Sorry this is a super zoomed picture. I’m trying to figure out what is going on with this very late 70’s Trek I’m interested in. The wheels don’t seem to match the brakes. It’s all Shimano 600. The front wheel is newer and the rear wheel appears too big. I’m very much interested in this bike but I’m not super excited about buying a wheel set for it. What might be happening here?
by Imnothere1980
3 Comments
Might be that the bike originally had a weird rim size, like 26×1 3/8 or something else obscure. Those wheels (and tires for them) can be tricky to find these days, so the owner might have slapped a new 700c wheel in. Not quite the right size but it could work depending on the sizes.
Would I rock it? For a bar bike, heck yeah. That brake looks like it’ll stop okay, at least as well as most cantis, and for a light, slow, casual riding bike that’s fine for me. I probably wouldn’t ride it like that for anything long or serious though.
You may be able to find brake calipers that fit that setup, depending on where the mismatch is. If not, you’ll need a wheel. Expect to spend a bit of time and money solving this though, if you want to. Good luck!
Likely the dif tween a 27×1 1/4″ vs a 700C. Old US made bikes used the 27″ standard and everything else was using the French 700c standard. The tire outter diameter was the same but rim sizes were slightly different. I suspect you brake is mounted to fit a 27″ x 1 1/4″ wheel.
27in (630mm) is larger than 700c (622mm) so this appears to be a bike built for 700c with a 27in wheel. 4mm on the large side.
If the pads are fully on the rim it will work fine.