700D though sounding similar to the French tyre sizes was a unique effort from GT. In Europe tyre sizes were 700 (647mm, 28 x 1 1/4 and I've never seen one!), 700A (very rare 642mm BSD 28 x 1 3/8), 700B (rare these days but tyres still available 28 x 1 1/2, 635mm BSD), 700C 28 x 1 3/4 nominally but everything from 18 to 50mm these days, 622mm BSD). 27 x 1 1/4 was a bastard size devised by Dunlop with 630mm bead seat diameter. Then you come to the various 26in sizes 650 (English 26 x 1 1/4 and very common in England once practically unknown in France, 597mm BSD), 650A (26 x 1 3/8 and still easily available in Britain or the continent, 590mm BSD), 650B (26 x 1 1/2 common on continental tandems and English trade bikes once, tyres still reasonably available in Europe, 584mm BSD), 650C (26 x 1 3/4 and now used for 650 road bikes bead seat diameter 571mm). The smaller sizes 24in, 20in, 18in work in the same manner with their capital letter if present on the continental denoting the nominal section. Regards Hilary
----------
>From: Jerry Moos <moos@penn.com>
>To: Hilary Stone <Hilary.Stone@Tesco.net>
>Cc: Classic Rendezvous <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
>Subject: Re: [CR]Tandem Tire Size
>Date: Thu, Feb 15, 2001, 8:34 pm
>
> Sheldon identifys 587mm as limited to a few GT models, but maybe that is only
in
> USA. Was 700D/587mm sufficiently widespread elsewhere that Arraya 587s would
> have been easily available in Europe? (I think it is possible this bike was
> originally sold in Europe). Are 587 tires available for mail order from UK or
> the continent? If not, I'd probably be best served to rebuild with 650B rims
if
> the current ones prove to be 700D.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jerry Moos
>
> Hilary Stone wrote:
>
>> Yes I think it's quite possible that a pair of 587mm tyres would fit OK on
>> 584 rims but it is also possible that someone had re-rimmed the Lejeune with
>> 587 rims 584 tyres are presuambly difficult to find the US. I would not
>> have thought Araya to make 584 rims.
>> Regards Hilary Stone
>> ----------
>> >From: Jerry Moos <moos@penn.com>
>> >To: Classic Rendezvous <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
>> >Subject: [CR]Tandem Tire Size
>> >Date: Thu, Feb 15, 2001, 5:39 pm
>> >
>>
>> > I just received an early 70's LeJeune tandem I bought on eBay, mostly
>> > undamaged despite the worst packing job I've seen in a while. The
>> > seller didn't know a lot about it and said the wheels were 24", which,
>> > as I suspected, was not accurate. The bike has Japanese rims (Arraya I
>> > think) and the tires are marked "700D x 1.40". According to Sheldon's
>> > web site, 700D was 587mm and used only on a few GT brand bikes.
>> > Sheldon's site says French tandems typically had 650B or 584mm wheels.
>> > I can't find a size on the rims, but they are laced to what look like
>> > original Campy Tipo hubs and the rims themselves look like 70's style
>> > Arrayas, when this brand first appear in the US and Europe. Could the
>> > previous owner have gotten away with 700D tires on 650B rims? (If the
>> > seller installed these tires, he could easily have put the wrong ones on
>> > as he was calling these 24"). Someone have a good method of measuring
>> > rim bead diameter that will differentiate between a 584mm and 587mm?
>> >
>> > Regards,
>> >
>> > Jerry Moos