Hi, Rich---
Great issue/question and I'm surprised it doesn't get more treatment, given there are so many folks out there who own 27-inch wheel-based bike boom bikes, and so many collectors of British bikes on this List. I suspect the high-end 700c racing crowd are the style setters here (nothing wrong with that, mind you), and 27-inch seems such a poor, unfavored relation. I think many of us have watched the industry trends and have given up on ever seeing a wide variety of 27-inch tires.
As to your specific questions----
1. Most of my bikes take 27-inch tires and so, yes, I would love more choices. I find it extremely unfortunate that I have to convert my British rides to 700c just to get the wide, cushy tires I favor. It's especially a pain with cantilever-braked bikes, as it really does cut down on the effectiveness of the stopping power, even IF the brakes can be jimmied to fit.
2. Yes, I would LOVE more choices for 27-inch tires. It's quite possibly the biggest issue I face with keeping the integrity (and cost efficiency) of my vintage bikes. I just don't want to purchase "new" vintage 700c wheelsets for almost every bike I own just so I can ride the bloody things on my terms. Nice 27 x 1/4 are okay, but I would like many more choices.
3. I would probably like to buy AT LEAST a half-dozen pair of nice 27-inch tires in the next year, quite possibly many, many more, though not necessarily all at once.
4. My answer is c) 31mm, though I can see the virtue in them all. In fact, I would like even wider, 38mm tires and beyond (I even have a French 700c bike with 47mm-wide rubber). In the world of mixed (country/city) pavement and all around riding that I do, I'm a great believer in the high-volume, low-pressure, cushy tire. I consider myself a cyclotouriste kind of guy, not a racer, though several of my bikes would require racing rubber of the 27-inch variety when taken to shows, etc.
That's my quick 2-cents. Would love to hear what others think...
Cheers,
Peter Jourdain
Whitewater, Wisconsin US of A
> Hi all,
>
> I'd like to take a quick poll here - reply to the
> list or to me
> directly, whichever you wish.
>
> Not to detract from the few manufacturers that still
> do make 27" tires,
> but I personally would like to see more choices in
> this size. I have a
> beautiful set of 22mm Veloflex Pave out in the
> garage ( just waiting to
> go out on our upcoming Colnago ride, thanks to a
> recent list post), and
> I have two sets of the fantastic Gran Bois tires on
> bikes I ride often.
> But these tires are all 700c.
>
> Here are the quick questions:
>
> 1) Do you own and spend enough time riding vintage
> bikes with 27" rims
> such that you would LIKE to see more purchasing
> choices in tires than
> you currently have ??
>
> 2) If available, would you be interested in buying
> set(s) of the Gran
> Bois tires ?? These tires have been discussed here
> on the list before,
> and reviewed in a recent issue of Bicycle Quarterly.
> Price point MIGHT
> be in the $50-$60 range, based on prices I see for
> the 700c. models
>
> 3) If your answered YES to question 2 above,
> CURRENTLY.. how many pair
> of such a tire might you be interested in ??
>
> 4) If your answered YES to question 2 above, which
> ONE size would you
> like to see? (These are accurate widths):
> (choose ONE)
> a) 25 mm
> b) 29 mm
> c) 31 mm
>
>
> Thanks
> Rich Pinder
> Van Nuys, CA
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