# Need help with tires for wooden rims...



## oddballaffliction (Oct 10, 2022)

Hi all! 
   Long time muscle and balloon tires bike enthusiast, but first time poster, so please excuse my ignorance! I picked this bicycle up a couple of weeks ago. It seems like sort of a bitsa, but I couldn't resist. My real question is where do I find tires for it and how do they attach?! I'm not familiar with wooden rims like this and an internet search did not  turn up much. I would also like to know what year this may be from. Am I correct in thinking this is a 1920s frame with earlier components? I know the tank did not come on it, but I have a similar era Elgin as well.  Any help is appreciated!


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## stezell (Oct 10, 2022)

First off welcome to thecabe! So what badge does it have and serial number? If the wheels are 28" a member on here Robert Dean actually makes tires which would be glued on if I'm not mistaken. 

Sean


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## MrMonark13 (Oct 10, 2022)

oddballaffliction said:


> Hi all!
> Long time muscle and balloon tires bike enthusiast, but first time poster, so please excuse my ignorance! I picked this bicycle up a couple of weeks ago. It seems like sort of a bitsa, but I couldn't resist. My real question is where do I find tires for it and how do they attach?! I'm not familiar with wooden rims like this and an internet search did not  turn up much. I would also like to know what year this may be from. Am I correct in thinking this is a 1920s frame with earlier components? I know the tank did not come on it, but I have a similar era Elgin as well.  Any help is appreciated!
> 
> View attachment 1709987
> ...



Elgin tank on there is sweet! I can garuntee that it is not correct, though. Cool project!


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## oddballaffliction (Oct 10, 2022)

Thanks! Will try to message him. I will post a couple of pictures that were requested. Serial number is - M27649.


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## oddballaffliction (Oct 10, 2022)

I have not cleaned it or done anything to it yet. Figured I would get parts together first. Tires and chain priority!


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## fordmike65 (Oct 10, 2022)

Reproduction 28" tires | Antique Bicycles Pre-1933
					

Robert Dean Tires 28 x 1 1/2" ribbed tread and 28 x 1-3/4” smooth tread tires for sale. They are $150-175 each includes shipping. Robert Dean Sr. 628 Jefferson St. Saint Albans, WV 25177 They are black, red or white, 4 ply , no name or size on side wall Hours are 5 PM - 9 PM EST M-F and 9 AM - 9...




					thecabe.com


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## oddballaffliction (Oct 10, 2022)

Any idea as to age and actual manufacturer?


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## oddballaffliction (Oct 10, 2022)

Also, do these tires need to be glued on? Is that a question for Robert?


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## MrMonark13 (Oct 10, 2022)

oddballaffliction said:


> Also, do these tires need to be glued on? Is that a question for Robert?



Yes, tires do need to be glued on.


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## dasberger (Oct 10, 2022)

Nice bike.... 

Yes..  single tube tires must be glued if you plan to ride them.  Private label for Rowlette's bike shop.  Quick google shows the shop closed in 2019 after 95 years so that puts bike at mid to late 20's.

@Jesse McCauley this one is from your neck of the woods...


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## oddballaffliction (Oct 10, 2022)

Thanks! I found that info too, I was just wondering if anyone knew who had actually manufactured it originally. I may be able to date it from the serial number if I knew who had actually manufactured it.


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## stezell (Oct 10, 2022)

oddballaffliction said:


> Thanks! I found that info too, I was just wondering if anyone knew who had actually manufactured it originally. I may be able to date it from the serial number if I knew who had actually manufactured it.



I'm leaning towards Shelby as the manufacturer with the chainring and badge, just my 2 cents. 

Sean


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## bikewhorder (Oct 10, 2022)

Is that a fixed gear rear hub?  There's some sweet early parts that pre date the bike. Definitely Shelby built, probably early 30's would be my guess.


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## SKPC (Oct 11, 2022)

Can we see a clear picture of the serial number?  It may be hiding one digit that you may not have noticed. Thanks in advance! Nice old Shelby made moto.


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## Handyman (Oct 11, 2022)

Personally, if you want to turn this into a "rider", I wouldn't go to the expense and hassle of putting Robert Dean tires on the old wood wheels. Pete in Fitchburg


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## oddballaffliction (Oct 11, 2022)

Well, you called that one. Another appeared under the gunk! Yes, the rear hub is fixed.


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## mike j (Oct 11, 2022)

I may be mistaken but those wheels look like metal clads. I've had good luck grooving them & putting 700's on. I got it here on the Cabe, I believe Bikewhorder first posted the process. The metal cladding adds just enough beef to keep the side wall from blowing out. A faux wood finish really makes them look nice, authentic & you're not breaking the bank. Good luck & have fun with it.


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## oddballaffliction (Oct 11, 2022)

Thanks! They are definitely all wood rims. Looks like it may have to be glue on tires.


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## Handyman (Oct 11, 2022)

If you want to ride the bike I'd consider ordering a set of wood reproduction wheels from Noah Stutzman (see attached pic) with the metal inserts.  These wheels are strong, ridable, have that nice original wood look, can be built with the correct period hubs and will take modern tires.  Another alternative is to build/buy a wheelset with metal wheels that will take modern 700 tires.  Then, all you have to do is sell your old wood wheelset to me and we're both happy campers !!   Pete in Fitchburg


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## Legislator (Oct 16, 2022)

Modern bike shops in the USA call those tires "Tubulars", otherwise they go by "Tubs", "Singles", "Sew-ups" or "F$^* these!" if you're installing them yourself and you think it will be easy or fast.  Tubulars do ride amazing.

Tubular tires are definitely still in production, and unless you plan on doing actual hard cornering on that bike, you won't need to do the level of work that a UCI Cyclocross mechanic does to glue the tires on and ride the bike.  The last shop I worked in Portland OR would install tubulars as a service, labor was $125 per tire + $100 per wheel if they had to scrape old glue, plus around $10 per wheel in glue, on top of a fairly expensive tire ($100-150 each) on wheelset(s) that rarely cost less than $1-3k per set.  Most people that paid that were well off racers who were either good enough to think it would give them an advantage, or rich enough to not care about the cost. 

If you just want to ride the bike and feel that it mostly needs new tires and some love for the chain, I'd just see if you can get that old chain going, and then try the laborious, dirty, glue fumes heavy process of stretching and gluing some modern tubulars yourself!

If the outer diameter of your wheel is roughly similar to a modern 700c Tubular (I would guess that it probably is) and you have a local bike shop you like, Challenge makes a tire called the "Strada Biancha Pro 700 x 40" that your shop could order from QBP, and would probably clear your frame based on your pictures (do some measurements though before taking my word for it).

That bike looks cool, especially the handlebars, and what looks like Industry9 style straight pull spokes (though I couldn't really tell that one from the pictures).

Cool find!


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## Andrew Gorman (Oct 16, 2022)

Cyclocross  sew ups are wider, but have a non-period aggressive tread and are expensive.  An old Wheelmen pamphlet suggested using TWO narrow road bike sew ups per wheel just to get the bike on the road. Tufo is a relatively inexpensive brand.


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## Legislator (Oct 17, 2022)

My point in talking about my professional experience with tubulars was to drive home that ALL tubular tires are expensive, due to low production volume and the fact that they are almost all handmade.  

Due to UCI regulation, most all cyclocross tubulars will top out at 33mm wide, and yes, most will have some sort of side lug for riding in mud.  The Challenge tires I listed are a smooth "file" tread, tan sidewall, and roughly 40mm wide, or about 1.5".  Modern 'road' tubular tires come in at 20-28mm wide, and most will have a smooth file type tread.  

I personally would not ever suggest that you mount a tire that was narrower than, or even the same width as the rim, because the tire is there to protect the rim, in addition to making the bike bearable to ride.  They called bikes "boneshakers" for a reason before the invention of the pneumatic tire.  Mounting 2 tires side by side would mean drilling an extra hole in your rim for the extra valve, even basic cornering would be quite strange, and the physical act of mounting 2 tires that are covered in glue would be no picnic.

To the OP, do you plan on mounting the tires up yourself, and how much do you want to invest in a spin around the block on that bike?


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