Wheel size for ladies BSA Sport Roadie.

[sazhen]

Hi there,

I'm wanting to do up my old trusty BSA roadie as a spare bike for friends and visitors to use. I am wanting to find out what size wheels fit perfectly with the frame. It is an '80s vintage frame, I've been told. A 'that'll do fit' won't suffice (as I've learnt), it needs to be a perfect fit so that my lovely long-drop Shimano brake levers hug the wheels effectively. Does anyone have any information about wheel sizes for this bike?

THE PICTURE BELOW IS NOT MY BIKE. But that bike frame is what I have.

Thanks in advance,

S x

 

[hamster]

Measure from the centre of the dropout to the middle of brake block. It should be around 315mm for 27"(630mm rim tyre bead seat diameter), 311mm for 700c (622mm). It's just possible it's the old roadster 590mm diameter.

 

[sazhen]

Thanks hamster!

Have measured according to your instructions, and for the rear measurement I got 325mm (approx...).

I recall the mechanic saying that I had brake-fitting issues (despite buying long drop brakes) because the current wheels I had (622mm) were slightly too small for the frame. He also said that the original wheels would have been slightly larger, and were a standard size for '80s roadie frames (what my BSA is)... do you have any information about this please?

Cheers!

 

[hamster]

So you have a frame for 27" (630) wheels. Fitting 700c into a 27" frame almost always means new deep drop brakes.

At this stage you face a dilemma - find 27" wheels (a fair few old ones around, and a handful of rims and tyres available new) or swap the brakes.

Personally I faced this with my Witcomb: I bought Tektro R559 callipers (which look nice and OK with the Campag bits) and enjoyed powerful dual pivot braking and a massive choice of 700c wheels and tyres. I'm not prissy about orginality, the bike got ridden all through the winter. The purists are probably shuddering and clutching their brasso. I don't care, my bikes are for riding.

Up to you.

 

[Jonny69]

Probably 27". Sounds like it from what you've described. We've got a Raleigh mixte of the same age and it's also 27". On eBay there's a user called mattempleton who also trades as singlespeed components who makes some nice 27" wheels with polished alloy rims. The cheaper ones usually have satin finish rims which don't look as good, in my opinion.