are newer schwinn cruisers from walmart running 700cc wheels?

[heartlandcruisers]

well today was a bad day for my bike riding as I ran something over and got a flat about 2 miles into the bike trail.
so after trying to navigate a flat high profile tire that just does not want to roll or stay on the wheel I finally got it home.
after removing the flat and removing the tire from the wheel I discovered the rim has a lot of resemblance to a 700cc wheel
its skinny lightweight and looks to be of poor quality which is typical for walmark junk.
but the question still remains are these 700cc wheels or are they just really crappy 26 inch wheels.
just random thought no particular reason I am wanting to know other then curiosity.
thanks
Sean

 

[Bicycle808]

They're offering Schwinncruisers with both 559 (26") and 622 (700c) wheels these days; both sizes come in both narrow and wide versions, and all rims are available in a wide range of quality (although, as you mentioned, WalMart bikes tend to have low-quality hoops). But, the answer to your question will be embossed on your tires' sidewalls. Manufacturers put the size there so you can easily replace the rubber (both tubes and tires), as these are common consumables.

 

[us56456712]

I have a Walmart Bike and the only way tires seat on the cheap rims is to pump up the tire until the bead starts to unseat, mark the unseated area with a magic marker, smear a little Sho Goo on this spot and inflate it a little and then wait for it to dry overnight before fully inflating it. Sometimes I have to deflate it again and glue a spot on the other side. It is easy to remove the tires to fix a flat as there is not that much Sho Goo on it. These rims are on one of my winter bikes as I don't care about them rusting away. Perfect use for them as they have an egg profile anyway and tend to bounce you down the road. I took the wobble out of them but the egg shape is beyond my abilities. They came new like this. What do you expect for a new $69.00 bike. It had plastic pedals that were trashed. Its so cheap that I wonder if the bearings and bearing races are hardened or if they are made form plain hot rolled steel?

 

[Toeslider]

There is at least 1 new Schwinn cruiser, the Swindler, that has 27.5" tires, according to the sidewalls. Don't know if that translates into any other common size or not. I believe they are 27.5" x 1.95". They don't look like 29's or 700c's, and they are definitely bigger than 26" ballon tires. I am on the fence about the bike because of this.

 

[Bicycle808]

Good point re: the Swindler.... the 27.5" wheels and tires, also known as 650B, are 584mm at the bead. 650B tires are easy to come by, and it seems like more and more options become available all the time, although most of them aren't cheap. This one is among the cheapest: http://www.schwalbetires.com/node/989 at about $20....

 

[heartlandcruisers]

well that explains a lot
thanks for the info
I think they are just crappy 26 inch wheels the tire says 26x2.125 or 57-599 ( I think that's what it said)
thanks
sean

 

[Jeff54]

I have a Walmart Bike and the only way tires seat on the cheap rims is to pump up the tire until the bead starts to unseat, mark the unseated area with a magic marker, smear a little Sho Goo on this spot and inflate it a little and then wait for it to dry overnight before fully inflating it.?

Side tracking the topic but, although it's been several years since I've had to do this. as a kid in the 60's I couldn't afford the "Schwinn quality" tires and nobody but them stocked their S-2 size.. And as late as 1980, with a Peugeot, cheap brand tires didn't always fit either. But me learned a trick years before.. get the tire on as much as ya can and then slowly inflate it, you can bounce it on the ground or smack it with a mallet or wiggle and push the bead in, wherever the bead is lose, as the air fills. by smacking it wiggling, pushing or bouncing you can set the beads and continue inflating a little at a time until you're sure it'll stay in place. . . It always worked for me, and never had a tire fail for it. Plus, having everything in balance was very important to me because, I always rode with no hands, even turned corners without em. Pretty sure I learned the trick from an ol, and likely long, long dead by now, tire repair shop guy.

Even today, while I expect some out of balancing with tire, I'm looking for it and ready to give em a smack or two, or a push and wiggle but, just haven't had too, yet. Albeit I don't ride like I use too, so it's not as important.

 

[us56456712]

Side tracking the topic but, although it's been several years since I've had to do this. as a kid in the 60's I couldn't afford the "Schwinn quality" tires and nobody but them stocked their S-2 size.. And as late as 1980, with a Peugeot, cheap brand tires didn't always fit either. But me learned a trick years before.. get the tire on as much as ya can and then slowly inflate it, you can bounce it on the ground or smack it with a mallet or wiggle and push the bead in, wherever the bead is lose, as the air fills. by smacking it wiggling, pushing or bouncing you can set the beads and continue inflating a little at a time until you're sure it'll stay in place. . . It always worked for me, and never had a tire fail for it. Plus, having everything in balance was very important to me because, I always rode with no hands, even turned corners without em. Pretty sure I learned the trick from an ol, and likely long, long dead by now, tire repair shop guy.

Even today, while I expect some out of balancing with tire, I'm looking for it and ready to give em a smack or two, or a push and wiggle but, just haven't had too, yet. Albeit I don't ride like I use too, so it's not as important.

These rims are so bad that smacking and wiggling didn't work, they would come unseated in a different spot if you got it to seat where it came apart. This has only happened to me with these Walmart rims, otherwise the bouncing works.

 

[Bicycle808]

Yeah, it seems like you've got the sizes right (559=26", same as a Schwinn s2), but i think the narrow width of the rim, coupled with what are probably weak hooks for the bead, is making tire mounting difficult for you. You might have better luck with a narrower tire (say, 559x50 or less), but you might be best served by different rims.

 

[Jeff54]

I just can't imagine even the cheapest crappy-est rims made today not having enough lip to hold the bead, but I guess it's possible. However, it's even more possible to have a tire that's difficult to set. a cheap made bike containing a reject rim or two is likely, But mass produced bikes are typically made with standards that are so typical, cheap but to get mass marketing they'll have to have tires that set. lol.. Yet, when it comes to tires, hell there's so many different reasons for the reject clause you could write a book and resell up dates for the rest of time too.

I think Schwinn made an example of this whenever you couldn't get the correct tire for one unless it was theirs.. Every other bike I knew of used universal tires but them. So, I could imagine a cheap bike who used an exclusive branded cheap tire and constructed rim tolerances to set with them. Because, it's not much of a stretch now, today, current design to imagine a superior manufacturer who also creates rims designed with an exclusive tire too. Fixing another tire with any other brand might be a little tricky but back in the day, whenever I set my tires on a rim not everybody could do the trick too.

If I used the correct brand on a rim, I used the same trick every time I aired them up, fixed a flat or bought new. Simply, it's a matter of balancing out precisely where the bead is setting around the whole rim.. Say as exmple, it's a whitewall, some tires have a little outer bead you can line up too.. Whitewall easier to use though.. Make sure the distance of the whitewall is equal distance from the rim completely around the whole rim.. as you air it up, continue rebalancing that distance. I can eyeball it but perhaps getting a tape measure would help. If it begins to move away from rim then it's likely to be pulling in directly across from there. Or if it's not pulling in the opposite side then that side was already to far in.

Maybe the bead on the tires is too deep for the rim, so it should have been just a little tougher to put that tire on to begin with.. and but,, you still want to line up the position of tire with rim so it's equally balanced everywhere.. and the same if the tire's bead is to shallow. just keep it in balance as you air it up, it'll lock at some point and when you've inflated it to desired pressure it'll hold because it's balanced and by force.

Sometimes you're going to air em up tthen realize the low area and have to start over even on the correct tires. Just don't take a hammer on it,, and beat your bike up!

Because once you do get your tires in balance,, and providing your rims are true too, them plus seat and gooseneck or stem dead center proper fitting and lube on bearings it'll ride so much more easier, you'll want to reset every or any brand spanking new bike you may own too.

I'd go so far as to say; at a Schwinn or even the increasingly popular Trek shop today, their mechanic is not going to set the tires, rims etc. as good as they could unless it's a special job. Now take into consideration of wally world? LOL not a chance in hell would anything on the bike be in balance with exception of pure luck. But even a cheap crap bike will ride smooth when balanced and set correctly.

I think it was 1981 when I worked part time on weekends for a bike shop who owned the rentals in Venice beach CA. Fixed every crap and junked bike they used inside of several bins, hardly a bike was alike they were just average used bikes back then. I can't even remember a single Schwinn in the pile. Unfortunately, I fixed myself out of a job, I set them all in balance too good and they didn't need me for the rest of that summer. [grin]

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

From the above description of cheap, pig metal wheels, I am surprised anyone even considers purchasing or riding this junk. Wheels are one of the most important parts on any bike. Soft, weird metals, zero quality and High Danger. Why do people buy this garbage when higher quality, discarded wheels sit in dumpsters and swapmeets? I don't get it. Tires, on the other hand seem different. I purchased a new set of ChinSen 26 x 2.125 balloon tires cheap, and they run more true than my $75 Continental Mountain Kings, which are supposed to be high-quality, but do not seat correctly, and almost immediately after a few rides, the side tread knobs tore off.

 

[jamesdart]

I have a set of heavy steel wheels from a 60s huffy tandem. I found it weird that I couldn't get quick bricks to seat properly but any other tire has worked fine. K80, k-rad, electra white walls.

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

I have a set of heavy steel wheels from a 60s huffy tandem. I found it weird that I couldn't get quick bricks to seat properly but any other tire has worked fine. K80, k-rad, electra white walls.

Yep................. tire/rim compatibility can be weird..