<<what did eveyone use when these hookless rims were the norm?!>>

100 psi tires. They all died.

My circa-1985 Weinmann Concaves (700c) are smooth-sided....

Ditto the Araya 27x1 1/4" rims on the '83 Shogun in the barn.
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This is why I ask; I recently rummaged some nice 27 1 1/4" wheels with concave Weinmann rims and Maillard hubs out of a neighbor's trash only to realize they are smooth-sided, too. Hmm. I'm thinking about writing to Rivendell and Grant Peterson. Seems like a challenge he'd take up with gusto, or at least shoot down apologetically...

peripatetic,
I noticed after looking at the sizes of the Schwalbes Marathon 2006 the size 27 1 1/4 was not listed. I mailed Tim again and now I see it listed.

Although, it seems that Fasteryoufool, is the only guy I know who is actually using the GT2 road tire from Performance Bikes shop with good results on smooth bead rims. I am waiting for a return call from my local Performance bike shop as I type.... Last time I checked they only had one in stock.

I don't like the fact that they only make the tire in black but I want to give it a try.

As far as what everyone use to use with hookless rims....... Looking at the original tires I have, it seems to have three flat sides. A bottom flat, outside flat and an inside flat with a wire inside. It would fit square and flush in the square corner of the rim and against the outside wall. I have a picture of it. Hope you can see it.


J B

I also have ARAYA 27 1¼ in W/O HP rims. I bought a set of Continental Ultra Sport (1 ¼”) for them. Maximum pressure for these tires on hooked rims is 102 psi. On there website, for best performance, Continental recommends to run this tire with only 85 psi. I’m running mine with 80 psi, because I’m fairly light and to be on the safe side. These tires are a big improvement in rolling resistance over my other Kenda tire with maximum of 90 psi.

I just picked up a set of the same rims and put Specialized Tri Sports on them with 80 PSI. I have had no trouble and the tires ride very well at that pressure. I paid $9.95 each for the tires at my LBS.

Hopefully, last time I'll pop this thread up again, but just realized that all these 27" Nashbar Pima/Cheng Shin tires I have lying around the house are rated to 90 PSI. I'm guessing they'd be fine to throw on some of the smooth-sided rims. They're also tan-sidewalled to help reassure, J B.

Well I went with the GT2 road tire that was suggested by Fasteryoufool. Although I am using the 1 1/4 size. I was able to get 80lbs in it and I do see a little lift in the tire from the rim. I do feel safe with it. I have no idea how Fasteryoufool can get up to 100psi in this tire though. The tire rides real nice. Wish I could have this tire in a gum/skin wall.

Think I will run these for awhile and maybe try another brand when the urge hits me. The bike looks good with the black but takes away from the vintage look.

I want to thank everyone who posted in this thread.
I will keep all of the options in mind next time I am looking to replace the tires.

Thanks again,
J B

I'm pretty sure (but not certian) that the Nashbar Prima tire is the gumwall version of the Preformance GT2.
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I don't think the nashbar tires are the same as the performance. I have the prima 2 plus and checking out some gt2's last night, there's no way I'd put those suckers on my bike. Seemed really insubstantial. But of course I'm talking about the plus, not the regular prima 2.

They work fine on my smooth-edged rims. All the old bikes I have no have smooth edged rims. weee.

I know this thread is ancient but it was helpful to read through it as I recently came upon a bike with the same ARAYA 27 X 1 1/4 W/O HP. (old smooth bead rim)

Going to look around locally and online to see what tires I can try. I think I want to go with all black this time.

edit: And if anyone has any updated recommendations, they'd be appreciated!

Good grief, don't contact Grant, or he'll be re-introducing non-hook-bead rims in some weird non-standard size before you can say "tweed rules on a country bike" four times in rapid succession.... ;)

I started a thread a few days ago with some questions about some old Araya rims and got lots of helpful and interesting responses and then I had more curiosity. That googling led me to this thread from '06 and '12 that I thought nicely connected and had some good information. Sometimes topics repeat and recycle (not always in a good way) but this seemed interesting enough to revive. It's definitely an education for me. If it's not for you it will naturally drift back down in the pages

Continental Ultra Sport II fit very tightly in 700c and might in 27" as well. I need a Kool Stop bead jack to seat them. Very good bargain priced tires.

Yes, Continentals fit very tight, I use Ultra-Sport (700x25) for fast riding on smooth roads and Super-Sport (27x 1-1/8) for inner-city commuting, both are wired-on (not folding).

The smooth-sided rims won't hold tires on as well as hook-beaded rims, but they can still work fine. BITD that's what everybody rode. 1) Use wire-bead (non-foldable) tires, which won't stretch as much as the folding beads. 2) Get a large size like 1/4 or 3/8, and don't inflate them too much. Don't try to make high-performance go-fast wheels out of these, they're better for cruising around, general use, touring, etc.

Holy Zombie Thread Batman! this thread is considerably older than me when I got started cycling.

Anyhow, as long as the Zombie is awoken, let me make some historical corrections. Generally speaking, by the late 70s, quality skinwall tires were pumped up to 90 psi as more or less standard pressure - hooked beads or not. Some combinations were suspect, and you would need to creep up on it carefully, listening for the sound of the bead starting to creep. It's a sort of creaking sound. If that happens, the object is to let the air out as quickly as possible.

100 psi was generally a pressure that would only be used with tubulars, but when Specialized Turbo clincher tires came out, they were rated to 100. It was kind of radical. Regular clinchers couldn't take 100 until much later.

70 psi would have been used on cheap gumwall tires, which are not the same as skinwalls, despite the modern convergence in terminology.

i have some foldable gatorskins on my weinman concaves for all summer and they hardly lose any air even and I have road it pretty rough and far. it blewout cause you put the tube in wrong as other people said
update: tires still fine no blowing off the hookless rims, had a flat from a staple but besides that they hold up great, always keep them aired up to 100psi per the tire and yeah they are kevlar bead tires too