# 28” Colson Tire and Wheel Saga



## tjkajecj (May 25, 2020)

I picked up a couple of 28” Colsons over the last year, neither were operational with the rims/tires in their purchased form. First was a ‘34 with metal clad wood wheels needing glue-on single tube tires, the second was a ‘33 with metal clincher wheels with petrified US Chain 28”x1.5”. Had to set the original wheel sets aside while I mulled over options. 











Immediately built up a set of Velocity Blunts for both with somewhat age appropriate ND hubs. Dozens of tires for this option, I chose tires that have no sidewall markings (Wandas). Easy to build, and in my opinion, fit these bikes great while also making them road worthy. 







Back to the original wheels. Both years had the hourglass shape front hubs and the early Model D rear hub. Really wanted to get these back on the bike somehow. 
When I got the ‘33 it still had fairly decent paint left on the rims including pin-stripping. Being clinchers, I thought it would not be a problem finding tires. Wrong... 40-622 are too small. And there is not much available in a 37-630 size. Ended up with a set of 37-630 (Kendas) but these are very narrow (29mm). Story to continue. 




I saw a post on Thecabe about modifying wood rims to accept 40-622 tires. Got the router out and proceeded with placing grooves in the hoops of the ‘34’s rims. This works great, 40-622 tires install perfectly. Used the same tires as what are on the Velocity rims (Wandas)  Wouldn’t recommend any harsh use, but it gets the bike back to a state where it can be ridden with its original hubs and rims. For everyday riding I will still use the Velocity set, but for shows I will use the modified metal clad wood set.









 




Back to the ‘33 metal clinchers, I did not like the narrowness of the Kendas, so I am trying a set of solid Tannus tires 40-622. They are supposed to stretch over the 630 rims, which they did without too much trouble. I still think they have a too low a profile and don’t fill out the fenders, but it is great not having to check the air pressure. 
















Now both bikes have their original wheels back on, 




I know the purist may complain, but I like to be able to ride all my bikes, and to the degree that I can make them...original. If at some date someone come out with a 28” Chain tread glue-on and clinchers, I would certainly swap these out. 
Also, I am not recommending any of these options, just wanted to share my experience, but if someone wants to PM me to get more details, I would certainly be willing to help. 
Tim


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## Bozman (May 25, 2020)

Great job! 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


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## Balloonoob (May 25, 2020)

Shouldn't nobody complain about that! Pretty cool the routing worked.  I think i read that thread too and there was some mixed opinions.  Nice that you had the time and money to get them blunts rolling too. Gotta have riders and those are 2 awesome riders.


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