26 x 1 1/2 tyre replacement?

[Mr Weirdo]

Hello. My friend has an old Pashley PO bicycle with 26 x 1 1/2 tyres on.

He can not find a supplier of these sizes could he use a 26 x 1 3/8 tyre instead?

Or is that just crazy talk?

Or an alternative?

Thank you

 

[keithglos]

No. The old British tyre sizes indicate the outside diameter (26 inches) and the depth of the tyre (1 1/2 inches) 1 3/8 would be too large by 1/4 inch diameterat the wire bead.
26 x 1 1/2 was rare by the early 1950s.

Is it possibly 28 x 1 1/2

Keith

 

[Mr Weirdo]

No. The old British tyre sizes indicate the outside diameter (26 inches) and the depth of the tyre (1 1/2 inches) 1 3/8 would be too large by 1/4 inch diameterat the wire bead.
26 x 1 1/2 was rare by the early 1950s.

Is it possibly 28 x 1 1/2

Keith

Hello. It is a very old Pashley and once a PO bicycle. Maybe older than he realised.

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

 

[Old Ned]

The PO tended to specify their bikes with odd sized components, bearings etc. so that posties couldn't rob them for their own bikes. A mate of mine had a bike shop and had the local contract for PO repairs - with all its attendant problems re sourcing parts.

 

[Mr Weirdo]

The PO tended to specify their bikes with odd sized components, bearings etc. so that posties couldn't rob them for their own bikes. A mate of mine had a bike shop and had the local contract for PO repairs - with all its attendant problems re sourcing parts.

Hello. It made me laugh...he has now come to the decision that it is best to move the bicycle along. Pressure from his wife...

Thanks for interesting info!

 

[danson67]

You'll probably need to measure the rim and tyre bead seat diameter to be sure...the confusion caused by actual/nominal/colloquial/fractional/ETRTO names for tyre sizes can be a right minefield.



26 x 1-1/2 is the old French size (650B) that has recently been revived as 27.5" in mountainbikes. 584mm bead seat diameter. Seems unlikely that the PO would be using it, but tyres of all sorts to fit are really easy to find.
Check the sidewall and rim for anything that might say **-584 on it, this is the internal diameter of the tyre bead, and the diameter of the rim bead seat that the tyre sits on in millimetres.

More likely to be 28 x 1-1/2, (635mm bead seat diameter, ETRTO) which is a pretty common size for old British roadsters.
Or 26 x 1-3/8 tyres which are 590mm ETRTO bead seat diameter, which is also fairly common, but would be too loose if you really do have 584mm rim/tyres.

Here's a handy guide: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

All the best,

 

[Mr Weirdo]

Thank you for the information...I really never knew there was so many different sizes.

The Sheldon Brown link is very helpful and a very good site for other info.

Many thanks for you time and effort.