when did they stop using 27 inch rims??

Mid 1980's or so.

700c are (only) 8mm different in diameter - just enough for the brakes not to fit anymore usually.

Personally I'd switch to 700c every time unless I had wheels with really excellent rims as it just makes life simpler.
 
Both 27" and 700c existed in parallel, with 27" dominating in the UK and USA, and 700c in Europe. British touring bikes tended to favour the sturdier and easily-repaired 27" clinchers. Racing bikes used tubular tyres because no race-worthy clinchers existed until the end of the seventies. Sprint (tubular) rims are the same size as 700c clincher rims. When good quality 700c clinchers began to appear, it made more sense to standardize on 700c for all uses, rather than build bikes to two such similar standards. 27" bikes were disappearing from the market by the mid eighties.

It's interesting that Cannondale continued to use 27" wheels for their touring bikes until the early nineties. Perhaps there were still more 27" touring tyres available in the USA.

http://sanaandterry.com/cannondale/year/1990/1990.pdf
 
Funnily enough, I was wondering this.

I have what I think is an '89 Nigel Dean frame, so late eighties & british.

Yet I 'think' the frame was designed for 27" wheels, as with a 700c front wheel the brake drop isn't quite enough, pretty much on the limit. I thought that by the 80's 700c was commonplace within Europe?
 
Have you fitted modern brakes? The drop is less than it used to be, especially on the rear. Shimano make non-series long drop brakes to fit.
 
I bought the bike as it was, all of it looks to be Shimano that was available from '89/90 onwards, so I'd have thought it was original, but couldn't say.

They are Exage 500 brakes, 39-49mm drop, looks like I need around 55mm drop.

There again, maybe that doesn't mean a lot, as the deep drop brakes for 27" frames with 700c wheels such as the Alhongas are 57-75mm!! Looks like I just need some calipers with a little more drop, not necessarilly deep drop :)
 
Hallsy":1slytxi1 said:
They are Exage 500 brakes, 39-49mm drop, looks like I need around 55mm drop.
That your frame has mudguard eyelets suggests it was probably intended to be built with mudguard clearance on 700c wheels, and 47-57mm reach calipers. These "standard reach" calipers were common in the days of single pivot brakes, but harder to get hold of when dual pivots and "short reach" became the norm.

A while ago I noticed that Planet-X were selling brake reach extenders (cartridge brake shoes with a downward offset) that would be an inexpensive solution to your reach problem if you can find a pair. Planet-X no longer have them.
 
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