A Question about Elgin Motorbikes

[sensor]

cant give an exact year but it looks like it has 28" wheels on it.....if thats the case more than likely it wont take balloons(although some of the 30s stuff can take balloons or 28s)
have you seen this in person or can you?
if you can ill measure the stays on my 28(it cant take balloons....stays are too narrow).....
but id guess youre close on the age.....the top tubes are close enough to be late 20s/early 30s and the fork crown looks about right for that age also

 

[yeshoney]

I have 5 Elgins now and can tell you 99% sure that those are 28's and they look like the metal clad wood based on the profile. Also, the lack of a dog leg crank helps ID it. A balloon will fit on the rear, but not on the front. This is also based on the fenders you have on there. You can do what I did on one of mine and just use a 26 x 1.75 tire on the front wheel. It looks cool too!

Joe

 

[sensor]

well mine from the upper rear fender mount down to the top of the tire is(1&1/4" down from fender mount) is 2&1/16" wide...i can tell you mine is from 1928 and will not take balloons(i tried wouldnt work on mine......some will though)
if i didnt explain where i measured from well enough i can take pics in the next day or 2 if you have time to wait.....
you can always find 28" wheels from a raleigh or ccm that are clinchers as well as tires for pretty cheap....i bet someone here probably has a set theyd part with

 

[deorman]

You could also use 700c rims. :|

 

[aka_locojoe]

I don't know how similar this bike is but I've got balloon tires on it.

 

[Uncle Stretch]

Both of mine . balloon tires with no problems...dont know what year they are though

 

[Rustinkerer]

Locojoe & Uncle Stretch's frames are the later 30s models that were redesigned for balloon tires. I have a 28"er (westfield built, like many Elgins of the era) that I stuck balloon tires on, and you can see how they don't fill out the wheel opening/ fender in the rear. Also they rub on the fork.

~Adam

 

[aka_locojoe]

I thought it was odd that mine has a pretty good gap between fender and tire in rear but fits snugly in front. You can't tell in the photo but I even used a spacer to push the rear fender away from the bottom mount to get it closer to the tire.

 

[Uncle Stretch]

i have a real nice set of 26" tires i want to use

One thing you will find is those real nice tires will fit on most bikes ,while you waiting on a deal on an Elgin :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Rustinkerer]

I have another that is an Elgin, and balloon tires fit on the rear, at least.

I've heard that the first run of these used factory spacers for the fenders, which were sized to the wheels. ~Adam

 

[El Duderino]

my balloon tire 30's model takes 28's
thats all i know