Originally Posted by oldspokes

Nice looking bike, and a brand I haven't seen in a while.
Were they the original rims?
Every steel wheel bike I find around here either has severe brake wear or major rust damage. I don't think I've found a rust free set of steel rims on anything since the mid 90's or so here.
The only bikes I've got with perfect rims are those I bought new myself back in the day.
Years ago, I bought a new Schwinn Varsity 10 speed, from day one that bike had a Huret/Schwinn Speedometer on it. I put over 24,000 miles on that bike. The wheels on that bike never showed any brake pad wear, or rust. It got kept in the garage, it got used rain or shine for 8 years and then handed down to various relatives when I was done with it. I got it back about 15 years ago and went through the whole bike, the rims are still original. (The 9,999 mile capable speedometer had rolled over again and was reading 32 miles with a broken cable). So it boggles my mind when I see so many bikes with the chrome burned off the rims. I'm also no lightweight, and I went through brake pads pretty fast, but never once did the rim show any wear. Chrome is pretty hard stuff, especially compared to a rubber brake pad.
I bought a ladies Hercules off an old woman. The bike had a hub dated 1965. She told me her sister owned the bike since it was new.
The tires were original Dunlop and likely original. the paint was flawless, there was no rust on the bike, yet both rims had nearly no chrome on the sides, both worn down to bare steel. The rest of the bike's chrome was flawless. I have a same year Robin Hood that's been in my family since new, the rims are perfect. The original Lucas Cyclometer on it reads 4,690 miles the last I checked.
As a large guy, and I'd classify myself as slightly abusive when I was younger when it came to my bikes, its hard to understand how so many rims are suddenly worn so badly.