MAKING BIG FAT TIRES FIT

naturephotoboy3 · Dec 22, 2011

Hello to all listening. I have a stupid question. Yes there are dumb questions but I have a stupid one. Im building a Vintage Huffy Tandem right now. It's finished except for the seats and one other thing. I bought some tires that were 26" x 2.5. They are cream color and look awesome on the red rims with a black frame. Problem is that no matter what I do they just dont seem to be lined up correctly so the wheel can rotae without rubbing.

Now i have seen on some of the post's here bikes with huge tires with almost zero clerance. So the stupid question is....what could be causing this issue...other than they are too fat. It just seems that the rim is crooked..yet it rotates really straight. The rims are brand new. Is it possible that the rim can lean to one side furtehr than the other yet still rotate straight?? If i have it lined up so it doesnt rub on the top left side..the bottom right side seems to be off.....so i guess it is crooked??? What can I look for??

Sinner4 · Dec 22, 2011

The rear right? I had the same problem with a modern Schwinn MTB, installed a different rim to flip the bike, it was off to the left by a 1/4 inch. frame was straight, checked it with a string. Dish on the rear rim is the problem. if your good at that kind of thing its fixable.

naturephotoboy3 · Dec 23, 2011

Im going to check to see if maybe the bike shop trued the wheel correctly or if the rims is of some how in the way it was put together. Kinda frustraing when i see these bikes on here with HUGE tires and it looks like they have zero clerance..or maybe it's just for looks and it really doesnt ride

outskirtscustoms · Dec 24, 2011

Also make sure the tire is seated properly, sometimes you may have a small bulge in the tire that will cause rubbing issues. Make sure the rim is true, and other than that it's just a lot of trial and error. I fit a 2.125 on the back of my Hawthorne with a bobbed fender and it was a pain to say the least. About 3 hours of re-adjusting, re-bent the fender, straightening the fender braces, dimpled the frame on both sides, even had to flip the fender brace bolts for clearance. Not fun but the end result was worth it.

CycleTruck · Dec 24, 2011

Ask the bike shop to check the wheel for dish. They use a dish stick to center the rim between the mounting surfaces on the axle.

http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_da-o.html#dishstick

MADDAWG · Dec 24, 2011

1st. of all mount rim to bike by its self and spin it . Your looking to see if its true and centered .
2nd. put the inner tube into tire and put some air into it just so it holds its shape .
3rd. insert tire onto 1 side of rim - aline valve - push other side of tire onto rim . Never use metal , knives ,spoons screwdriver ... etc . Best thing if you dont have proper tool use 2 toothbrushes . Then take your HAND PUMP and pump a few times then go around complete tire sqeezing it making sure it setting evenly . Few more pumps and repeat . Also spin the rim and make sure tire is even all around . Finish airing it up and you should be good .

NEVER USE COMPRESSED AIR , it wort set tire/rim evenly . Good luck .

naturephotoboy3 · Dec 26, 2011

Thanks to everyone for the ideas. I think the rim is not centered on the hub. It seems off to one side. Sucks because the 2.5" tires look sweet on the bike.

streetpirate · Dec 28, 2011

to get my fatties true on the wheels I had to lube the beads (really well) and over inflate them. I had to try this several times to get them even. I thought for a while that I just got a bad set of lumpy tires.

ratina · Dec 28, 2011

The frame could be bent as well

outskirtscustoms · Dec 28, 2011

Another thing that I have done to gain a little clearance is to bolt an axle into the dropouts to maintain the distance between them then use a scissor jack jammed in the frame to crank the chain stays and seat stays apart where you need. Don't go crazy with this method and try to jam an extra 3 inches in there but it works great for gaining a half inch or so when needed.