Well, as I suspected, a couple of responses seem to confirm that my Follis, and probably the first lightweight I had, that 1972 UO-8, weren't designed for 27", but, in the case of the UO-8, had them slapped on for the US market. I personally don't remember 700C clinchers being common in the US until the early to mid 80's. In fact, when around 1984, I had some clinchers built as alternate wheels for my 1973 70-F Lejeune, they were still 27". Up until then, I had used 27' wheels on my UO-8 and my wife's Raleigh Grand Prix and sewups on the Lejeune, a Windsor Pro, and two Alans, but never really thought about the difference in rim diameter between sewups and 27" clinchers. I was highly annoyed to discover the need to adjust brake shoes when switching between sewups and clinchers on the Lejeune. It was only then I learned that there were 700C clinchers available which, unlike the 27" wheels, would interchange with sewups with no brake shoe adjustment. I had some 700C clinchers built (which I should have done in the first place), and, as the UO-8 and Grand Prix had been sold several years before, never got much use out of the 27" wheels.
I think the very late adoption of 700C clinchers in the US was due in large part to the dominance of the US market by Schwinn and Raleigh, both of whom designed the low and mid priced models, and even the Paramount touring version, specifically for 27" wheels.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Houston, TX
> Jerry queried:
>
>
> > Anyone know what size the original wheels were on the early 70's Follis
> > 172's? For those not familiar, the 172 was a 531 DB main tube,
> > French-equipped model, much like the Peugeot PR-10 or other French "club
> > racer" models. I have a circa 1973 one with numerous little paint
> scratches
> > and chips, but original decals, probably too good to repaint, but no
> > showpiece, that I intend to use as a commuter. It came with 27"
> clinchers,
> > the front, maybe original, on a Normandy Sport hub, the back, obviously
> > nonoriginal, on a Japanese hub. I've fitted it with SKS mudguards and
> Conti
> > 27 - 1 1/4 tires (actually 30 mm wide), but with these, rear wheel
removal
> > is very difficult, usually involving removing the QR skewer so the rear
> axle
> > can clear the dropout and RD. I'm wondering if maybe this model
> originally
> > came with 700C sewups, and though 27" works OK with narrow tires and no
> > mudguards, wasn't really designed with 27" wheels in mind. Anyone ever
> buy
> > one new or with what were certainly original wheels? I'm thinking I
might
> > be better off to fit 700C clinchers for commuting, to ease changing rear
> > tires (inevitably in a driving rain). This suggests a broader question
> > about late 60's/ early 70's French bikes in general. At that time, 700C
> > clinchers were unknown in the US, and European and British lightweights
> were
> > sold here with either 700C sewups or 27" clinchers, but I'm not at all
> sure
> > the French bikes were ever designed for 27" wheels. They may rather
have
> > been designed for 700C wheels, and simply took advantage of the ample
> frame
> > clearance of that era to slap on 27" wheels for the US market. Anyone
> know
> > what wheels the Peugeot UO-8's sold in France in the early 70's had?
Were
> > 700C clinchers already in use there? I would think the UO-8 was too
> low-end
> > for sewups, and that the 650B's used on French pure touring bikes and
> > tandems were too small. Of course the UO-8 I bought in Cleveland in
1972
> > (my first lightweight) had 27" wheels for the US market.
>
> I was living in France in the early 70's and you had 2 basic wheel size to
> choose from at the time: either 650 B or 700 C. The equivalent of the
UO-18
> came with dimpled rigida rims built onto Normandy hubs. The 650 B was
> actually perhaps more common overall but all racing and pseudo racing
bikes
> came with 700 C as this was the same size as the tubulars then used by all
> pros. When we then moved to Canada in 1973, the majority of new pseudo
> racers had 27", but it was not at all difficult to also find 700 C
> replacement tires for my French bought Peugeot. The 650 B tires on my
> parent's bikes were somewhat more difficult to find, requiring a visit to
a
> true specialist. When I circumnavigated the US in 1980, I was surprised at
> how difficult difficult it was to find 700 C wheels in the US. Later in
the
> 80's I was surprised to find that Miyata was building their touring bikes
> for Canada with 700 C tires and 27" for the US. When did the death knell
for
> 27" tires on new bikes toll in the US?
>
> Steven Maasland
> Moorestown, NJ
>
>
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