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28” Colson Tire and Wheel Saga

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tjkajecj

Wore out three sets of tires already!
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.

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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Now both bikes have their original wheels back on,
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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
 
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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