Thanks all. I infer from all this input that since Paselas do indeed have a steel bead in them they shouldn't leave the rim prematurely if the pressure is kept moderate, and that it is the foldable clincher tires that are more likely not to work. I note the good Colonel dissents and compares no-hook rims to Ralph's Corvairs. Hmmm...on topic era anyway, but kind of ominous. Yes, the wheels that came with this old Gitane were the old no hook chrome Rigidas which, though do have a certain funky cool factor, are heavy as hell and you might as well have bars of Ivory soap for brake pads in the wet. So, I thought I'd try a set of slightly earlier era alloy clincher rims I have, and a set of narrower Pasela tires to try to gain some clearance and lose some weight, but I note the rear of that set, a Rigida 27 X 1 1/4 also has no hook in the rim. The front does however, a Super Champion. Hence, my concern on using either set ,... but it sounds like I'll be Ok if I keep the pressure down. Yes, this bike was built for tubulars but I'm trying to devote this bike to clinchers and didn't want to invest much more in it, but looks like the wise move at some point will be to put some 700c's on it. Thank you all for the help.