do Schwinn drop center rims need goofy Schwinn spec tires like the straight side rims?

[49autocycledeluxe]

never had a bike before that did not have S-2, S-7, S-6 or S-5 hoops. my new B6 is a 47 or 48 with drop center rims and I need tires. getting it rolling and riding as we speak and I need some tires.

 

[coasterbrakejunkie1969]

never had a bike before that did not have S-2, S-7, S-6 or S-5 hoops. my new B6 is a 47 or 48 with drop center rims and I need tires. getting it rolling and riding as we speak and I need some tires.

Not a special tire

 

[bloo]

Schwinn ballooners of all types use what we would consider "normal" tires. 559mm for a 26 inch bike. It interchanges with S2.

You will see older 26x2.125 tires that are marked "For Clincher or Straight Sided Rim". In 559mm, straight sided is S2 and triple step. In 559mm, clincher is drop center, Lobdell flat, and almost everything else including non-Schwinn 26x1.75 middleweight rims and a bunch of mountain bike rims.

 

[49autocycledeluxe]

well what do you know about that... I tried my extra mountain bike tires on the wheels just to see. cool... Schwinn Tires are a pain.

 

[49autocycledeluxe]

went to the bike store yesterday and not a 26" tire anywhere to be found. no schrader valve tubes either. what is this world coming to?

 

[srfndoc]

That's what happens when you outsource your production to another country. Throw in the pandemic and everything is backlogged for months. I spoke with a rep from Sturmey Archer and he said product stock has been non-existent for the last year.

If you need tires, John's Royal Chains are really nice (but not cheap). Think I'm on my 4th set. @mrg has been getting some random stock in as well.

 

[Billythekid]

How do I contact John?

 

[Billythekid]

So to be clear s2 rims will fit regular 26 x2.125 tires?? I thought they had to be s2 tires for s2 rims

 

[Freqman1]

Regular balloon tires. @John

 

[bloo]

So to be clear s2 rims will fit regular 26 x2.125 tires?? I thought they had to be s2 tires for s2 rims

Yes. Err.. Mostly. They fit. The 26 inch S2's are 559mm, that's the important part.

If I remember correctly Schwinn's S2 tires (Typhoon Cord?) said they were "for straight sided rims" like S2. Almost everybody else's rims were clinchers. Some brands of tire were labeled for both types, US Royal and Carlisle for instance. In practice it made no difference because they were all 559mm, As kids, we interchanged all of them with no issues. Middleweights too as long as they weren't Schwinn. Schwinn middleweight tires (aka S7) were larger diameter and don't fit. Everybody else's 26" middleweights were 559mm like balloon bikes, and in some cases they may have been the same old rims. A lot of 50s-60s middleweights have rims that bear a striking resemblance to prewar drop center rims. 26" mountain bike rims are 559mm too.

559mm folding tires weren't a normal thing back then. As I understand it, a few of them might(?) require a hooked bead (clincher) rim, but S2 are straight sided.

The Royal Chains are nice tires, and the tread pattern goes WAY back before balloon tires were even a thing. I believe they remained in production into the early 70s. They are not only good looking, but also a period correct tread pattern for almost any balloon bike.