Back in the early 70s we saw a few bikes that people brought back from Europe that had 700s wheels, usually with steel rims. We had to special order 700c tires back then and sometimes we could sell the customer a new set of 27" steel wheels plus new tires and tubes for just a little more money.
We could buy built up steel wheels with Normandy QR hubs dirt cheap from some of the French importers. About 1975 we started importing some of these wheels ourselves. We found that we could buy 700c built up wheels with alloy rims from France for just a few dollars more than the steel rimmed 27" wheels. If I remember correctly, the US duty for 700c tires, rims, wheels, and bikes was a little less than for the equivalent 27" items.
Chas. Colerich Oakland, CA USA
Daniel Artley wrote:
> I'd thought 700c wired on rims predated my riding 'ten speeds' in the sixties, but I first began using them with the new 'CyclePro' 700 x 23 tires with the raised bead and 'S' tread in the center around 1978. I'd had my custom tourer built to accept 700c and 27" wheels with the Campagnolo brakes. My older 27" wheels were running the Dunlop HP's and the 700c's which I'd built for that bike had those hard riding narrow higher pressure wired on tires. They sure were lighter and made for a quicker ride. I think those newer really light tires were the reason 700c rims really started to take off around that time. The Kevlar beaded tires really lightened them up. And combined with the dramatic rise in the cost of good tubulars, a lot of people really gravitated to the 700c. It's not "Just the facts ma'am." but my impression.
>
> Happy trails,
>
> Dan Artley in Parkton, Maryland