1919 Douglas Tire Size Question

[donnh]

I have 26 x 2 1/2 tires on clincher rims that need to be replaced. I checked with the folks at www.universialtire.com and they say that size rim is no longer available. It seems like tires of that size might also be hard to find. I realize https://www.vintagerimsaus.com/ could probably make me a set but will I be able to find tires? Universal tire has 26 x 3 rims and tires. Their website says the tread width for both the 2 1/2 and 3 inch tire is 1.75 inches. Would that be a suitable replacement? I measured the front fender and it looks like there is plenty of space for a wider tire but the rear is closer to 4 1/2 inches clearance. Might be close.
Any thoughts? What have others done?
Thanks,
Donn

[donnh]

Update. The tires are 26 x 2 1/2 but when I measure the rims they are 2.1 inches wide with a 1.5 inch space in the center. The 3 inch rim from Universal Tire measures 2.6 inches wide according to their website. I think that will be too big. My question.. what is the proper size tire for these rims? Is the 2 1/2 correct?
Thanks again,
Donn

[EW-Ron]

Vintage Tyres in the UK look to have 26 x 2.5 beaded edge tyres.
Don't know what the story with postage is though.

https://www.vintagetyres.com/shop/tyres/ensign-beaded-edge-universal-tyre-inner-tube-26x2-5x2-25-650x65

Except they look to be out of stock of them.
I see a lot of odd sizes listed for sale out of China, except the minimum order looks to be quite a sizable number !

Wouldn't it be useful to have a summary/chart here someplace of the various sizes of tyres that Douglas used over the years,
and where to find them. I'm still pondering that the EW models used 25 x 3 which ARE truely totally obsolete ...

[cardan]

Its hard, when even Ensign - who make the bloody things - don't know the difference between a 26x2 1/2 tyre and a 650x65 tyre. Although the measurements roughly equate, they use different size and shape of rim. In the day, there were warnings galore about not confusing the two...

Anyway, if anyone wants info on BE tyres click the "Home" button on this site (upper left) and type "beaded edge tyre" into the search box. EW discussions, in particular, are expansive.

Donn, what is wrong with the original rims? In my opinion, restoring a motorcycle is best done by keeping as many original bits as possible, and if they are too far gone replacing like for like.

Ron, my usual advice for EW is to replace the rims with 26x3, and fit 26x3 tyres. Safe, and an original catalogued option. 25x3 tyres really are obsolete, as are 650x65. EW rims for 25x3 are identical to 24x 2 1/4; fitting 24x2 1/4 tyres to original EW westwood rims is fine but not really good for riding.

Cheers

Leon

[donnh]

Thanks for the response, I think I have a solution. After further searching I came across Richards Brothers in the UK https://www.richards-bros.com/ . They have the rims and Ensign tires. I'm waiting to hear back about shipping.

For reference, Richards Bros had this chart on their website:http://50.87.31.59/beaded_edge_rims.htm




About re-using the rims.... hmmm...that might be a possibility, there are a couple of small bends and some corrosion I would need to investigate. The closer I look, that may be an option.
Thanks.


Image moved to DMF server - Dave, 14 June 2020