Peugeot 3-speed with buckled 650b rims.... what next?

[dirttorpedo]

Re:

Velo Orange in the US has been selling 650b wheels and tires for a number of years. Duty to Europe may be pricy. Here is a Panaracer that may be suitable for your ride.

http://store.velo-orange.com/index.php/ ... -tire.html

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

Re:

Good to hear that the wheel rebuild is nearing completion. It would be great to see some photos when it's finished.

It would be useful to know the maximum tyre width that is possible with your frame and forks.
317mm measured from the centre of the axles should give you about the position that the widest part of the tyre will pass through the frame and forks.
And Half of 584mm (292mm) + the tyre width will give you the approximate radius of the inflated tyre.

Schwalbe do some 650b road tyres including coloured and puncture resistant models with widths from 40-50mm.

http://www.schwalbe.com/en/tour-reader/ ... -plus.html

http://www.schwalbe.com/en/tour-reader/big-ben.html

http://www.schwalbe.com/en/tour-reader/marathon.html

http://www.schwalbe.com/en/tour-reader/ ... -plus.html

Or if these are too fat, go for something like the 35mm wide Michelin.

 

[neuroportal]

Just noticed the thread.

I run a 650b Velo-Orange Polyvalent and in case this is any use to anyone in future:
Fresh Tripe provide VO rims in this country. http://freshtripe.co.uk/Freshtripe/Home.html

Grand Bois tyres are excellent; The Hetres, though 42mm, not cheap (about 40 quid each) but they are excellent. Smaller sizes are also available. They allow you to quite easily deal with gravel paths.

Here: http://www.velovitality.co.uk/products/ ... etre-tyres

If you are interested in 650b generally, Jan Heine in the states has a great blog which covers a lot of 650b stuff: http://janheine.wordpress.com - A lot of Randonneurs use them, not so much in this country, and they are a very versatile tyre size.


Hope this provides some use to someone in case this comes up in a search.

 

[DrewSavage]

Re:

Cheers, that's a great help! And all very interesting.

I've just managed to find a 1988 Peugeot Brochure which has my bike in on page 27, at which point it's called a Peugeot Tradition... I must have found this at one point before, because that's what I believe the model to be called.

Although it also seems to be in the 1985 brochure and there it's called a PVD-30 Gents Classic Tourist. I imagine they made something pretty similar for many years.

Anyway... the wheels are described as 26 inch, the original tyres as 26 x 1 1/2 x 1 5/8. That strikes me as having been translated from French dimensions into English. I've just been trying to teach myself the metric language of 650B etc etc as I reckon that's more useful to track down the right thing these days. Can anyone help me translate the above info back into that?

I'm suddenly a bit worried I actually had 26 inch rims and have mucked it all up by going down the 650B route. Although my ex-girlfriend says the tyres on her bike, which are original and thicker than the ones that LBSs fitted to my bike as replacements, say '650B 1/2 ballon'.

 

[neuroportal]

Pretty certain those are 650b.

The Great man, Sheldon Brown, states:

"584 mm, 650B, is the focus of this article. This size, also known as 26 x 1 1/2", is most popular in France, where it was the traditional size for loaded touring bikes and tandems, as well as general utility bikes. "

So you are quite fine.

 

[barry2017]

There are several different sizes of 26" rim. Here are the three you will come across if you don't start collecting really old bikes.

First, 26x1.5 (559). This is the size of mountain bike wheels, the 26" tyres you can buy in Tesco.
Then, 650a, 26 x 1 3/8" (590), which was used in the size of British bike wheels, very long distance old-fashioned world touring bikes (it was the one rim you could buy anywhere, once), and cycle speedway wheels. Becoming a bit of a rarity, but there are still lots around.
Finally, 650b, 26 x 1 1/2x 1 5/8" (584), which is what you have. It is starting to come back into fashion and there are a wide selection of rims available.

A tyre that says 650a will be too big and may jump off the rim. A tyre that says 26 x any decimal instead of a fraction will be too small. You need 650b.

There are plenty of 650b tyres here:

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tyres-26-275 ... pt348_pg1/

I would suggest the Schwalbe HS159. A good medium quality tyre, ideal for a bike you don't want to think about much. Michelin World Tours are not what they were in the past, it is worth spending a little more for fewer punctures.

 

[DrewSavage]

Brilliant - thanks Chris. So I think I'm getting the hang of it now... on the SJS website, all the tyres are listed as 44-584, 37-584, 35-584 and so on.

If as Hamster says, 584 means the diameter of the rim for the tyre bead, does the first number refer the thickness of the tyre? Would the gumwall Schwalbe HS159s (44-584) be a little bit chunkier than the black Schwalbe HS159s (37-584)?

What do you make of the Continental Tour Rides? Continental tyres seem to have been getting rave reviews of late.

 

[neuroportal]

The first figure is the width. So 44 is 44mm.

However, I am completely biased. Grand Bois all the way. If you can justify the price, but they will last, will give you a decent ride, and they are relatively light.

http://janheine.wordpress.com/2011/05/1 ... ois-tires/

 

[DrewSavage]

Ta. I'm wondering how much weight is an issue. With the old wheels, the bike weighed 15.8kg. I'm interested in seeing how much difference the new wheels make.

With the frame and mudguards etc being that heavy, I wondered how much difference lighter wheels would make. The main difference I'm hoping for is improved braking, and actually being able to stop in the wet.

 

[neuroportal]

Isn't the weight so much as the handling. Loaded tourers will have a lot of weight, as do tandems, and these tyres are considered the best by many in this size. Made in the same factory, iirc, as the Panaracer Paselas in Japan. Though I need to check that.

Whatever you go for, it is nice to see that you are keeping this going and staying with 650b.