Can I put 27" wheels on a Quickbeam?

[Silas Bussmann]

Hi, 

Has anyone tried putting 27" wheels on a Quickbeam?  I want to sabotage one of the old schwinns from craigslist but want to make sure those pretty chrome 27" wheels will fit before destroying something beautiful.    

Backstory - current wheels run 38c tires on nice wide rims.  Discovered CRACKED rear hub flange and looking for economical replacement that can comfortably run 32c + tires but  27" x 1 3/8's would also suffice.  Hoping also to fit fenders.

[Julian Westerhout]

Silas, 

It is unlikely the brakes will work well -- the 27" rim is taller. This means you'll also have less tire clearance even if the cantilevers can be made to work. 27" tires are thin on the ground -- I think Swift tires (made by Panaracer)  is one of the only sources for 27" x 1 3/8" tires -- Panaracer Paselas are fairly available in 27" x 1 1/4".  You also will have an issue with hub width -- perhaps the vintage Schwinn will be 120mm (the QB's size) -- but be sure. If those shiny rims are steel I'd steer clear -- heavy, not as strong, and pretty poor braking, especially when wet. 

Julian Westerhout

Bloomington, IL 

[Ian A]

There's three issues, maybe four:

1) brake reach. As Julian noted, if they can be made to work, they may be less effective due to the extra reach

2) the Quickbeam has 120mm dropouts.  Most of those freewheel 27" wheelsets are 126mm

3) the chrome rims don't brake in the wet 

4) the freewheel hub on the donor wheel may not give the right chainline

But, a 120mm oln 27" rear wheel with the right SS freewheel could be used. No need to change the front wheel. A 700/27" combo would work and would maintain braking in the wet.

Why not just put out a wanted to buy request for an economical suitable wheel on the list? Someone will be holding!

IanA

[Ian A]

Another option is to rebuild your current rear wheel with a new hub. I have reused spokes, nipples and rim with no issues when replacing hubs before, but reusing spokes isn't always considered best practice. https://www.modernbike.com/surly-ultra-new-fix-free-hub-rear-32h-120mm-black

[iamkeith]

As luck would have it, I happen to have both an unbuilt quickbeam frame and some old, chrome, 27" Schwinn wheels sitting on my back porch.  I'll mock it up and take some pictures.  Hold my beer....

[iamkeith]

Well, I wasn't quite correct.  The Scwinn wheels I have tires labeled "26 x 1 3/8 to fit 
Scwinn tubilar rim."  They're significantly larger diameter than modern 26"/559 wheels, so I always get confused.  Probably not helpful, but here's a photo just in case.

[Julian Westerhout]

Oy vey... 

Further down the rabbit hole! 

Schwinn's  26 x 1 3/8 is, of course, a different diameter than other 26 x 1 3/8 rims, and as you note, also different than 26" mtb rims. The Schwinn size is also called S-6, and is 597 mm in diameter. A "British" standard 26 x 1 3/8 rim is 590mm. A 26" mtb rim is 559 mm in diameter. 

The 700c rims originally on the QB are 622 mm in diameter. The inestimable Sheldon Brown's website has a good rundown on the rim size and nomenclature madness:  https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

You might get the brakes to fit the S-6 rims -- it might not be ideal, but might work. 

Tires, on the other hand, will be super scarce -- to my knowledge there are only one or two brands pretty cheapo tires available in that long obsolete size these days. 

It appears you already have the S-6 wheel set. If those tires are not worn out or dry rotted and you can get the brakes working ok give it a shot.  That wheel in your photo is, of course,  a coaster brake -- so no backpedaling without braking (and maybe if you go that way the ill-fitting cantilevers won't matter as much) -- be sure to secure the coaster brake's reaction arm securely with a good strong p-clamp to your non-drive-side chain stay.   

Medium to long term I'd strongly advise getting a new hub and rebuilding your wheel or sourcing a goo 700c single-speed wheel. 

Meanwhile, have fun! 

Julian Westerhout

Bloomington, IL 

[Julian Westerhout]

Ah -- I just realized that the photo was not from the OP, Silas, but was from Iamkeith. 

I really do wish folks would sign off with name and location in the email -- trying to ascertain who wrote what from emails adresses is, for me at least, a bit tough. 

Note that we're all asked to do this in iBob list rule #6: "ANONYMITY IS DISCOURAGED: We are a friendly group with a high degree of trust among members. We request that you sign your posts with your real name and your location." 

Julian Westerhout

Bloomington, IL 

[iamkeith]

On Sunday, August 31, 2025 at 1:45:32 PM UTC-6 Julian Westerhout wrote

I really do wish folks would sign off with name and location in the email -- trying to ascertain who wrote what from emails adresses is, for me at least, a bit tough. 

Note that we're all asked to do this in iBob list rule #6: "ANONYMITY IS DISCOURAGED: We are a friendly group with a high degree of trust among members. We request that you sign your posts with your real name and your location." 

Julian Westerhout

Bloomington, IL 

Julian,  how do you view these threads?  On my interface, the identity of the person making a comment is located in the header, above the comment itself.  In my case that has, for as long as I've participated in this group, included my email, my actual name, and my photo, along with my "handle," iamkeith. I think I'm respecting the rules.  Maybe I'm confusing things when I show a quote from someone else, like in this case?  I just do that to indicate what Im responding to because sometimes there are multiple topics or questions being addressed in a single thread.

[Julian Westerhout]

Keith, 

I usually view these online -- if I'm on my computer with a nice big monitor I can see things ok when folks like you have an email address and name that make things clear. Unlike you, lots of folks do not even do that -- and my comment was more a reflection of that than of you, specifically.  In this case I was looking at the web interface on my phone, where the headers get truncated, and soI can easily miss the name in the email address. I fully admit I could/should open each one and examine the headers in case folks identify themselves there, but sometimes don't, and my aging eyes don't always deal with how stuff shows up. Ah, well. I'm getting cranky and don't mean to be - -time to go just ride!    :) 

Julian Westerhout

Bloomington, IL 

[Patrick Moore]

+ 1 and Amen.

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[Stephen Durfee]

Silas, where are you located?  I have a 27" single-speed wheel that is spaced at 120mm, if you'd like to check it for fit...in the Bay Area. 

[Cyclofiend Jim]

Just a brief admin comment:

This is not the ibob group and I've never made that request here. 

Not that I'm against it... ;) It just isn't a requirement on this list. 

ok, admin hat off so I can go for a ride

Jim
Somewhere north of SF-CA

[Julian Westerhout]

Sheesh. My apologies -- the iBob and RBW groups are close cousins -- I read them both -- my fault for ascribing an iBob requirement to the RBW list -- however, my point that it would be a lot more clear (and would build community) to put our real names and locations on posts still stands -- surely no one is really afraid of their posting here being made public  (town or state is unlikely to reveal that much)? 

Julian "not afraid to out myself on this or other list" Westerhout 

Bloomington , Illinois