Hello from Lisle Ontario

Submitted by evmaddy on Wed, 09/12/2012 - 22:48

Hello to all,

I'm new to bicycle collecting, and kind of stumbled into it.

Actually I'm a collector of motorcycles, scooters and the like, and a friend who knew I liked scooters pointed me in the direction of my CCM.

I'm now the proud owner of a 1955 CCM.  It came in two pieces.  The frame assembly with front wheel attached, and the rear wheel assembly which was detached from the frame.  The rear wheel is a motorized assembly called a Cyclemaster and also dates from the fifties.

Frame and front wheel were stored outside, and are considerably rusty and rough.  Rear wheel was stored inside and is in comparatively good shape.

My son and I have been tinkering with bike, and greasing it up, trying to polish off the rust etc.

Hope to soon have it running. Great fun project for father and son.

Need a front tire as original is rotted off.  Tried a 26" off my mountain bike but too small.  Local shops have nothing.

Could someone point me in the direction of good tires, original was a white wall. Also need a few other bits, so looking for CCM parts source.

Will post photos asap.

Regards, Jeff 

5 Comments

Submitted by Dave Brown on Thu, 09/13/2012 - 07:54.

Hi  Try( Backpeddling) in Guelph  bike shop . Ask for Clayton   519 763 7878   Tires for the CCM ballom are hard to find . You might find 26 1 3/4 that will work .CCM used a britsh size for there 26 x2 balloon bikes different size from the American 26 x2 .25 balloon .

Submitted by T-Mar on Thu, 09/13/2012 - 13:02.

Not all 26" tires are created equal. While they all have a nominal outside diameter of 26", the critical bead seat diameter (BCD) comes in about five sizes. Most CCM from the mid-1950s came with 26"-1-1/4" tires on EA1 rims which have a bead BCD of 597mm.  While I don't know much about the Cyclemaster, I do know they were British, so theer's a good possibility that it uses an EA3  rim and 26" x 1-3/8" tire which have a BCD of 590mm. As pointed out by Dave, it could also be a  CCM 26" x 1-1/2"  balloon tire and  rim which use a 571mm BCD.

So, the first thing you should do is the check the rims for markings. Make sure you check both. There's a possibility that they are different.

If they are EA3 you're in luck. 590 BCD diamteter tires are still readily availble though most bicycle shops, In fact, most Canadian Tire stores stock them.

Tires for EA1 rims are much harder to find. Schwalbe did manufacture an HS130, but it's no longer listed on their North American website or that of their Canadian distributor (Cycles Lambert). Kenda also had a K32 in this size that has disappeared from their distributors catalogues in recent years. Some shops might have old stock.

Kenda did have a K75 in  571mm BCD. It's no longer listed by Canadian distributors but it's still available from some USA  sources as the BCD is the same as the Schwinn S-7 rim. See http://www.biketiresdirect.com/product/kenda-k75-s-7-schwinn-26-inch-tire-26x1-3-4-47-571  .

FYI, moderm ATB tires use a BCD of 559mm. In an attempt to simplify compatibility issues, most  modern tires and rims  come with dual designations. In addition to the tradition size, they also have a xx-yyy designation where xx is the width in millimetres and yyy is the BCD in millimetres. Whem buying tires, the BCD is the critical domension.

Submitted by T-Mar on Fri, 09/14/2012 - 06:15.

In my previous post, bead seat diameter shoud be abbreviated BSD, not BCD. Apparently, I was having one of those Homer Simpson moments. I have been corresponding with another gentlemen on chainring bolt circle diameters, which is abbreviated BCD. I guess it was floating around in my head like one of those songs that  you can't get rid of.

Which leads me to rasise the point, is there any way to edit a post after the fact? I seem to have some disability when it comes to proofreading my text in the preview pop-up. I'm forever missing my tyypographical errors. My grammar and spelling is better than what gets posted. Really!

Submitted by evmaddy on Sat, 09/15/2012 - 18:08.

Thanks for the advice,

I've looked at my rim but cannot see any markings.

Went to Backpeddaling in Guelph today.

They had a Kenda whitewall 26 x 1 3/4 with 571BSD that would fit but appeared too narrow compared to the old tire.

Not a true balloon tire, so I did not make the purchase.  

I've surfed the internet to no avail.

If anyone has any other connection please pass along.

One option might be to relace to newer rim that modern Balloon Tires fit.

Jeff

Submitted by T-Mar on Sun, 09/16/2012 - 08:54.

Well, at least you know you need 571mm BSD. Be aware that new tires always appear skinnier than a used tire. The cords do tend to relax as the tire is used, causing them to fatten up a bit, though I don't know if these would fatten up sufficiently for your liking.

There are a handful of 54-571 tires available but typically from foreign sources. Their North American distributors tend not to import them due to the very restricted market. However, their is a pair currently available on ebay from a US seller. Unfortunately, the shipping to Canada is as much as the tires! http://www.ebay.ca/itm/TWO-NEW-CST-WHITE-SIDEWALL-BICYCLE-TIRES-26-X2X1-3-4-S-7-ISO-54-571-W-TUBES-/300735999558?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4605432e46