer came with a 27" wheelset. Eventually he became envious of my Colnago vs. his prized Japanese ride. I traded him a pair of Galli rimmed 700c tubular set for a Pioneer car stereo....lol. Also, to make it work and brake reach, he had to swap out to some Modolo brakeset.

I'd say that 27"/630mm tires and wheels are anachronistic, not necessarily obsolete.

The 1991 Schwinn Voyageur is surprising to find 27" wheels on, though as a practical matter one could find this 1-1/4" tire size at all kind of retail stores where 700c tires are still not sold.

The only other models I've seen with 27" wheels that were sold new in the late 1980's had nutted rear axles, and other steel parts here and there such as rims, handlebars, chainrings, crankarms and rear hubshells.
My 1984 Trek 720 retailed at over $850 and had 27" rims (Matrix-branded, dark-ano'd copies of the Super Champion Mod58).

It's clear enough whether one should ride 27" wheels. It depends.

The remaining argument is over the meaning of the word obsolete. As such, it is a discussion of words, not machines.

It really isn't a question of obsolescence, but rather a question as to what the manufacturers can sell. The two sizes, 622 and 630 are so close that it doesn't make sense to have two sizes, however there are enough 27 inch( 630),rims and wheels still being used , and some manufacturers still have the molds to produce 27" (630), that they continue to sell and make them. However they don't seem to be using their latest technology to produce wide, high performance tires in the 27" size as they are doing with 650B and 700C size tires.

Maybe one day in the future, manufacturers will discontinue 27" tires, and those who want the size to continue can organize to save it; just as the French did to keep 650B alive.















































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There are millions of bikes around still using 27" tires, so they're not simply going to stop making them unless those million bikes or so dwindle down to just a few hundred which isn't likely to happen for a very very long time. In fact my understanding is that sales are actually increasing not decreasing in the 27" size, which seems to make sense because there are more choices today for 27" tires then there was 15 or so years ago; does that mean more manufacturers will make them or will current manufacturers simply add another model or 2 to their current line? Time will only tell. Currently on my touring bike that has the 27" size I really like the Panaracer Pasela TG tires, they're great for weekend light loaded touring that I do, when I start to plan interstate trips I'll have to get the Schwalbe HS420. It does appear too that touring tire quality is far better with 27" then the same size in a training tire.

You're right about the high performance 27" tire because no one races on those bikes anymore. The Conti Gatorskin is about as close as your going to get to a high performance tire.