What 700c tires?

I bought an old raleigh 10 speed and some wheels with a flipflop hub on it today from a friend.

The wheels apparently take 700c tires.

The bike has some really excellent 27" tires on it now.

Can they be swapped over?

If not, any suggestions on cheap tires? I'm in the bike $80 already and I'm trying to keep it under $150 all said and done.

I know 700c tires will not fit a 27" wheel, not sure about vice versa but does not seem like it will work. As far as what to get it really depends on how you are using the bike, check with the local bike shop a cheapo tire might work fine or something more serious (kevlar lined / purpose tread pattern) might be better for your needs.

The 27 is a 630mm diameter, the 700c is 622 if I remember right, so no they aren't compatible.

As for decent tires, I think the best bang for the buck tire out there is the Panaracer Pasela. They're available with Kevlar (Tourguard) or non-Kevlar versions. I personally enjoy riding on non-kevlar tires as I find the flat protection really is not worth the extra money, and the tires are noticeably less supple and fast.

They also come in many widths. The 28mm is really the best all-around width, and considering you are downsizing from 27" wheels, you should be able to fit them easily.

Also, what model Raleigh? Many old Raleighs were very nice bikes.

It's a Raleigh Records. I guess they are nothing special. Here's a picture of it before I tore the components off (gently).

The aftermarket wheels are Weinmann DP-18s with a flipflop hub. They say they take 700c by 18 or 23 tires. Can you actually fit larger tires on it like a 28? We have a lot of potholes around here and I would like to avoid flats and bent rims all I can.

The chainring options I have are 40t and 52t.

The Weinmann's currently have a 16 tooth 1/8" cog. They were also severely out of true. I trued them up pretty well I think considering it's my first time actually starting fresh with a bicycle wheel. Was very fun and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I'll post up a video in a bit showing before and after on the front wheel.

I suppose this will sort of turn into a mini build thread.

The before and after of the front wheel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO0RTQ5W7P8

The only thing that really seems to need maintenance is regreasing the bottom bracket and the head set. Anyone have any suggestions here? I don't have much in the way of tools at school.

That bottom bracket has a cottered crank attached, so search for that - SHeldon brown is a great resource as always. Once you remove the cotter pins you can't re-use them, so you have to find a bike shop local that has the right size cotters. It's a pain in the butt to get the bottom bracket apart, many times old ones like these are seized in place. Good luck!

The headset is very simple. A large wrench will do. Remove the top lockring, then remove the top adjustment nut. The bearings may be loose, in which case get the same size and number (top and bottom) and replace them. Clean top and bottom bearing races. Use grease liberally, tighten the adjusting nut to where it moves smoothly but does not yet bind.

Those brake pads are original - replace them. Very cheap and easy.

It's not an incredible bike, but it's a great one to learn how to tune up a bike on. Very simple stuff.

My panasonic is much nicer, but it's huge! 69 cm

Wow, those are worlds apart in fit. How tall are you? Do you fit on the Raleigh?

I'm 6'3 and wear 34/34 jeans. The Panasonic fits fine with the seat as low as you can get, but it does feel large. The Raleigh has never seen the road with me on it yet, that's why I'm trying to spend as little as possible on anything that isn't the wheel set I have. If the Raleigh is way too small (which it probably will be) I will put the wheels on the Panasonic.

Although, I love the stock wheels on the panasonic. Everything is in excellent shape. I'd be tempted to just try to swap in a flipflop hub in the back wheel.

Oh wow a Toyota Tundra. If I had one I could haul my bicycle and my canoe!

69 cm WOW... and I thought my 65cm old lugged trek was big lol... I keep my eyes open for an older super large road frame but they are rare around here :-/

anyway ya as said 27" and 700c tires don't swap... but usually there is enough play in the brakes to use 700c wheelset (not that it matters if you run fixie)...

well I would stop at what you've done based on your size. That bike looks like probably a 58cm or so, and it's going to feel very cramped, especially coming from the Panny.

I'd stick with the Panasonic if you can even pedal it. It might look a bit goofy but I have found a bigger frame is far more comfortable and smoother than a "too-small" frame.

I started on a 50cm. I'm riding a 58 now as my on- and off-road bike, and I'm 5'11".

bastomatic wrote: ...t might look a bit goofy but I have found a bigger frame is far more comfortable and smoother than a "too-small" frame...

Ya, I agree. I have a large frame (also 6' 3" with 36" inseam) and I have found the small frames make riding a pain literally. My frame is 67cm if I remember correctly. It is a 1978 LeTour

Yeah, we'll have to see. Both this bike and my panasonic have 52t chainrings. I can definitely swap the wheelset over to the panasonic if I prefer that bike.

I've been testing out fit on this frame on the carpeted floor and I'm a little skeptical.

But it's supposed to just be a campus bike so I'm not too worried about it either way.

After riding the panasonic for about 2 weeks, the size is fine on campus, but it's horrible for any rides over 1 mile. The panasonic is too large though for campus stuff. The seat is all the way down and it's still a little too high compare to the crank.

The raleigh is ~59.5 cm
Panasonic is 69 cm

I think I'm going to try to find something around 63 cm.

Also, I like the cranks on the panasonic much more. 172.5 mm while the raleighs are 165.