When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

I made some wheel progress recently

#eBayPartner    Most Recent BUY IT NOW Items Listed on eBay
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture

bikewhorder

Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
So while I was at Copake I was talking with Tim (steeletj) about economical solutions to putting tires on these old 28" wheel bikes and it came up that we both had the same idea to try modify the original wood clad rims to accept 700c tires. The thought that someone else could beat me to my own idea was all I needed to put a fire under my ass to give it a try (perhaps this has been done before, but I have never heard of it) and I after about two hours of tinkering with it I had my 700c x 35 Kenda Quest tires mounted to my guinea pig wood clad rim.
It wasn't too hard to do, I just made a jig to hold a router the correct distance off the side wall that conformed to the outside curve of the rim. The only real mistake I made was I got impatient to get the tire on and used a great deal of force with the tire levers, but then getting the tire back off was almost impossible because the now exposed metal lip was catching on the tires bead. Eventually I did get it off and rerouted the rim a little deeper so that it came off with very little effort and can be installed without levers. The final depth was about 5/16 below the outside circumference of the rim, though 11/32 would probably be even better. the metal cladding on the rims is very thin and is easily damages so its important that the tires mount easily.
The only bummer about this process is that it requires disassembling the wheel because otherwise you will be routing into your nipple tops, and I was hoping it could be done without un-building the wheel. I didn't disassemble my first wheel but some of the nipple tops actually popped off as I routed through them.
I'm thinking that once I get the system down I'd be willing to provide this service for anyone who would like to be able to mount modern tires on their old rims but don't feel confident enough to do the mods themselves. I don't know exactly what I would charge yet, but if we're just talking about bare rims I think $50 a pair might be enough to make it worth my while. I have yet to do a set of wheels completely and go for a ride, so maybe this will result in an epic failure and it will all prove to be a dead end idea. I have a feeling it'll be just fine though, so long as I don't go trying to huck some major drops on these wheels. -Chris
 

Attachments

  • elgin oriole 052.jpg
    elgin oriole 052.jpg
    139.5 KB · Views: 412
  • elgin oriole 048.jpg
    elgin oriole 048.jpg
    153.5 KB · Views: 423
  • elgin oriole 049.jpg
    elgin oriole 049.jpg
    137.5 KB · Views: 410
  • elgin oriole 050.jpg
    elgin oriole 050.jpg
    136.5 KB · Views: 422
  • elgin oriole 051.jpg
    elgin oriole 051.jpg
    145 KB · Views: 414
Last edited:
i have mixed wheelings on this

Your work is better than i thought it would be prior to opening photos. Nice job. I personally don't like the idea of all these period rims being modified like this. I'm sure you can surmise why, etc. Of course, how many will be modified? Who knows? As you said, this has yet to be road tested. Or, maybe others have been doing this under the radar for years. I have had great success with tubulars. The only drawback at this point is Tire mfgs. don't make a 1 1/2" wide tire yet (to my knowledge). Some Vittoria's are $100 pair, discontinued models $60 a pair. So not as expensive as some think. I guess I better buy up some rims before they get rerouted your way!! :)
 
At least you used a pock-marked rim for the prototype. Were you able to use the original spokes, or did you have to go to shorter spokes?
Any chance of just routing the edges in order to sneek the modern tire on, and leaving the center nipple ares alone??
 
At least you used a pock-marked rim for the prototype. Were you able to use the original spokes, or did you have to go to shorter spokes?
Any chance of just routing the edges in order to sneek the modern tire on, and leaving the center nipple ares alone??

The spoke length doesn't change because I'm not down as far as the recessed hole for the spoke. I was thinking about trying do just the edges, it might work, you'd just have to plan ahead and have the tire beads straddling the rim on both side before you try to install the tire, there's no way to slide it across the rim the way you normally would. As far as "destroying" rims goes, I really don't see where its an issue, This isn't something that is seen, and if you really wanted to you could always take some epoxy and replace the wood at a later date.
 
Putting every other issue aside, you have already conceded that you are altering the structural integrity of the original rim. So, seen or not, that is a reality. Perhaps they were over engineered anyway, and the loss of wood won't matter, but maybe it will...
 
My version of the solution.

Ok, I'm not alone in thinking... That is very much what I did; however, I didn't feel the need to take out the center. This keeps the nipples still buried, all but the very edge and this transitions nicely inline with the center strip as well as keeping the wooden core as thick as possible. After the (26" fat) rubber spoke protector goes on it looks very safe for the intertube to press against. As far as the rim strength goes... there is still nearly 3/16" thickness of Rock Maple holding back the bead. Let's say the metal clad (all be it thin) doesn't hurt either. I have mine up to nearly 50 PSI and road the hell out of it (even small curbs) just to see what would happen but they held up fine! I WANTED TO KNOW!! I do have a trick for mounting the tires though.... I put the intertube in the tire and just slightly inflate (just enough to hold it's shape). Then put the rim inside the tire, meaning both beads are on the outsides of the rim. Then... bring each side on one at a time. This way you won't have to sweep across the rubber spoke protector and get it out of alinement.
Yeah, for the purist... please look away, but to me I think it's a shame to see all these great bikes just sitting around collecting dust! I'm very much a visual guy and and looks are important. I like knowing that the original rims are still being used with the bike they came with or are era correct. I'm trying to imagine if I bought a bike way in the future and saw that this mod had been done, would I be upset? Hell No!, Sweet, I get to buy tires for it and go for a ride! Don't get me wrong, if someone steps up and decides to make good looking (tread design), inflatable and ridable single tubes in red, white and black I'd be happy to spend $300. for some. But for now,... this is my solution!

photo 1.jpg
photo 2.jpg
photo 3.jpg
 
Another good idea would be to route the rim, then laminate carbon fiberglass inside the rim. This would give lots of strength and allow higher tire pressures up to 110psi.
 
I tried this ?

View attachment 101674Ordered 2 of these tubular tires they seem to fit all right there a little small.a little thinner took care of the lettering.
image.jpg
ill see how it is when I ride it--------
 
I might try this with a pair of 26" wood clad rims that I have. Would I be able to mount a 26 x 1 1/2 clincher tire on the rim if I do this?
 
I might try this with a pair of 26" wood clad rims that I have. Would I be able to mount a 26 x 1 1/2 clincher tire on the rim if I do this?

You'd have to hold the tire up to the rim and see how deep you would have to go to make it fit. Single tube 26" tires have a way bigger inside diameter than a 26" balloon tire. You'd probably need to use an English 26 x 1 3/8 tire or a 650B tire to make it work but you'd want to take some careful measurements before you did any routing. Here's the tire size guide. http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html
 
Last edited:
Back
Top