At 2:26 PM +1100 3/8/10, Ben Kamenjas wrote:
>The 28" designation for 700c tubulars is not so old and rare. Pick
>up most any modern production Continental tubular tyre and it'll
>have 28" as it's size. I know it's so in Europe and here downunder
>... unless the label them differently for the US.
In Germany, traditionally, 700C bikes have been called "28 Zoll" or "28 inches." Maybe a German listmember will have some info why this was.
When I was growing up in Germany, there were plentiful supplies of older bikes from the 1950s and 1960s - not ligthweights, but what the British called "sit up and beg" bikes. Most were "26 inch" (does this correspond to the modern 559 mm size?), but the desirable ones were with the larger "28 inch" wheels. All had neat paint, either with pinstriping or with "marble-effect" paint...
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
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