Originally Posted by
RCMoeur
Beginning in the 1980s, I owned Super Champion Gentleman and even narrower Rigida rims with Schrader drilling and valves. Although the valve hole occupies a substantial portion of the rim face and the thickened part of the tube can overlap the sidewalls, I never encountered a problem with the valve or valve area, and got good service from the wheels. I think I still own one of the wheels with the Rigida rims.
Back in the day, I remember those Rigida rims being the most fragile clinchers, which surely wasn't helped by the super-narrow tires that got mounted on them.
You must have been quite conscientious with your inflation psi to avoid flat-spots. Many riders back then initially assumed that they could inflate those narrow tires only weekly or so. But the narrower tires lose pressure faster.
But those same narrow tires actually
help with the tube reinforcement area seating in the rim, since the tube doesn't get dragged past such a sharp corner after air pressure has already pinned it to the inside wall of the tire and while the rubber pad is still seating down into the rim cavity. For this reason, I always give the valve stem a tug as I inflate past ten psi when inflating
wider tires on the narrowest rims.