bike tubes/tires/lights

Question
Hi,

My questions pertain to a 3-speed 26" men's bike, a Sears Free Spirit (with coaster brake) that I bought new in 1982.  It was called a touring bike at the time--it's a road bike, or a  neighborhood cruiser, as some might call it.

It still has its original tires, and although they're in pretty good condition overall, I know the time will come when I'll have to replace them.

However, from what I've seen on the internet, some of the rims and tires for these older bikes came in a variety of sizes with minute differences, depending on where the bike was made, making the selection of a proper replacement tire kind of difficult at times.

As I understand it, you have to check different dimensions that are stamped on the tire and/or rim to make sure you're buying the right kind of replacement tire.  Can you tell me what dimensions I should be looking for?

I may also have to replace the inner tube in the front tire before long.  Would any standard-sized 26" tire tube be a match for the original?

Would I be able to find the correctly sized replacement tubes and tires for my bike anywhere, either locally or on the internet?

I would also like to outfit my bike with a headlight and taillight but am not sure what types to purchase.  All my riding is done on city streets, where streetlights usually provide adequate illumination, and I don't do a lot of night riding.  All my rides are fairly short.  

Information I've found on the internet indicates that either an LED or halogen headlight would be adequate for my type of riding, with some kind of flashing (LED) taillight.  I'm on a small budget, so I'd need to buy lights that are reasonably and affordably priced.

Ideally, I'd like a headlight that would provide a fairly broad, cone-shaped expanse of light in my path (as opposed to a tightly focused beam) so that I'd be able to see potholes and road obstructions in time to avoid them.

I'd like one that is easy to access for battery replacement and that can be securely mounted to the handlebars.  These same criteria would apply to the taillight.

Can you suggest some lights (separate head and tail or kits) that I might want to consider?  Where would I find them?

Any guidance you can offer regarding my questions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks very much for your help.

Best regards & happy biking,

Matt  

Answer
First, it might be called a street bike, but not a road bike.

There are 2 dimensions for a tire; diameter and width. So a 26" tire might be classified as 26x1.25 or 26x2.25. Your tires should say that and just replace in kind. Same thing for tubes.

I don't do any night riding so I really haven't paid much attention to lights. I would suggest checking out Performancebike.com and BikeNasbar.com they have good descriptions of head lights that can help you decide.

Hope this helps
Scott<>