Wheel and tire size, Columbia Tourist 1973, AMF Roadmaster Nimble 1976, Schwinn Collegiate 1960s?

[UnionFiets]

These three bicycles were over 30 years in a dry basement and the tires are completely rotted. I cannot see a tire size on any of them. Does anyone know what the correct rim/tire sizes are for these?
Columbia Tourist 1973, AMF Roadmaster Nimble 1976, Schwinn Collegiate 1960s.
The Columbia Tourist and the AMF Roadmaster Nimble have 3-speed Sturmer Archer hubs.
The Schwinn Collegiate has 5 speed Sprint derailleur, made in France.
The frames on all of them are still very good, I expect/hope the SA hubs still work, will check once I get them on a stand.
If anyone is interested in fixing them up, you can have each one for free before I do any work on them. So far I only cleaned the basement dust off them.
I have so far only worked on vintage British 3-speed bikes, not vintage American.

 

[nuthut]

I would say all three bikes are 26X1 3/8, with the top two being 590 and the Schwinn is 597

 

[nuthut]

The cost to replace the tires, tubes and rimstrips exceeds the value of the bike with a possible exception of the coppertone Schwinn

 

[UnionFiets]

The cost to replace the tires, tubes and rimstrips exceeds the value of the bike with a possible exception of the coppertone Schwinn

I know and agree. Exchange value vs use value... It's just such a waste to dump them. I hope to find used rims with patience.
PS The Schwinn Collegiate has a bicycle registration sticker expiring February 1969. I've just never done anything with derailleurs, only IG.

 

[UnionFiets]

I would say all three bikes are 26X1 3/8, with the top two being 590 and the Schwinn is 597

Thx! I always thought US made vintage bikes were all ISO 597, not ISO 590. Wrong?
But then the top two have SA 3-speed hubs, which in the English bikes go with 590s, so I wondered.

 

[nuthut]

I think the 590 size tire was way more popular as Schwinn was the only US manufacturer that used it.

 

[WillWork4Parts]

The Sears/Murray bikes I have worked on were not compatible with Schwinn tires, that's for sure.


One way to find out...while you may not be able to read the sidewall, the front wheels come off easy enough and the Schwinn S-5 is a known size...just swap the S-5 tire onto the other rims and vice versa. It will fit or it won't, an easy go-no-go gauge.
...I should say a 597mm(60s Schwinn S-5) tire will slide right over a 590mm rim, no levers needed.


The Sheldon Brown site is always a good read...and has rim designations in chart form as well as methods for measuring. https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#isoetrto

I'm just now realizing that rim designations aren't fully and consistently listed there though...so measuring circumference may be better.

 

[nuthut]

The reflectors or lack of on these three bikes do tell a story of their age. The Schwinn would have had only a reflector om the non existent fender. The next newer bike would be the Columbia with the red wheel reflector and the missing yellow front wheel reflector. Now the $49 AMF has a newer pair of white reflectors.