I just got this sort-of-restored Diamant from (I'm guessing) the sixties and I'd like to put wheels closer to the factory size on there. Currently it's running knackered, mismatched old 700 wheels that I'm not a huge fan of, and based on the chain stay cutouts (I wasn't able to take a useful picture unfortunately) they are clearly too small a diameter. Hopefully the other pictures show what I mean.
Can anyone point me in the right direction to figure out what it should have? And if that's impossible, is there a good 27" wheel set out there? It seems like that would at least be a more appropriate than a size that afaik didn't even exist when the bike was produced. I know they still make 27" tires, I've got other bikes if I want to ride fast so I'm not bothered about them being slow and primitive.
by Nervous-Pizza-1160
6 Comments
Argh I have no idea why Reddit deleted my main pic of the bike, here it is
https://preview.redd.it/fkkheislnpxf1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd8f090359b55ea55833767a5f85deb5279accd3
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So cool! That headbadge is absolutely iconic. Velo Orange make the 27″ Enterprise rim.
The brake think otherwise, also you are not supposed to show unproletarian attitudes like driving around on skinny tires without mudguards.
From what I recall, old bikes are typically 24 & 1/4 as an old standard rather than 700c.
If I’m right, these are somewhat hard to come by new-ish but my local bike coop has these salvaged from other bikes. Maybe see if you have one local if you want something “authentic”?
Based on the badge it is from 1956 – 1964, with your frame number you can check the exact year : [https://ddrfahrradwiki.de/Datierung_Diamant_Fahrr%C3%A4der](https://ddrfahrradwiki.de/Datierung_Diamant_Fahrr%C3%A4der)
The wheels where probably 27″ x 1 1/4″ (16-630) you can still get some new/cheap Schürmann rims [https://www.zweiradnetz.de/laufrad/felgen/27×1-1-4-630-16-schuermann-sport-alu-kastenfelge-silber-36l-kaufen](https://www.zweiradnetz.de/laufrad/felgen/27×1-1-4-630-16-schuermann-sport-alu-kastenfelge-silber-36l-kaufen)
Otherwise you have to look for a specialized shop, here in Germany we have for example Velo Classic, and they have some wheel sets and rims: [https://velo-classic.de/oxid2/index.php?cl=search&searchparam=laufradsatz+630&lang=1](https://velo-classic.de/oxid2/index.php?cl=search&searchparam=laufradsatz+630&lang=1)
Edit: Oh and lovely color and condition 🙂