# 1941 new world racer local find



## SJ_BIKER (May 23, 2020)

I picked this up recently. It has drop bars (not pictured).  I'm going to make it a rider with no fenders. And possible swap out the mesinger seat for b17 Brooks saddle.  The rims say superior Schwinn stamped into metal.  Wondering what tires can fit on this. Current tires say 26x1.375. are these pre s6?? I'm not familiar with the tire options for these rims. The second picture is the look I'm going for.


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## rennfaron (May 23, 2020)

Looks like that was just a new world that someone turned into a drop bar version later on. A true New World Racer would not have come with fenders. Smallest frame size there, at 19".


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## sam (May 25, 2020)

No tires made today for those rims. You can swap them out with 26x1&3/8 rims.


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## rennfaron (May 25, 2020)

@SirMike1983


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## GTs58 (May 25, 2020)

*I'll quote SirMike. *

It is best to use bead seat diameter in talking about U.S. lightweight tires before the 1960s.

The early Schwinn rims have a bead seat diameter of 599 mm and take tires known as "26 x 1.375". That size is an archaic U.S. lightweight bicycle tire size that has not been made in decades. They are hard to find and usually hard as stone when you do find them.

However, there's a good chance you can use the new production Schwinn S5/S6 pattern tires. Kenda makes them. These have a bead seat diameter of 597 mm (26 x 1 3/8 Schwinn size, not English). That 2 mm difference usually is not enough to throw off the fit, unless they rims have high sidewalls. I'd try the modern Schwinn S5/S6 (597mm) tires on it.

If the rims have high sidewalls, you need the old-type 599mm tires, but the Superior rims, at least all the ones I have seen, have normal sidewalls.

The Superior rims are relatively valuable. The wheels set as a whole might be valuable as well, depending on the hubs and spokes. Schwinn had some premium hub options (especially the high flange stuff or duraluminum shell stuff) and some really good quality, double-butted spokes. What does the wheel set look like?


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## creebobby (May 25, 2020)

What crank and chainring are on there? More pics? Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## SJ_BIKER (May 25, 2020)

One piece crank. Big bottom bracket


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## SirMike1983 (May 26, 2020)

26 x 1.375 is an obsolete size used on American lightweights, mainly used before and just after WWII. Bead seat is 599 in ISO measure, so you probably can use modern ISO 597 (reproductions for Schwinn rims called "S5 and S6" tires - Kenda makes them today). They made need a little working onto the rim, but usually it's close enough to work. The "Superior" marked rims are of good quality and probably original to the bike, so don't swap them out unless you absolutely can't get the 597 reproduction tires to fit. I've had luck getting 597 reproductions to fit on the old 599 Schwinn rims. You won't be able to use the English sized (ISO 590) tires, so stick with the ISO 597 reproductions.

The white is an unusual color. Bike looks to have been made shortly before WWII. 19 inch frame is the short size (standard is about 21 inch, "tall" is about 23).


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