Need help with tires for wooden rims...

[oddballaffliction]

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.

 

[stezell]

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

 

[bikewhorder]

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.

 

[SKPC]

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.

 

[Handyman]

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

 

[oddballaffliction]

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

 

[mike j]

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.

 

[oddballaffliction]

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

 

[Handyman]

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

 

[Legislator]

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!