Tyres 32x597

[Andy61]

I am trying to find a supply of tyres for old 26 inch wheels and am finding very limited options. When I say old 26 inch wheels I mean rims that are over 50 years old, the modern ERTO size is 32x597. The rims are aluminium Constrictor Conloy, non clincher. The tyres I currently have are getting a bit perished and I am looking to replace them with something of reasonable quality.
I've come across Schwable HS130, which I think should be reasonable quality, listed on a number of websites but all are out of stock. The Schwalbe website itself does not list these tyres. Does anyone have any experience of these tyres and know whether they are still available? I have seen a few other tyres in this size advertised, made by Kenda or listed under Raleigh, though I am unsure of the quality of such tyres. Does anyone have any experience of these tyres?
I would be interested to hear if anyone knows of thinner section tyres in 597 rim size, maybe 28 or even 25. I have never seen 597 bead seat diameter listed in anything other than 32mm width (old 1 1/4 inch).
Thanks for any leads that can be offered.

[sreten]

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tyres-26-(597)-dept201_pg1/

I can't see the point of anything smaller if 32mm's fit.

rgds, sreten.

[Brucey]

things have become rather worse than I suspected regarding this tyre size; I looked about a year ago and there was a choice of two or three in this size.

The way older tyre sizes worked was that would be one choice of width for each rim size, thus giving the same overall wheel diameter. So 1-1/4" on 597mm, 1-3/8" on 590mm, 1-1/2" on 584mm, etc. If there were other width tyres to fit a given rim size it was usually an exception.

If I were you I'd just go ahead and buy the Raleigh tyres (which are probably made by cheng shin or something) while you still can.

cheers

[Bikefayre]

sjscycles.co.uk stock them and are based on the early Panaracer tyres plus they do tubes as well. Why not convert your bike to 590 rims and fit the Schwalbe Marathon Plus Evo in 25 size? Also available from sjscycles.co.uk and is used on my own bike with no problems for three years

[MikeF]

sjscycles.co.uk stock them and are based on the early Panaracer tyres plus they do tubes as well. Why not convert your bike to 590 rims and fit the Schwalbe Marathon Plus Evo in 25 size? Also available from sjscycles.co.uk and is used on my own bike with no problems for three years

Interesting idea as 26x1¼ seem to be going the way of hens' teeth. Also there seems to be a range of 590 sizes of tyres and makes available. The only problem I can see is with the rim brakes. Could the original calipers be lowered by 3.5mm?

[millimole]

I've been wondering if the currently fashionable 650B wheel / tyre combination would be a suitable replacement for my 26x1 1/4" wheels on my 1946 machine - I'm not sure how much the brake calipers would need to be dropped, and if there is sufficient 'play' available on my GB calipers.
There is a good choice of rims and tyres.
Worth further thought, or not - any thoughts?

[sreten]

Hi,

As stated in the previous post to yours, you need 3.5mm extra brake drop.
Which is easy on most old brakes with the pads in the centre of the slot.

rgds, sreten.

[Brucey]

some options for 26 x 1-1/4" tyres

EBC (basic tyre)

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/standard-road-tyre-26-inch

e-bay (bankrupt bike parts, pair of basic tyres)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PAIR-VINTAGE-26-x1-1-4-32-597-TYRES-RIBBED-BLACK-TREAD-SUIT-60s-70s-RACER/201244179152

Kenda 26 x 1-1/4" (on amazon)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kenda-K023-Tyre/dp/B00J0USMLK

Mealor-Clark (trade only)

http://www.mealorclarkecyclespares.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=4258

Raleigh tyre (Koo bikes, on clearance £7.79)

http://www.koo-bikes.com/2014-raleigh-sport-tyre-26-x-1-1-4.html

cheers

[AM7]

I've got the 597 Schwalbe HS130's on one of my bikes. They're obviously not going to compete with the latest and greatest 700c tyre, but they're reasonable. On a par with Michelin World Tour's I'd say. This place is showing them as available.

In terms of switching to 590 rims, I've done that on a 1948 Raleigh Clubman. Modern 53-73mm long drop brakes were fine at the front, but wouldn't accommodate the extra 3.5mm at the back. and the only brake I had that could reach the extra distance was an old Weinmann centrepull. Since then, I've found that the original GB 'Hiduminium' calipers will also do the job.

Having said that, while there are a number of tyres still available in 590 size, they're almost all in the utility category. If you are looking for narrower/sportier tyres, I would investigate if you could fit 700c wheels/tyres into your frame. Many old frames have bags of clearance and 700x28 would need about 9mm more space than 26x1 1/4. That would open up a world of options for you.

[MikeF]

I've been wondering if the currently fashionable 650B wheel / tyre combination would be a suitable replacement for my 26x1 1/4" wheels on my 1946 machine - I'm not sure how much the brake calipers would need to be dropped, and if there is sufficient 'play' available on my GB calipers.
There is a good choice of rims and tyres.
Worth further thought, or not - any thoughts?

650B have 584 rims. That's a big difference of 13mm in diameter - about 6.5mm brake drop. Presumably with any change of wheel size there will be a handling difference - trail etc.

[Andy61]

Thanks to everyone who has posted on this thread and for some helpful suggestions.
My preference is to go for Schwalbe HS130 but I can only find a single tyre of these available now, they seem to be a discontinued model. Mealor-Clarke said they had one (which would given me get a pair), but had sold it the next day when I was going to place my order. My next preference is the Kenda.
I have actually tried 700c wheels with 25mm tyres and they do fit within the frame. I have already replaced the brake calipers with Tektro R369 which give me the drop needed for the original 597 rims and also just go high enough for 700c rims. The original Hiduminium calipers (mentioned by AM7) had rather worn caliper arms caused by the return springs and had a lot of flex in the caliper arms, so in the interest of safety I thought it best to replace them.
I'll stick with the original 597 rims and get what tyres I can to fit, and if I want to ride with lighter wheels I'll just fit a 700c pair for those occasions and swap over to a 10 speed chain to suit the cassette. The great thing about the old downtube shifters is that the number of gears on the cassette doesn't matter as there is no indexing (there has to be some advantage in this old style of shifter).
I was looking for light tyres in 32x597 because the wheels themselves are actually quite light - the bare rim weight is just a faction over 400g, and it seems such a shame to have to fit tyres that weight 600g. I now realise that tyres to fit 597 rims in the 200-230g class are just not available. C'est la vie.

[Rhodrich]

Very old thread dredge, but I'm very happy to report that Schwalbe HS130's in this size appear to be back in stock!

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/schwalbe-hs1 ... -prod6884/

Just about to buy a pair for my Hobbs of the Barbican tandem, before they disappear for good.

[Vorpal]

Tyres in the offered for free section...
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=106756&p=1021067#p1021067