Retro 29ers/700c MTBs?

[hamster]

Surly Ogre? A pal of mine who has one (6'6" ish) looks in proportion with it for the first time - no more of the 26" wheels looking like castors.

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

Holy moly, that is indeed bloody tall!

 

[Joe of Loath]

Indeed. People usually shut up about 29ers looking silly when they see me riding one.

A few have mentioned early Surly 29ers, but they don't come up on ebay very often.

I think I may have to take up framebuilding and build my own. It can't be that hard, right?

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

Mind you, theres a guy at.work in a specialist department who's 6'11" and he cycles to work on some low rent hybrid thing. I've never paid it any attention but think that's 700c.

 

[adri.75]

by monutain bike bicycling's of July 1993, one of the first 29er

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

One of the first 29ers...

Geoff Apps would be turning in his grave to a metric speed, if he were not alive.

 

[MikeD]

700x45 isn't a 29er anyway

 

[danson67]

Cleland or Highpath?

Graham will be along in a short while to explain

All the best,

 

[GrahamJohnWallace]

700x45 isn't a 29er anyway

Here I am.
on queue as always!

The problem here is most 29er's outside tyre diameter is actually less than 29 inches.
Take the tyre credited with starting the modern 29er movement, the WTB 700x52c Nanoraptor.
A 622mm diameter rim plus two 52mm tyre sections gives an outside diameter of 726mm or 28.5826771653852 inches. Or 28.58 when rounded down.

So "the first real 29er tyre did not measure 29 inches it was just closer to 29" than to 28".

To get a true 29er wheel you need 700c rim and a tyre that has at least a 59.5mm wide cross-section.

On the subject of 700x47c wheeled Cleland and Highpaths they are incredibly rare with only about five ever made. They date from 1982-1992 and were either prototypes or one off bikes made at the request of a customer. I do believe that there were also some 700x47c cycle speedway bikes made in the early eighties.

As for a retro 700c bike your best bet is to find a 700c Hybrid bike with good tyre clearances so that it can be converted to off road duties. These bikes first appeared around 1985. Most manufacturers made a version. They were sometimes referred to as CityBikes. If you want pre-retro 650b, you might be able to track down an old Finish Army bike. They were heavy and made to last and were fitted with 650b x 54 tyres. They are still being manufactured today.

 

[Joe of Loath]

Hmm interesting, thanks! Will keep an eye out at the local bike co-op for retro hybrids in massive sizes, as the other options seem prohibitively expensive.