I have 3 old 27” steel frame bikes, one was a drop bar with 27” wheels, one has a flat bar with 27” wheels and the latest, a mixte, has a flat bar and 700c wheels. I was able to stuff a 35mm tire in the mixte frame. These old frames allow the option to run larger tires than found on a typical road bike and make a great candidate for a hybrid build since they are plentiful and low cost. Anyone else running a 27 as a flat bar?

I was looking at this a few months ago. I have three or four older bikes with decent frames in the shed. I found it would cost me more to build them up than to just buy a new bike with the components I like. Now if there is nothing out there with the components you want, then the older frame could be a good start.

I took the 8 spd Nexus wheelset from a bike my wife never rides and put them on my 82 World Sport. It came out to be a nice ride with the VO Postino Handlebars, Alfine 8 speed shifter and a few other spare parts I added. As you can see I love fat tires.... pictured with 700 x 42 Continental City Contacts.

Very nice before/after shots. Love what you did to the bike.

I think it's pretty common to convert old 27" bikes to 700c, which may be what you are referring too. If you really want to do something cool, see if it will convert to 650B!

These two frames are identical except one has the orginal 700c wheels and the other is converted to 650B. I know which one I like better!

I'll take the 27.5"

I like mixtes, they make for very flexible general purpose bikes with a few easy mods. The thin

double top tubes add a lot of visual personality and contribute to a remarkably comfy and springy

ride.

The C+V and commuter section also has a lot of practical older bikes.

I fixed up a mixte for my wife and I ride it once in a while. The only new part on it is the grips (WTB) but I replaced the fork (generic), seat (WTB), seatpost (90s Kona), shifters (XT thumbies), handlebars (generic), brake levers (Suntour XC Pro), and chainrings (SG-X 46, Vuelta 36) with parts I already had. Im on the lookout for decent cheap 700c wheels; then I will upgrade to dual pivots and an indexing freewheel.

At that point, I may as well throw on some retired 92 XT derailleurs. Currently it indexes acceptably so I may just leave it as is

That's a beauty! The way I like twinn top tubes it would fit in nicely with the 3 that I got.