Classic & Vintage - Vintage Weinmann rim Question

I recently purchased a set of concave, vintage, Weinmann rims which are certainly clinchers and beautifully made (double-butted spokes on Campy 36 hole hubs) BUT, they have no tire bead on the inside to hook the tire bead like todays clinchers - just a smooth flat wall. The seller (bike shop owner) says it was not uncommon for this to be the case on early (late seventies) rims and I should just put on whatever clincher tire I like without worry. Just wondering if any other older bikers remember this type of rim and if it was a problem - say rolling a tire off the rim cornering etc. I remember the Weinmann rims were the hot setup in the early 80's - unfortunately I could not afford them then and barely can now.

Not many of the older rims had hooked style edges, this didn't become common until the late seventies of eighties when higher pressures became the norm. The earliest set I have with the hooked edge is a set of Super Champion mixte rims from about 1979. These were the ones that took either a 700c clincher tire or a tubular. I have several older Raleigh's with Weinmann concave rims, and I use modern tires with no problems. The inherent design of that rim make for a very strong rim. The first I ran acrossed the concave rim was around 1978 or so. They were common on Raleigh and Motobecane bikes.
Just pick a good set of tires and run with them. I would be carefull though with any extreme high pressure tires though.
I run Michelin Dynamic 700Cx25 tires on mine at 100 psi.

Another point that may ease your mind with these is simply look at some of the modern tires, most have little to no hook at the bead at all. Especially on the lower to mid priced tires.

Thanks for the response VB. Sure enough these rims were off a 1980 (or so) Raleigh pro team racer. I figured I would probably use 25s - good to know I didn't waste my money on something I couldn't use.

The important thing to remember when choosing a tire for these rims is to choose a tire that has a wire bead or rigid bead like the Michelin Dynamic. Do not try to run folding tires on these rims. Also choose tires that fit tight or are hard to get on.

The concaves are strong rims albeit relatively heavy. If you take them to the post office and put them on their postage scale, I think you'll find they are close to 600 grams a rim if I recall.

Used to use these for training wheels. They are also a PITA to clean.

Right Don, I figured on a wire bead 25 of good quality - I'm sure these were the training wheels for the Racer they came off of. The guy said he raced on tubulars. I will have to weigh them for certain but being single wall rims they seem comparable to a late model set of Mavics I have with the same hubs (although the Weinmanns do have double butted spokes which helps a little). I know a lot of touring bike owners, back in the eighties,were looking for these rims for their toughness and weight carrying ability.

again, thanks for the input!

Damon Rinards site lists the Weinmann 516 concave as having
listed weight of 569 grams.
Personally if I were going to look for a vintage clincher I'd look for
Mavic Module E's.

Marty

I recently purchased a set of concave, vintage, Weinmann rims which are certainly clinchers and beautifully made (double-butted spokes on Campy 36 hole hubs) BUT, they have no tire bead on the inside to hook the tire bead like todays clinchers - just a smooth flat wall. The seller (bike shop owner) says it was not uncommon for this to be the case on early (late seventies) rims and I should just put on whatever clincher tire I like without worry. Just wondering if any other older bikers remember this type of rim and if it was a problem - say rolling a tire off the rim cornering etc. I remember the Weinmann rims were the hot setup in the early 80's - unfortunately I could not afford them then and barely can now.

Hey Sailor, I own a pair of Weinmann concave rims and just bought two Contintal top touring 2000 (27x1 1/4) tires and installed them on the rims, and 300 miles later No Problems at all.

I have those on my Raleigh Comp/GS and my fixie. I've had the Raleigh for 25 years with no problems. I did blow a tire off my fixie but it was because the rim tape was up on the side wall of the rim. Use the correct rim tape and you won't have any problems. NEVER NEVER USE FOLDING TIRES...

found this via the search. can anyone identify these rims? tubular 36 spoke.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2475/3552045449_b18c30f1c5.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3550/3550417623_24beb83977_b.jpg

Cheers.