All my research on tire sizes for the old German military bike paid off! The original tire size for the old bike was 28" x 1.75", which translates to 622mm or the modern equivalent of 700c x 45. Basically this is a very wide modern road bike tire. A 45 mm width is a tough tire to find, so I went to the next level up............... The "new" 29'er mountain bike tire size is actually a 700c size tire that is extra tall with an aggressive width. The mountain bike sizing of "29'er" is just a marketing ploy to make it look like it's a brand new innovation!
I bought a pair of Bontrager Jones ACX 29'er tires in 2.2 inch width at the bike swap which is a bit wider and taller that the original 1.75 inch tires the bike originally ran. With a bit of adjusting on the rear fender stay, I got the new 29'er's to fit! Not much extra clearance, but it works great. I converted the rims from the old Dunlop valve set up to a modern Presta tube set up by using adapter eyelets in the valve stem holes in the rims. Worked perfectly, looks great! Success all the way around!
This German bomber is one seriously beefy bike now! Mountain knobbies instead of smooth road tread and BIG!
The saddle in the picture is a reproduction hair-pin saddle that I was just trying out. I'm actually running my new Brooks B-67 saddle with the extra springs in the rear for now. I'll eventually set it up with a Leper saddle like it had originally or a Brooks B-33 which is an exact match to the Leper, only made by Brooks.
The new set of Truvativ Holzfeller downhill mountain bike pedals and Blackburn rear rack with a "secret compartment" that I picked up at the bike swap have been installed........ the rear rack deck lifts off to reveal a storage area for spare tube, CO2 inflator, etc........ Now Sweet Pea's Origin 8 is finished!
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