Greetings from Montana -
Back on the CR list after a couple of years hiatus, forgot just how much I missed it! I'm working on cleaning out the garage as a late autumn project, listing various stuff on ebay. A list of "listworthy" stuff will be forthcoming, but until then a question: I've got a pair of 650A wheels - Weinmann rims on 36 hole Phil hubs, Q/R front and 120mm bolt on rear. They're from my dad's Braxton Combie, circa 1981 or so; the bike had been hanging in his garage for nearly a decade, languishing while he put most of his miles on a Strong Racing frame. Last winter, I totally rebuilt it with 700c wheels, STI, modern crank and derailleurs, and it's become his primary ride again, being much more comfortable than his other rides. Three cheers for the old stuff made newer!
History of the wheels, which I know well because I worked for Sam Braxton from '84 until his death in '88, stayed on at the shop for another year before moving on. Sam built "rough stuff" bikes starting in the mid '70s - basically heavy duty expedition touring bikes with fat (sort of) tires and drop bars - for use either as loaded touring bikes or fire road bombers. When Specialized and Univega hit off the MTB thing, Sam switched wheels to 26 x 1.75 as tires became readily available, but the early bikes for use in the US were 650A - the ubiquitous 26 x 1 3/8 used on department store bikes back then - the idea being that you could buy a tire at any Kmart or Coast to Coast hardware store or Sears in any small town in America. He built a few with 650Bs for use in Europe and Africa where the tire size was more common, but that was a rare animal here until pretty recently, as you all know.
Long story short, is anyone interested in these wheels? The plan was to cut the spokes and just sell the hubs, which ought to fetch upwards of $150 on ebay, but if somebody sees some historic or useful value for these, I'd be happy to sell the whole shootin' match. Decent Challenge tires and 5spd Winner Pro freewheel could come along for the ride.
Please contact me off list if you're curious - I'll be away from a computer today, but will get back to you as soon as I can.
Cheers,
Derek Vandeberg
Bigfork, Montana
derek@frameref.com