Took the (possibly original) tires and tubes off an '85 Nishiki Cresta GT, and found the tube in a full 2" fold. The tires had been holding air fine for all of the 6 months I've owned it, and who knows how long prior to that. Not what I'd call the recommended installation method!

I got the same thing in my '84 Pugeot Vagabond (what's with all these touring bikes and their folded tubes?) Funny thing is, I rode it about 40 miles before I noticed the front wheel felt really lumpy at speed. First fast descent I rode on it, I was doing 30+ and was getting annoyed at having to brake and slow down to keep things in hand. whupwhupwhupwhupwhupwhup "Man, I gotta check this out when I get back." Took the tire off and the tube looked exactly like yours. The bike was wearing its original tires which showed very little wear.

I'm thinking it came this way from the shop, and I'm the first person in all its 29 years who ever rode it fast enough to notice the lump. I sure didn't until I was going downhill fast.

Tony,

What kind of tires are those?

Specialized Expedition?

1 1/4 in the front and 1 3/8 in the back?

If so, did you ride them?

I have a set on my Voyageur- I'm totally afraid of riding 30 year old tires, but diggity dang if running that slick 1 3/8 tire around 68 isn't like a LazyBoy on wheels...

I am wondering if they were made in Japan by National Tire?

I recently rode a set that look similar but marked with a Miyata logo rather than Specialized and also had National Tire Co. printed on them.
These were 700c x 32 rather than 27" but I thought they rode really nicely and were in remarkable condition for tires from 1986.

I also have a set of 27" labeled Specialized Tri Sport that appear to have been original on a 1983 Voyageur and have aged very well
but I don't think I would trust that old of a tire sailing down a hill at 30 or so mph. This set is marked made in Taiwan but does not list tire company.

Regarding the folded tube I saw a fellow use a 700c tube in a 26" tire with a similar fold because that is all that was available in a pinch
and it temporarily worked ok.

They are labeled Specialized Touring II K4, 27" x 1 1/4", max. 100psi w/ beaded rim. They look decent and held air well for 6 months - but I, also, am leery of using 29 year old tires. With that said, though, I haven't thrown them away yet!

Hard to compare or evaluate them, as I didn't ride them very often or very aggressively.

(The quote at the bottom of your posts is funny...I remember that thread.)

I don't know if you're aware- National Tire is Panaracer, which is Panasonic.

That tire is from the late 70's or early 80's. It was made by Mitsuboshi (and that's the correct spelling), not National/Panasonic/Panaracer. It was an excellent tire. I love Japanese bike tires.

And yes, that horrible method of putting in a misfitted tube works most of the time. It's amazing how many rules you can break with inner tubes.

I'm still using the original Specialized Expedition 27 x 1 1/4 tire on my tandem. I don't know if you can get such a good tire in that size now. I used to have a pair of the 27 x 1 3/8 ones... wish I'd kept those!

Innertubes are very forgiving.

I always install tubes with enough air to keep their shape, letting air out only as necessary to fit the last bead into the rim.

This avoids tubes getting trapped under the bead, which can prevent blow-offs.

It also seems to reliably prevent the tube getting folded, but of course some care and a little massaging of the installed tire never hurts either.

The older a tire is, the lower of a pressure that it can reliably handle without bulging out from outer-ply failure, so heavier riders take note!

Also, older tread wears much faster, sometimes alarmingly so, and can be quite slippery compared to fresh rubber, although brand-new tires can be very slippery at first and so should get a bit of break-in mileage before any sharp cornering is executed (learned this the hard way btw).

I remember in the late 70's and early 80's, often you'd see 28c or 1-1/8" tires measuring an actual 24mm wide on rims that were about as wide as the tire.
This was a great combination for ride quality and overall tire performance, much like today's go-fast riders re-discovering true-to-size 25c tires on wider rims like the HED "Belgium" model.
The "25c" (and 1") tires from the 70's and 80's measured more like 20mm wide and even had the "20-622" sizing moniker molded into the sidewall in raised letters! So the narrow rims of those days were appropriate to those tire's actual width in most cases.

I didn't know they made them- and I'm thinking of how I can bribe someone at Panasonic to make Paselas in that size.

Yeah, a fat 27" tire would be great. But Panasonic did NOT make those Specialized tires, as good as they were.

It seems that the Pasela is one of the few comparable tires.

I have done that when I was in a pinch.

Right, but the maximum width in 27" is 32mm (1-1/4"). 38mm (1-3/8") would be lovely, dontcha think?

Yes I do.

That's why I want to trick someone at Panasonic to make some 27 x 1 3/8" Paselas...