How wide a tyre/rim can you fit under a caliper? 26" wh

lae
lae Posts: 555
edited January 2010 in Workshop
Or maybe I should be asking if modern calipers will fit over an old 1 3/8" wide rim.

My girlfriend has a rather pretty 80s Raleigh Caprice that I restored a few years ago for her. It's starting to show it's age again, especially the chromed steel wheels (which are rusty, incredibly heavy and have rubbish braking in the wet).

So I plan to replace them with 26"x 1 3/8 aluminium wheels (I will rebuild the SA hub into the rear wheel). Tyres will be 26"x 1 3/8 Schwalbe Delta Cruisers (in a delightful cream colour). 1 3/8" is about 35mm wide, but I don't know if that equates to the rim width or the width of the inflated tyre, and it's probably just a convention rather than an absolute size. I don't have the bike to hand so I can't measure it!

Now the calipers on the bike are pretty useless pressed-steel single-pivot-sidepull affairs, which squirm and flex all over the place and are getting quite rusty too. I'd like to upgrade them to a more modern design. So does anyone know of a rim/tyre/caliper combo that I can use, or give any advice?

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