1964Supersport

I need to replace my 49 year old tires, not sure what to get. My bike takes 27 1 1/4 so I am somewhat limited in my choices. It was suggested I get Pasela, I read reviews that were quite mixed. One review said they had better luck with Kenda. It so happens our local bike shop sells Kenda. Other than those two I don't know what else is worth considering. I did find a pretty good deal on the Pasela, two for $47.80 delivered to my door. This was through an online store called Bicycle Warehouse. They seem to have pretty good reviews, wondering if any of you have done business with them ? I haven't looked to hard but I saw Kenda K35's two for $36.50 on Amazon with free shipping.Your comments are appreciated. thanks !

Germany_chris

You're going to have much better luck talking about old stuff in "Classic and Vintage" gen pop isn't really the place for real answers on anything

SurferRosa

Kendas suck.

There's really only one good option for an excellent value in a wonderful riding 27" tire, and that is the Panaracer Pasela. Get the Protite if you can afford it.

There is a "sticky" thread at the top of the C&V subforum you may want to read:

The ultimate 27" tire reference thread!

Chuck M 

And if you look in C&V, I think you will find an overwhelming majority of the regulars there would opt for the Pasela over Kenda. I'd trust many of the C&V regulars over some review.

Jeff Neese

In general, Kenda tires are pretty low end. Heavy, low TPI count (a lot of them are only 30 TPI), and cheaply made. They're the budget choice, and bike shops like to sell those as "service" tires. Paselas are premium tires and are one of the best 27" tires made. As people have already stated, the Pasela is going to be the overwhelming recommendation.

Iride01 

Like we don't do that already several times a week in various sub-forums?

27" tires are going to be tough to find in any decent selection. Just take what you can find that are appropriate for your terrain. Continental still makes the Ultra Sport III in that size as well as Gator Hardshell and Gatorskin.

I rode Kenda's on my 27" wheeled Schwinn's for a long time. Were they a great tire? Probably not. Were they a bad tire, probably not. Probably ride just as well as the few offerings Continental and others have for a road bike 27" tire. However I could easily and inexpensively find Kenda's at that time.

Polaris OBark

My wife actually forbids me to talk about tires.

ofajen

Continental Ultra Sport III is also made in 27 x 1 1/4”.

Otto

3alarmer 

.
...talk is cheap. Decent bicycle tyres are not.

3alarmer 

.
...the wheel rim and tire on a bicycle add up to a combination system. Sometimes, with a 50 year old wheel rim, you cannot take advantage of a more modern, high pressure bike tire's construction, that allows higher pressures. Other than that, Panaracer generallly makes better tires for bikes than Kenda. But both companies sell a wide range of products...just not in the 27" department. It's entirely possible that your 27" rims on a Schwinn take a proprietary tire. I don't know what came standard on the SS 50 yers ago.

Flip Flop Rider

Continental tires are a lot of peoples go to

3alarmer 

.
...I googled this up for you, in hopes that it might help. Upon reflection , I do think that all the 27" Schwinn rims were standard 630 bead seat diameter, just that most of them were a rim without a beak hook. So if that's the case, be careful with your inflation pressures.

1964Supersport

Thank you for that, I'm reading about the difference between wire bead and folding bead wondering which would be best for my bike. Any thoughts ? Thanks !

m.c. 

My wife is using 27 1 1/4 tires from Panaracer, the Pasela protite and has been happy with them.

I'm interested to know if they will work on the Schwinn. I've got an old suburban that takes that size tire and my plan was to use the same panaracer.

3alarmer 

...if you have rims without a bead hook, you are better off with wire bead tires.

xroadcharlie

And for good reason. Excellent reviews on the Continental RideTour 27 x 1-1/4" tire from a respected manufacturer for a reasonable price. Unless you have specific needs, This looks like a fine choice. Schwalbe also makes some fine allrounder/touring tires.

I've been happy with the stock Kenda K892 tires on my comfort bike. But I would probably go with Continental or Schwalbe tires next time.

VegasTriker

I looked up the 1964 Schwinn catalog to see what it said about your bike. It cost $96.50 brand new at a Schwinn dealer. That's 1/3 more than what a Varsity cost back then. Yours probably has chromed steel rims. They are not proprietary rims so any 27 X 1+1/4" tire will fit the rim. I worked at a bike shop a long time ago when these tires were still in vogue and Schwinns got the same tire every other 10 speed bike used. Don't expect putting an expensive tire on this bike is going to make a world of difference. I've used Kenda K838 tires on my own bikes (Balance MTB and Cannondale MTB) when I wanted an inexpensive city tire to replace the knobby MTB tires. No complaints here and some of these tires were in the sub $20 range per tire. The Kenda K35 has a maximum pressure of 90 psi and weighs 545 grams (1.20 #). It was designed for an ISO 630 by 32mm rim width.

The big difference between your bike and the Varsity is the frame. Instead of being welded it is a double butted chrome molybdenum steel frame. Should be quite a bit lighter than the Varsity. What surprised me was the gear range on the bike - listed as 38-96 GI. Modern road bikes are a bit higher geared.

phughes

Post a picture of the bike. Love to see it.

Broctoon

If you like your old wheels, you want to keep the bike as original as possible, or you're trying to save money (who isn't?), you could certainly grab a set of whatever tire model is still available in 27 x 1-1/4. Practically any recently manufactured tires--even Kendas--will give adequate performance and safety for casual riding.


If you're committed to more "serious" riding, by which I mean longer distances, steep terrain, or higher intensity workouts, you'd do well to replace your wheels with something in the modern 700C size. This will allow you to get some nice aluminum rims, which give much better braking performance than the steel that your bike came with. It will also open up a selection of tire choices about 100 times larger than you have now.


You can get a decent set of wheels for a couple hundred dollars.


700C has a bead set diameter 8mm smaller than nominal 27 inch wheels. This means your brake calipers will have to reach 4mm farther. In some cases, there is enough adjustment range for the existing brakes to still work, but often the calipers must be replaced. The good new is there are nice, modern calipers available for maybe 50-ish bucks apiece, from Tektro and others. If you go this route, you'll have the added benefit of your brake performance improving even further.


As if there are not already enough reasons to make the switch, you'll also free up additional space in the frame and fork for fatter tires and/or fenders, should you ever decide to install some.


This might sound like an expensive and complicated rabbit hole to go down, and it is if you simply wanted to get your old bike out and make it rideable again. There's nothing wrong with getting a $40 set of Kenda tires (or some much nicer and more expensive Paselas), throwing them on, and enjoying the bike for what it is. If you are hoping to take your performance to the next level, I'd recommend upgrading the wheels and brakes as well as tires.


By the way, here is a vast wealth of technical information from Sheldon Brown: Sheldon's Tire Page

Chuck M 

By the way, I should mention I bought a Marin several years ago that came with Kenda tires and I did not hate them for what they were and for the bike they were on. However when I knocked them in this threaded possibly a couple of other threads, I was referring to the 27" gum-wall tires I've purchased in the last couple of years. Those are not as good IMHO as the Pasela tires.

JohnDThompson 

No, 27" tires and rims are all 630mm BSD. Speaking of which, ETRTO/ISO size designations take the confusion out of matching tires to rims. A 27" x 1-1/4" tire will have an ETRTO/ISO size designation of 32-630, where the first number is the nominal width and the second number the bead seat diameter (BSD). Rims can accommodate a range of tire widths, but only the designated bead seat diameter. Match the bead seat diameter and try to get a width that somewhat close to that of the original tire.

Ironfish653

I know, that the technical aspects of a 27>700 swap isn’t hard, but unless you have parts just hanging around, the cost puts you right into the range of a lot of used, late ‘00s bikes that would be far better, if you’re trying to achieve performance targets.

I know that the BF consensus is that the greatest ever bikes were made before 1983, but seriously, no one is doing the kind of riding that warrants GP5000s on a 1964 Schwinn.

Take the old Schwinn and put the Kendas or Paselas, or even UltraSports on it and enjoy it for what it is.
If you want to start chasing group rides or mountain passes or century sportives, then take that money and buy a ten-year old TREK, and enjoy the benefits of 50 years of design evolution for a fraction of the cost of piecing it together yourself.

gringomojado

Kenda probably sells more ti-yres world- wide than most brands combined.
The same type of (elitists) riders who dish WalFart bikes dish Kendas.

Now, ifn you are a pro rider that is another thing

gm

3alarmer 

...I'm too fast for you this time.

SurferRosa

Must one be an "elitist" to embrace the key differences between very good Japanese performance rubber and the most basic taiwanese transportation tire?

These come at a miniscule cost, but look what you get in return. For any road cyclist, this should be a no-brainer. Even for the grocery getter, it's a no-brainer.

If you're a "pro rider" on 27" wheels ...