[CR] What's a fellow to do? - 26 X 1 1/4 rims!

(Example: Framebuilding:Brazing Technique)

From: "Dr. Paul B. Williams" <castell5@sympatico.ca>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Sat, 1 May 2010 19:28:25 -0400
Subject: [CR] What's a fellow to do? - 26 X 1 1/4 rims!


Evening all,

As noted last week, I am about to bound into a new project by taking on Neil Foddering's beautifully refinished 1941 Imperial Petrel (Joe Cooke). It has been a while since I have undertaken a project of this type and a while since I have been trolling EBay for necessary parts. But, as I watched a pair of Constrictor 26" X 1 1/4" soar over the 160 GBP mark + shipping, I began to wonder about the continuing availability of rims of this size - they certainly don't appear that often and attract a lot of attention.

So what's a fellow to do? My Carpenter is kitted out with a very nice pair of Fiamme Yellow Label clincher rims in the correct size (interestingly with 36 holes) which I obtained from a fellow lister. Does anyone have any spare 32 and 40 hole 26 X 1 1/4" (EA1) rims or even correct wheels for an early-40s machine that they might be willing to part with and won't completely blow the budget?

There is, of course, another option which I am not sure would be considered kosher here, but might solve a problem re. tyres long term. That would be going for something like a Sun CR18 polished rim in a 26 X 1 3/8 size (EA3). The difference is only a matter of 7mm smaller. These are available it appears in 32 and 40 hole drillings. Has anyone else contemplated this as an alternative to the EA1's? How would they look by comparison with the correct rims of the time for a racing bike? I know the EA3's were standard on British 3-speeds. Any comments welcomed.

Paul Williams, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Dr. Paul B. Williams, BAH, MPhil, PhD Instructor, Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada