28” -> 700c conversion

[byke!punk]

The hubs were the biggest question for me so thank you for that.

I was eyeing those Blunt 35s and they look good for this sort of build. My biggest hurdle, and this is a personal preference, is finding tires without prominent branding on the side. I’ve had this beef for years but tires on a 100 year old bike shouldn’t shout “WWW. MEGATIRE.COM”. I feel like I should be getting paid to promote their brand.

My first really old bike and I’ve discovered the joy of removing a front wheel from a fork that isn’t slotted. It wasn’t too bad but I just kept asking myself, “Who thought this was a good idea!!??”

Sounds like a job for the Hozan! I crimped one fork leg early on doing it like a brute. Never again.
I got my hands on some Kenda Kourier in cream and clay and they have no loud sidewall advertisement. They fit the blunt 35. I have one modern wheelset laced to a ND model A with matching front hour glass. One set of blunts with Model D. Haven't decided what the next set is going to be but that's coming soon.

 

[Archie Sturmer]

My personal preference, is finding tires without prominent branding on the side.

Going against what I posted about commonality, the English 40-635 Westwood rims may be available, and some plainer-looking black 40-635 tires might not have the glaring logos on the sidewalls. But availability in U.S. may be limited. The old style chrome rims look nice on some roadsters.

 

[RustyJames]

Sounds like a job for the Hozan! I crimped one fork leg early on doing it like a brute. Never again.
I got my hands on some Kenda Kourier in cream and clay and they have no loud sidewall advertisement. They fit the blunt 35. I have one modern wheelset laced to a ND model A with matching front hour glass. One set of blunts with Model D. Haven't decided what the next set is going to be but that's coming soon.

I wasn’t aware of THAT Hozan tool so I looked it up. Yikes! Kinda spendy. A quick scan around and Amazon has it for 1/2 off and I have a credit with them so it’s on its way from Japan, ETA the end of the month. Thanks for the tip!

 

[byke!punk]

I wasn’t aware of THAT Hozan tool so I looked it up. Yikes! Kinda spendy. A quick scan around and Amazon has it for 1/2 off and I have a credit with them so it’s on its way from Japan, ETA the end of the month. Thanks for the tip!

Another tip for using it, put some thin rubber scraps cut from old inner tubes between the tool and the fork legs to prevent scratching your paint. You’ll see rubber already there on the tool but it’s inadequate.

 

[RustyJames]

Going against what I posted about commonality, the English 40-635 Westwood rims may be available, and some plainer-looking black 40-635 tires might not have the glaring logos on the sidewalls. But availability in U.S. may be limited. The old style chrome rims look nice on some roadsters.

Interesting idea. There are about 3 places here in town that I can get 635 tires but in my head the style points are being clubbed by the practical side of things.

 

[bikewhorder]

I've had very good luck using old metal clad wood wheels. @bikewhorder posted the process here years ago. They can be still picked up rather inexpensively,( I think ). Easy to groove w/ a 4" grinder & composite disc. The metal cladding adds enough meat to hold the tire. You get a great vintage looking profile. The faux wood graining is an art, my skills have progressed all the way from eh to mediocre. Hope springs eternal, one day I'll get it. In the mean time, I've done a few & put a pretty good amount of miles on them w/out any issues. This one has a 350 watt motor on the front & a 3spd Sturmey w/ coaster brake on the rear.

View attachment 2232831

https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/i-made-some-wheel-progress-recently.27120/

This was that ancient thread you mentioned.

 

[tacochris]

This may not be exactly what your plan is but for this ‘23 Rex i just took a set of 700c fixed gear wheels, took the hoops and laced them to the original hubs and then patina-matched the hoops and spokes to the bike. The tires are just the cheap Innova tires that came on the fixed gear wheels.

 

[RustyJames]

This may not be exactly what your plan is but for this ‘23 Rex i just took a set of 700c fixed gear wheels, took the hoops and laced them to the original hubs and then patina-matched the hoops and spokes to the bike. The tires are just the cheap Innova tires that came on the fixed gear wheels.

View attachment 2234677

Lookin’ good!

 

[mopargeek]

Sounds like a job for the Hozan! I crimped one fork leg early on doing it like a brute. Never again.
I got my hands on some Kenda Kourier in cream and clay and they have no loud sidewall advertisement. They fit the blunt 35. I have one modern wheelset laced to a ND model A with matching front hour glass. One set of blunts with Model D. Haven't decided what the next set is going to be but that's coming soon.

I've been looking the only Kouriers I can find are black, you have a source?

 

[byke!punk]

I've been looking the only Kouriers I can find are black, you have a source?

I got mine second hand. I gave it a go and couldn't find them new online either.