My main bike is this 87 or 88 nishiki century I picked up last year. It was remarkably light for an old steel frame bike. Heavier than my old Panasonic so I had to buy it.
Anyway, I’m starting to look for new tires and noticed my front wheel has a 700c tire while the rear wheel has a 27 x 1 1/4 tire on it. Can someone break down how that’s possible? I thought my bike had 27 x 1 1/4 wheels and couldn’t fit a 700c tire?
Does this mean that I have two different wheel sizes? or are 700c and 27inch wheelsets so similar in size that the tires are interchangeable?
by Top-Equivalent8525
5 Comments
oops, I meant to say it’s LIGHTER than my old panasonic!
Yes you have two slightly different size wheels. You can measure them with a tape measure to convince yourself, but it’s certainly true if the tires say so.
May as well just keep on going like that. It’s not a big deal, the difference is only a few millimeters and both sizes are still available in new tires.
27” wheels are dinosaurs and haven’t been sold on many new bikes in the developed world for decades. Likely the original front wheel was damaged or stolen and finding a 700c wheel was much easier, as well as gives more choices of tires, as well as a wee bit more clearance if you want fatter tires or to install fenders.
No, 27” and 700c wheels and tires are NOT interchangeable. But the inner tubes are.
>Does this mean that I have two different wheel sizes?
Yes, at some point in the bike’s life the original 27″ wheel was replaced with a 700c wheel.
>or are 700c and 27inch wheelsets so similar in size that the tires are interchangeable?
No, a 700c tire will not fit on a 27″ rim, and vice versa.
Edit: typo
Having an ’85 Trek touring bike that was originally spec’ed for 27″ wheels I urge the OP to throw some 700c wheels on the Nishiki. This will necessitate dropping the brake pads in the calipers about 4 mm and it looks like you have the space there. Grab a 700c hoop and experiment beforehand. This will end the restrictive tire choices, update the freewheel to a freehub, and grant more clearance for fenders.