Imperial 14 by 1 3/8 inch tyre

[GuyGoundry]

Do you have any leads as to where I might find a tyre of the above side for an old Norman bicycle? If it has metric sizes on it too then such a tyre will not fit. I need old stock or even a serviceable second hand would do.
Having taught my youngest to ride on this bike I would really like to teach the grandchildren and I would really like it to be functional again.

[Vorpal]

SJS Cycles is my source for stuff like that.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tyres/ralei ... nch-37298/

It might be worth getting a couple sets, in case they stop making them.

[GuyGoundry]

Thanks. I will mail them. But usually when the tyre has 37-298 on it then it is a tiny bit too small to stretch over the rim.

Guy

[Brucey]

350A tyres are 288mm BSD and won't fit.

14 x 1-3/8" is 37-298 in ISO/ETRTO sizing.

It is (give or take 0.4mm) exactly 2" smaller than 16 x 1-3/8" which is 37-349 in ISO.

cheers

[Sid Aluminium]

Depending on how big a project you want this to be, you could rebuild the old ISO298mm 14" wheels (as some Bickerton owners have done) with ISO305mm 16" rims (which as it turns out are quite a bit smaller than ISO349mm 16" rims) and fit common ISO305mm tyres.

[GuyGoundry]

A rebuild may be the only option. I an wondering about putting the wheel in the freezer and seeing if it shrinks enough.

[Brucey]

in a good freezer an aluminium rim that diameter will shrink about 0.25mm vs room temperature and a steel rim about 2/3rds of that. Tyres marked 37-298 are the correct specification for your rims, but both rims and tyres can vary slightly, so the only way to be sure with any given combination is to try.

FWIW older rims (with no hook bead) usually work best with tyres that are a slightly tight fit; they often seat nicely at high pressure, whereas tyres that are an easy fit tend to blow off such rims at higher pressures.

cheers

[GuyGoundry]

Sounds like I am on a loser with the freezer idea then. I'll order one from SJS who so far have not replied to my email. We have tried Schwalbe and Raleigh and two different bike shops and myself could not get the tyres on. Maybe the rim is not quite standard. I would guess the bike is 50 to 60 years old. Thanks to everyone for their input. The chap who the National Cycle Museum directed me to could no longer source old stock. There will be one hanging on a wall somewhere!
Thanks again.

[Vorpal]

I've got a late 60s Dawes with 18" wheels, and the tyres on those are a really tight fit. It's not helped in my case by the fact that I have tyres with retro tan sidewalls, and the material is a bit stiffer. The first time I fit a new one, I had to use tyre levers to get it onto the rim.

[GuyGoundry]

Yes. SJS replied this morning. They are not sure but I ordered one in the early hours anyway. We did get one on with extreme force using tyre levers but we damaged the rubber and exposed the metal rim and that was the end of that.
I'll warm the tyre and freeze the wheel just in case it gives that fractional advantage.

[iandusud]

Yes. SJS replied this morning. They are not sure but I ordered one in the early hours anyway. We did get one on with extreme force using tyre levers but we damaged the rubber and exposed the metal rim and that was the end of that.
I'll warm the tyre and freeze the wheel just in case it gives that fractional advantage.

I have fitted some very tight tyres in my time but have never resorted to using tyre levers. Technique is critical. It is very important that the inner tube is slightly inflated so that it sits up in the tyre and not in the well of the rim. Secondly the well of the rim is there to allow you to get the bead of the tyre over the rim. Start opposite the valve and when it starts getting tight go back to where you started and pinch the tyre so that both beads are forced into the well of the rim and keep working the beads into rim working back towards the valve this time the tyre will go more easily onto the rim. Repeat as necessary. Use soap to help if needed. I hope I'm not teaching a granny to suck eggs but good technique is the secret to fitting tyres.

The hardest tyres I've had to fit were the 12 1/2x 2 1/4 tyres on some Raleigh kids bikes that used a Westwood rim which had a very shallow well. I had a customer who was built like a brick outhouse who bought a new innertube for and insisted he could fit when I offered to do it for FOC if he brought me the wheel (I knew he would struggle). 20 minutes later he was back angrily complaining that the tube I had sold him had two holes in it. I pointed out that he had put them in tube by using a tyre lever to fit the tyre (which I had expressly told him not too). He bought another tube and again I suggested he bring the wheel for me to fit it. 20 minutes later he was back again with another punctured tube and very unhappy. He insisted it wasn't possible to fit the tyre by hand so I told him to bring me the wheel. He eventually swallowed his pride and went home and brought me the wheel to which I promptly fitted his tyre and a new tube without a much effort but just using the right technique. He went from looking like he was going to knock my block off to complete admiration!

[Brucey]

worth noting that the slightest obstruction in the rim well or other hinderance can inhibit the tyre bead 'sitting down' sufficiently to allow the final part of the bead to slip over the last bit of the rim. Possible obstructions/hinderances include;

- the inner tube
- a rim tape that is too thick
- spoke nipples that stand up too much (they can all be ground down to about half the original thickness if required)
- rust on the rim (bulk)
- rust on the rim (friction, stopping the tyre bead from sliding)
- the valve

The valve?

-Yes!!!!

With tyres that are a tight fit (on older rims with a shallow well particularly) it is imperative that you finish at the valve. If you do not do so then the tyre bead cannot sit in the rim well all the way round and this will make it more difficult to fit the tyre for sure and it may make enough difference to render it nigh-on impossible.

I've lost count of the number of times I have seen folk struggle with fitting tyres. Often they say 'it is impossible to do the last bit' which to my mind invariably suggests they probably have a short-term memory impairment of some kind. Why? Because they have clearly forgotten that the first bead went over the rim quite easily; the difference with the second bead is that there are more ways to go wrong with obstructions or hinderances in the rim well. Attend to those and the 'impossible' often becomes 'possible' instead.

There are cases where some tyres simply do not fit on some rims, even though they are meant to. But they are vastly outnumbered by cases where they will fit provided the correct technique is used.

cheers

[GuyGoundry]

Thank you for all of this. I will follow diligently.

Guy