650c to 26" conversion

[thwart]

Thought I'd pass along my experience with converting my wife's well-loved (and well-used) mid-'90's Waterford 1200 (hey, Reynolds 753 tubes!) from its standard 650c over to 26 inch MTB wheels, to allow wider rubber.

Who would've guessed unpaved bike paths and 23 mm tires are not a very relaxing combination... ?

I was helped in this process by msl819 (thanks, Matt!) supplying the NOS rims used, which were 23 mm wide, as well as all the useful replies to my request for appropriate 26" tires. Those are Specialized Fat Boys, 26 x 1.25 (559 x 32).

Richard Schwinn, in his wisdom, designed this particular frameset with wide enough chainstays to allow 32's (especially on the slightly smaller diameter 26" rims). Heck, 35's might actually fit. FWIW, I once owned a similar vintage 56 cm 1200 (again, 753) that was much tighter here.

Surprisingly, the Campy Veloce short reach brakes worked out as well.

Always nice to see a project be successful... certainly not always the case for yours truly.

Saved the 650c wheels and tires, but I bet my wife will want to keep these on for all use.

[Fatty]

Looks nice. Really came out well.

[msl819]

Looks great... Glad the runs worked out and that they will be getting good use.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Nice work. These tires look pretty badass. 176g!

[ericssonboi]

I suppose you had the new wheelset built with 130mm rear spacing?

[thwart]

Originally Posted by ericssonboi

I suppose you had the new wheelset built with 130mm rear spacing?

Yeah, 130 mm.

I built the rims into a set of used Campy Centaur hubs (the newer 'oil can' version). Those are actually pretty durable hubs, had 'em on my snow/salt/winter bike for 3 or 4 years before this use.

[Ozz]

The kickstand is a nice touch! Very civilized....

[pcxmbfj]

I like the rack.