Tires for old Rigida rim

Tom said:

My old beater (found in the garbage), is in need of new skins. The rim says
26x1 3/8ths, but the 26ers I've bought are too small, and the 27s I tried were
too big. The rim has "Rigida", "Chromage" and "Superchromix" stamped on it,
with a small diamond with the number 81 inside of it. Does anyone here know
where I could find tires to fit this odd-sized rim? Tom
Work at your leisure!

This article will help you understand the dilema of multiple sizing standards used in the bicycle industry:

sheldonbrown.comtire sizing.htmlOpen ↗

Especially with 26 inch tires, use the ISO sizing. Match the ISO bead diameter (expressed in mm). on the old tire.

If the old tires are pre ERTA/ISO standars, a tape measure may help.

Tom said:

My old beater (found in the garbage), is in need of new skins. The rim says
26x1 3/8ths, but the 26ers I've bought are too small, and the 27s I tried were
too big. The rim has "Rigida", "Chromage" and "Superchromix" stamped on it,

Unfortunately not all tires labeled 26" are actually the same diameter.
The ones shown here will probably work:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/tires/590.html
or check with local bike shops and explain that these rims are from an
old 3-speed and are 590 mm bead diameter, *not* the 559 mm bead diameter
of 26" mountain bike tires.

Tom said:

My old beater (found in the garbage), is in need of new skins. The rim says
26x1 3/8ths, but the 26ers I've bought are too small, and the 27s I tried were
too big. The rim has "Rigida", "Chromage" and "Superchromix" stamped on it,
with a small diamond with the number 81 inside of it. Does anyone here know
where I could find tires to fit this odd-sized rim? Tom
Work at your leisure!

26 mountain bike tires are decimals (26 x 1.5, 26 x 1.95,
etc) and 559mm

Yours is likely 26 x 1-3/8 x 1-5/8 EA3 at 590mm

There are also 26 x 1-3/8 x 1-1/4 597mm so try to find one
of those ISO numbers (590 or 597) first.

(There are many other 26-inch tire sizes, but less likely on
a cheap Rigida rim from 1981 and they won't be marked 1-3/8)

Please note that in bicycle tires, fractions and decimals
denote different series completely so 1.75 is _not_
equivalent to 1-3/4!
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Thanks for the information. Harris' website is excellent, too. Tom
Work at your leisure!

Peter <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Tom said:

My old beater (found in the garbage), is in need of new skins. The rim says
26x1 3/8ths, but the 26ers I've bought are too small, and the 27s I tried were
too big. The rim has "Rigida", "Chromage" and "Superchromix" stamped on it,

Unfortunately not all tires labeled 26" are actually the same diameter.
The ones shown here will probably work:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/tires/590.html
or check with local bike shops and explain that these rims are from an
old 3-speed and are 590 mm bead diameter, *not* the 559 mm bead diameter
of 26" mountain bike tires.

Note also that tyres marked in fractions 26x1 3/8 are likely to fit
while those marked in decimals (26x 1.3 etc) are likely to be 559mm
and therefore be too small (though this is not infallible).

Andrew Webster

I've found the proper tires, and thanks to all who've helped me out. I seem to
learn something new every day. Tom
Work at your leisure!

Tom said:

My old beater (found in the garbage), is in need of new skins. The rim says
26x1 3/8ths, but the 26ers I've bought are too small, and the 27s I tried were
too big. The rim has "Rigida", "Chromage" and "Superchromix" stamped on it,
with a small diamond with the number 81 inside of it. Does anyone here know
where I could find tires to fit this odd-sized rim? Tom
Work at your leisure!

That's the old English roadster size. Look for tyres that have their
width marked in fractions, not decimals. I doubt your rims are recent
enough to have ETRTO dimensions on them, which would clear up all doubt.