[CR] Aluminum rims for English 3-speeds?

(Example: Framebuilders:Cecil Behringer)

From: "Jon Spangler" <jonswriter@att.net>
Date: Fri, 7 May 2010 18:46:36 -0700
To: Dale Brown <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: [CR] Aluminum rims for English 3-speeds?


Listers,

I was at Stone's the other day when a man came in asking about new rims or wheels for his wife's Raleigh-built 1955-ish Huffy 3-speed. The steel rims are rusty and she likes the bike.

Does anyone make the 597 (English 26 x 1 1/4?) rims in aluminum alloy or are the 26 x 1 3/8" (590 standard) rims the closest one can get these days for replacements? I did not find anything searching the archives under 597, 590, and 26 inch rims, although i seem to recall occasional recent references to the issue by Paul Williams and others...

How close are the 597s and the 590s for brake, tire, and fender clearances, etc.? And what happens when using 650B rims on a bike designed for 26 x 1 1/4 inch rims?

It seems that some kind of decently safe alloy replacement rims should be readily available, even if they are not, in fact, OEM-spec...

Thanks, all.

Jon Spangler Alameda, CA USA

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