rvabiker

Is it possible to retro fit a bike made for 27" wheels with 700c's? I have a few old frames that are candidates for conversion...I just would rather deal with 700c wheels...easier to get and cheaper tires. Thanks.

The LT

I think you might have brake reach problems if you use them but other than that I think you will be fine

ctavel

I did that with my bike just toss them under there. the only problem that you may run into is that the brakes may hit below the rim-- of course is only a concern if you running brakes.

HTH

<dang to slow>

plantdude

depending on the brakes you have, you may be able to adjust the pad so that it engages the rim on the braking surface - borrow a 700c wheel and see if it works. I have also seen folks dremmel the brake shoe adjustment slot a tiny bit to allow for a tad bit more of pad ajustment (doing this incorrectly however could have some pretty catostrophic results)

spencer

i just did this,its not much hassle at all.bottom bracket will be just a little bit lower,but you can compensate for that with shorter cranks.if you plan on running brakes youll need some long reach ones.other than that-no problems.

humancongereel

yeah, if you can adjust your brake pads like on some older schwinns, you ought to be all right. or don't run brakes, but i'd run a front one. up to you. lower bottom bracket, too, like spencer said--so shorter cranks, also i'd suggest lower profile clipless pedals.

rvabiker

Who would have thought so many people would have mentioned brakes as a worry in this forum...no brakes neccesary but thanks for the concern

spider-man

FWIW, 27'' tyres are often cheaper than 700c. But you have more choices of the latter.

humancongereel

i haven't seen...well, any 27" fixed gear wheels except the loctite and blah blah blah bumbike setup. if you've seen some, let me know, i kind of want a pair. i think.

bostontrevor

Harris Cyclery sells 'em.

humancongereel

really? i didn't notice that. good enough for me.

mascher

This is more appropriate for Vintage and Classic, but anyone know when 700C became standard? My frame was probably a ten speed, but with 25s the clearance is fairly tight (considering I have front and rear rack brazeons), and I run a short reach brake near the shorter extreme of adjustment.

For some reason I assumed that 700C came later than the heyday of 5 speed, but my frame appears to be for them.

bostontrevor

British and American bikes used 27" wheels until the early- to mid-80s except on high quality imports. French bikes used 700C (700C is, after all, a French designation) as did Italian bikes, though I really don't know when that actually became the de facto standard. Other countries had different standards for different applications.

The 126mm 5-speed rear was still going strong when 700C came to these shores in appreciable numbers (Fuji, late 70s).

G14Classified

Didn't have a problem with my bike, it had 27" then I converted to using 700cc like you said, cheaper and easier to find tires.

huhenio

It would be lovely to switch my 27's for 700's .... but I rather save up for a proper track bike.

mascher

I've got 120 spacing on my fix. What would that point to? An earlier frame? I don't know much about this stuff, and I thought 126 meant 7speed. A guy in Philly said by the lugs and the outline of where there used to be an ELL on the seat and downtubes it would be a Pinarello. Happy about that, but should I stop riding this in the salt and slush and sell it on ebay for a million dollars and a jet? Got English threading and the original Tange headset, so I don't think this was a blinger, thought it is metal flake glossy pink.

vobopl

I am running this setup on one of my bikes, just needed to fit long reach brakes.

Portlandonian

I have a 1970 peugeot PX-10 made for 700C. I heard that the lower models of that year were using 27" If you go to that website with all the peugeot catalogs you could probably see when they started using 700C.

Here it is... https://home.wanadoo.nl/peugeotshow/

EDIT: Wow, this is really getting off topic, but the catalogs had 700C wheels on race bikes from 1950!

poopncow

When i converted to 700, I also wanted to run brakes front and back (BECAUSE I LIKE IT). and I also wanted to run good brakes, so I replaced the fork w a nice carbon 700 fork (steeper steering at the same time) that will allow any quality brake. for the rear, I made my own caliper extension by chopping the brake shoe tang off of an old brake caliper (center pull dia crapE) and bolted it to the rear brake bridge. The slot serves allows me to lower the caliper. If anyone is interested, I'll post a picture.

huhenio

Post a pic please.

<my wallet trembles in fear>

Poguemahone

700 was the size for tubulars; hence their presence on early racers. Most stock racers, like a PX10, could accomodate either size, due to generous clearance. I've three PX10s, one of which runs the tubulars (stock wheelset), another which has what appears to be a stock 27" wheelset, and another set up as a fixed gear, running 700 x 28. I'm running a Gitane Tour de France with fenders and 700 x 28s as well which would be completely impossible on most modern day racers.

A lot of older brakes, like the Mafac Racers, had substantial reach. Easy to switch between wheelsets.

bostontrevor

I know of 120mm 5-speed freewheels, but I've never seen such a thing personally and I don't know their vintage.

shants

you should be fine with 700s. just get a long reach brake caliper (if you are even going to run a brake).

shants

big ups on the gitane tour de france. i love my tour de france conversion so much.

noisebeam

I have a new 700 wheel on the rear and the original 27" wheel on the front of my conversion. I use 25 tires on rear and 1" on front and they match. I will keep the 27" wheel until it needs work, then replace it.

Al