History of high-pressure clincher tyres

[Brucey]

TS models were folding, I think.


Argyle socks compulsory for Elan users (LvI excepted)






 


Hi-Lites replaced 'Elan' models and had white sidewalls but carcasses were still made using a crappy mesh fabric, and therefore were just as good as Elans (i.e. not very). The Hi-Lite lay-up is illustrated above.


eventually the Hi-Lite was (thankfully) consigned to the dustbin of history. The replacement tyres 'Axial' and then  'Axial Pro' (sport, race etc etc) were a good deal better. The only signs of mesh fabric are in the chafers with these tyres.  There was also an 'Axial Pro Lite' tyre model; one of my favourites for summer use, pretty lively, very fast and comfy, only weighing ~190g in 23C size. The standard Axial Pro was only ~20g heavier but nothing like as nice to ride on.


Michelin then produced the Pro2, Pro3, Pro4 etc series. AIUI the casings are all developments of the Axial Pro casing.


'conventional' tyre lay up, showing how a single piece of (unidirectional) fabric can be made to give a bias-ply carcass. I think Axial Pro tyres are made this way.

Mavic Module E rim

 and heavier Module 3 (~22mm external width, ~520g) rims

first appeared with 'old style' mavic sticker, and rim tape warning sticker.
Later Module E (single eyelet) and Module E2 (double eyelet) rims had the green patch on the rim label, with 'argent' for matt anodised rims. Some rims appeared with (slightly shinier) anodising but no 'argent' label.

G40 rims used the same extrusion as E, E2 but with hard grey anodising.

Mavic 1984 catalogue

MA2 rim replaced E2 model a year or two later, at first with similar labels, later with 'mountain motif' rim decals. Module 3 rim (which had ~2mm brake surface thickness) carried on even into 'mountain motif' times. I think it was finally dropped when the MA3 rim was introduced.



may you always have wings upon your wheels

cheers

[Brucey]

wolber's answer to the Elan was the W20 tyre



http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx?ID=b0e32e80-c724-4b71-85da-a44fe66c16b5

never used them myself, so can't comment on what they are like to ride on.

The predecessor wolber tyre, the 'super sport' was described as new in 1963

http://veterancycleclublibrary.org.uk/ncl/pics/Kitching%20catalogue%201963%20(V-CC%20Library).pdf

see p31

Here
http://veterancycleclublibrary.org.uk/ncl/pics/Kitching%20catalogue%201970%20Milremo%20extracts%20(V-CC%20Library).pdf

in the 1970 Ron Kitching catalogue (Milremo section) on p2 there is mention of the 'new' Super champion rim (later known as Mod58 etc), which is one of the earliest HP rims with any kind of hook bead. I think the quoted weight is wrong; IIRC such rims weighed ~500g.
On p3 there are also Milremo branded tyres (which I think are rebranded Wolbers) down to 308g for a 27 x 1-1/16" tyre; pretty sporty for an HP tyre back then.

cheers

[Brucey]

circa 1977, this was weinmann's rim offering to take the new narrow HP tyres

[tatanab]

^^^ circa 1980 I built my first wheels on 27" Weinmann concave rims on the basis that they must be strong and stiff so a good first choice.  They were perfectly ok and I built at least one more set.  The ferrules corroded because of course water collected at the bottom of the rim when stationary.  I think I was using Michelin Bibsport tyres at that time.

[Brucey]

there has been a plethora of Weinmann rim models that have gone largely undocumented. Ditto Rigida rims too. One of these days I shall round up all the available information....maybe....

cheers

[Salvatore]

A set of turn-of-the-[19th]century diaries, published recently, included a reference to a man having to repair a puncture because his bike had 'cushion tyres'.

"Glass and Penknives defied. "

(Jarrow Express - Friday 11 April 1890)

An article in the Athletic News of Monday 28 April 1890 described the cushion tyre as "simply a tube of rubber 1½in. in diameter with a half-inch bore."

[rogerzilla]

Glass and penknives, eh?  What about...http://viz.co.uk/2014/09/25/tyre-nails/?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi8-p7d3IfdAhVDKcAKHXAYCWYQ9QEwAHoECAkQBA

[Brucey]

circa 1977, this was weinmann's rim offering to take the new narrow HP tyres

^^^ circa 1980 I built my first wheels on 27" Weinmann concave rims on the basis that they must be strong and stiff so a good first choice.  They were perfectly ok and I built at least one more set.  The ferrules corroded because of course water collected at the bottom of the rim when stationary.  I think I was using Michelin Bibsport tyres at that time.

It occurs to me that the concave rim has (possibly accidentally, possibly deliberately) a feature that I thought only came along a lot later. i.e. this rim is a 'breakthrough' rim, in that should the braking surface wear, you will probably break through into the hollow section before the rim edge is likely to fail, causing a blowout.

cheers

[hubner]

there has been a plethora of Weinmann rim models that have gone largely undocumented. Ditto Rigida rims too. One of these days I shall round up all the available information....maybe....

cheers

I've got a mid 80s Chicken & Sons catalogue which I don't have on hand but I'm sure it had details on all the brakes and rims as they were the UK importer of Weinmann products.

http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/components/weinmann-components.html

[rogerzilla]

I bought a pair of cheap 27" wheels from Halfords in 1991 which had Weinmann alloy rims.  I did a lot of miles on them and even rebuilt them onto better hubs eventually.

[Brucey]

this is an ad from 'the bicycle warehouse' (US) in 1976. 



interestingly the 'Elan' tyre is listed, but the Mavic Module E rim to which it was intended to fit is not.

Pretty much the same products were sold in the UK.  I think I used most of the ones listed on this page; for example the spoke key looks like a 'Cyclo' one and I think I paid less than 50p for mine in about 1977.  'Rustless' spokes cost me 5p each in my LBS at about the same time...

cheers

[Samuel D]

I guess the Elan would have worked tolerably well on the Super Champion Competition rim at bottom-left?

[Brucey]

I guess the Elan would have worked tolerably well on the Super Champion Competition rim at bottom-left?

It wouldn't have been my first choice by any means; it has similar dimensions to the Weinmann A129 above, and this rim is rated for 28-32mm width tyres, not ~23mm ones.

  The A124 model rim is closer in dimensions to the Mavic Module E rim, and that is the one that the Elan tyre fitted best.

cheers

[tatanab]

  The A124 model rim is closer in dimensions to the Mavic Module E rim, and that is the one that the Elan tyre fitted best.

Indeed.  In the early 80s that was a combination I used on 27".

[mzjo]

this is an ad from 'the bicycle warehouse' (US) in 1976. 



interestingly the 'Elan' tyre is listed, but the Mavic Module E rim to which it was intended to fit is not.

Pretty much the same products were sold in the UK.  I think I used most of the ones listed on this page; for example the spoke key looks like a 'Cyclo' one and I think I paid less than 50p for mine in about 1977.  'Rustless' spokes cost me 5p each in my LBS at about the same time...

cheers

I still have one Super Champion rim in use, that I bought in 1982. Nice and narrow but very heavy (closer to 550g than 500 I think). I don't know what happened to its pair, I must have used it in a wheel that I gave away.
I also still have the Cyclo spoke key, like that one. It is my preferred spoke key but then after so many years it would be, regardless of the quality.

Some of the heaviest rims that I know are Alesas. 650g IIRC. Beautiful rims if you want to build a tank or other armoured vehicle.

[Brucey]

as posted on bikeforums

also see https://www.mavic.com/en-int/history

[Nick H.]

I went all the way to the Port d'Envalira in Andorra on Nutrak 18mm slicks so I could do 60 down the other side. But there was a headwind.

[ElyDave]

Those pictures show rims for tubulars as non-symmetric, was there any specific reason for this?

[Brucey]

Those pictures show rims for tubulars as non-symmetric, was there any specific reason for this?

The eyelets/drillings  are usually staggered; do you mean that?

cheers

[giropaul]

Weren't the Michelins used by Van Impe in his TdF victory (and credited with giving him the descending edge that allowed him to win -which we now know to be crap because his advantage came from the lead-ballasted bottles that Cyril Guimard handed up for the downhill bits. Cyril Guimard did not deny this when the question was posed a few years ago!)

I think you are right; all part of the sales pitch for the tyres. Not sure how many stages were run with those tyres though. The lead weighted bidons were an old trick; Jean Robic is thought to have used them a generation earlier. I suppose they didn't chuck those bidons in the hedge when they had finished with them....

cheers

Van Impe was an early “ marginal gainer”. At that time Belgian and French time was 1 hour different, and he lived and trained to French time for a month before the Tour.

[ElyDave]

Those pictures show rims for tubulars as non-symmetric, was there any specific reason for this?

The eyelets/drillings  are usually staggered; do you mean that?

cheers

This picture seems to show the rim being higher on one side than the other?

[giropaul]

There have been other instances of “ clinchers” being used by notable riders. Indurain used to, I gather, use a light one on the front only on stages with technical descents, having had a bad experience with a tub rolling.
In my view he would have been better to get a decent mechanic
There’s a new tyre maker on the block - Wolfpack. Likely to be connected to Deceunick Quickstep ( the Wolfpack). The publicity was definitely milked.
As always, what riders actually use may not be what is generally sold. Tyre makers make special pro team only products - typically lighter and possibly with a softer compound . One or two stages wear perhaps. I have some old Vittoria SILK clinchers - never seen by most people.
The same with tubs of course, either the tyre sponsor has specials made by one of the specialists or there are small production runs in their factories. Continental, often seen as the best pro-team tubular ( Geraint Thomas once said about describing “ follow the guy on Conti’s” , produce Pro Team Only tyres, that replace the usual butyl tube with very light latex, and have other changes as well.

[Brucey]

This picture seems to show the rim being higher on one side than the other?

I see what you mean. I think that the eyelets have been set vertical in the image, which would have been alright except for the staggered/angled drilling.  Could have been the graphic designer, could have been in the layout, who knows....?

One thing I can say is that, having owned and used some of the rims in question, they were not a different diameter each side!

cheers

[ElyDave]

I was thinking, perhaps on the track riding around in one direction only, but on the road 

[Cudzoziemiec]

as posted on bikeforums

also see https://www.mavic.com/en-int/history

1975! That's only just outside the average lifetime!

So (following on from the other thread...) what I don't understand is this: what happened to the old rims without hooks once the hooked rims took over? Or rather, what happened to the tyres designed for them? Seeing as modern tyres are all marked "hooked rims only", the earlier tyres must have been slightly different. Did they also fit the new hooked rims? Or were there two incompatible systems side-by-side for a decade or so? If hooked rims were a new invention in 1975, the old type must have been around in the 1980s, yet I don't remember there ever being a question of incompatibility.