taguy4

I bought these 700c clincher rims on eBay and they were supposed to be a matched pair of Rigida "Rush" rims - one of them had a red rectangular decal on it with "RUSH" in yellow letter (with "Rigida" in small letters) while the other rim had a faded blue rectangular decal that basically just said "Rigida". The "RUSH" rim was originally anodized dark grey and the other rim was polished aluminum. (I ended up stripping the dark grey anodizing off of the Rush rim and polishing it to match the other rim.) The profiles of both rims are very similar but not identical: they are both approximately 15mm tall and 20mm wide. The Rush rim has 32 spoke holes while the other rim has 36. Now that they have both been polished and match - more or less - they're pretty nice looking rims, although very narrow. I would greatly appreciate any information I could get on these rims because I can't find anything on Rigida Rush rims on the web, and also I would like to know what Rigida model the other rim could be.

juvela

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They appear to be model 1319 or 1320.

​​​​​​​https://velobase.com/ViewComponent.as...107&AbsPos=248
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Chombi1 

The narrowness and very rounded shoulders suggests a model 1320 rim.....
If you are into very narrow rim/tire combinations and light weight, they will be excellent.
I had grey anodized 1320's in 32H on my PSV for many years and I loved them.
Not noodly ar all as suggested in Velobase.... Fiamme Ergals, now, those are noodly

taguy4

I was wondering if they weren't 1320's - or at least one of them - but Velobase had the width listed as 28mm, which must have been a typo. Were the number designations on old Rigida rims supposed to be the rough dimensions of them?

juvela

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yes, the 28 sounds like a definite error/typo

yes, the 1319 and 1320 numbers refer to dimensions

there was also a 1622 & a 1521

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francophile 

One more vote for being both 1320 here ... 1320 had multiple different styles of decals on them, ovular and rounded rectangle, both in multiple colors and styles which included regular stickers and foils. Have had them on so many bikes it's not funny and put thousands of miles on the cumulative bunch without major issue, other than the outer hook wall being susceptible to damage from hits other, wider rims would better absorb.

taguy4

I'm thinking this could have been the original style decal that was on the polished one:

Chombi1 

Yup, that's the decal they used on the 1320's around the mid to late 80's......

Chombi1 

Interesting you noted something about the rim wall and road damage. I got a pretty big dent on one of the walls of the front rim from a stone I ran over back in the 80's and I rode it for many years with it not affecting the trueness of the wheel.
In the mid 90's I decided to try and fix it once and for all by using a large flat bladed screwdriver levering it out from the inside and the dent completely came right out in one shot. The wheel looks and rides perfectly since.

verktyg 

In 1975 Mavic introduced their Module E rims which were developed in cooperation with Michelin and their their Elan tires. Module E meant Elan.

The idea was to offer sewup like performance in a clincher tire.

Another selling point was folks who rode sewups could change to their 700c clincher wheels without having to adjust their brakes like they had to do with 27" clincher wheels.

From an older Mavic website:

Mavic's 1976 catalog showing Module E and Module 3 rims. The Module E were ~20mm wide with ~13mm gap between the lips for the beads. The original Module E rims were single eyelet. The later Module E2 rims had double eyelets,



Michelin Elan Tires:

Elans were first available in 700 x 20c and 27" x 1" sizes. At that time size 700c wheels hadn't caught on in the US yet so most bikes that came with Elans had 27" size wheels. The size 700c tires where closer to 700 x 18c or 700 x 19c while the 27" versions were about 3/4" instead of 1". Truth in advertising had become law yet!!!

This is a later Elan marked as 700 x 25c but it's closer to 20mm.


The problem with Michelin Elan tires is they had a casing made out of a nylon hairnet like material with very thick gum rubber sidewalls. The tires were rated at 100 psi but frequently blew out where the sidewall joined the tread especially if they were inflated over 90 PSI. We quit selling them shortly after they became available because we had nothing but problems with Elans. The casings would blow out on Elan equipped show room bikes pumped to 90 psi.

You can see the hairnet casing in this later version folding Elan.



In early 1976 Wolber came out with their answer to the Elans, the Wolber W20 tires. The were available in 700c and 27" and were 20mm in diameter (~3/4"). They had fine pitch casings made of "long staple Egyptian cotton". I just threw out this ~35-40 year old pair that were still almost rideable.



At the same time in earl 1976 Super Champion introduced their Gentleman rims in 700c and 27". They were the same 20mm x 13mm as the Module E but perhaps a little better made. The 700c rims had red stickers and the 27" were blue. After the Wolber takeover Super Champion lost their way and started using red and blue stickers indiscriminately for a while.




Back to Rigida, in 1976 they introduced the 1319 or 1320 rims which was their answer to Module E and Gentlemen rims. They too used color coded rim stickers - red 700c and blue 27".



The early Rigida 1319/1320 rims were the only clincher rims that ever saw that wore out in the brake track of the sidewall. The metal at that point was so thin that they splintered!

I can only speak for the Rigida rims from the 70's so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt whether their later rims were better.

I built lots of wheels with Super Champion rims. We used Rigida when we were out of Super Champs. The SC rims were much easier to build because they were round and laid flat on a table. Rigida rims were always harder to work with.

That said, I have at least 5+ sets of wheels with Rigida rims, both the 1320 and 1622 models. They all go back to at least the 80's and seem to be holding up OK.

verktyg
.

francophile 

Those Super Champion Competition (light blue label) are some of my all-time favorites! Labels make it very easy to confuse with the Modele 58. Not quite as light (+70g) but equally nice to work with and ride in my opinion are Wolber's T430 Alpine.

@Chombi1 the second-to-last pair I bent that way ended up with a 3" wide flat spot along with that curled edge, ain't no screwdriver fixing that! I have a pair of lineman pliers I plasti-dipped the jaw end of, those work really well to bend sidewalls back without damaging or warping the brake surface. I'll hafta give the screwdriver from inside a shot next time.

taguy4

That's good to know about the the decal colors for the old Rigidas. Rigida must have continued the trend when they switched to newer style logo because the decal picture I posted above is for a 27" rim. That means I need red decals for my rims since they are 700c.

verktyg 

There's some questions about Super Champion rims with the word COMPETITION on the sticker. When we first saw those stickers we thought that they may have been a new model.



Both the 700c and 27" Gentlemen rims were 20mm x 13mm and this sticker on them.


The Mod. 58 rims were 23mm x 16mm. They were my favorite rims to build.

verktyg

stardognine

How do you guys rate Torelli rims? All the sticker says is Made In Italy, and Stainless Steel Eyelets. No model numbers, that I can see. For comparison, it's a very close match to a Wolber GTX, both anodized black.

francophile 

Hands-down, some of the easiest to build and to ride for 27". I learned how to build my first wheelsets on the Mod58. I prefer the SC Competition for 700c wheels over Rigida's offerings, though.

Bonus, the 27" Mod 58 rims were standard on a number of mid-range French mid-80s models and I shamelessly swap out every wheelset I come across, they're too easy. I've snagged several off '83 or '84 PH10LE (PH10 variant w/through-TT brake cable) over the years. Everyone I've rebuilt for wants Weinmann offerings. I don't get it.

Chombi1 

I remember the Michelin Bibsport foldable tires that came with my Peugeot PSV in the 80's also had that hairnet-like reinforcing that verktyg mentioned, on their white colored, rubber sidewalls. I did notice the hairnet material kind of fraying off the sidewalls, not too long after I bought the bike and thought that they were falling apart too soon. I quickly replaced them with Specialized Turbos before they had the chance to blow out on me...

verktyg 

This velobase link shows a Torelli Expert rim that says in small print " Made for Torelli By Ambrosio" and " Made in Italy" "Stainless Steel Eyelets".

VeloBase.com - Component: Torelli Expert

I have several sets of wheels with 700c Ambrosio 19 Extra Elite rims. They're 19mm x 13mm or thereabouts. They date from the 1980's and seem to be the Italian equivalent to the French 13x20 rims.

The standard Ambrosio 19 Extra Elite rims were polished with a light anodized coating. These obviously don't have stainless eyelets.



The Ambrosio 19 Extra Elite Durex rims had a thick hard anodized coating with a satin finish. The eyelets are stainless.



They're good looking but a lot of people have reported that many tires are hard to mount and remove on those rims. That's been my experience too.

The Durex anodized rims have a reputation concerning cracking in the anodized surface. If you do a search on the topic you'll get the details.

Here's a closeup of one of my Ambrosio Durex rims. I've been riding them intermittently since the late 80's. I bought them used from a friend who raced on them. I had to true them a lot after riding of rough pavements but they've been OK for the last few years on smooth surfaces.



verktyg

verktyg 

I suddenly figured out Bibsport!

I always thought it was some weird French thing!

Bibendum is the Michelin Man thus Bibsport.

It dates back to 1894 and is one of the worlds oldest trademarks.



Mssr. verktyg

francophile 

Worse than the mid-80s Matrix rims which seemed grossly oversized to the point you couldn't even pry on some brands of tires without cutting the bead, a jar of vaseline, a quick reach-around with getting two extra hands from a willing masochist to help?

I specifically remember the stock rims on my '84 or '85 Trek 660 (pretty sure it was '84) were absolutely atrocious - even using the VAR tire it, with three additional plastic levers and a friend to help, I had to cycle through three different brands of tires before I finally found a pair loose enough to fit "naturally enough".

verktyg 

No experience with Matrix rims.

The first set of wheels that I got with Ambrosio 19 rims had a low mileage set of Specialized 700c x25 Turbo tires. They were closer to 700c x 23mm! I rode them into the ground and fortunately never had a flat.

When I went to change them, I had to cut the bead with nipper pliers to get them off. Fortunately Panaracer Paselas went on a little easier but I still had to use the VAR RP-42500 tire tool, a worthwhile investment.




verktyg

francophile 

Yep! That's the VAR super tire tool kit I'm talking about! Although it appears I called that a "VAR tire it" in my post. Is it an "it", a "tit", a "fit", a "kit"? I'm a twit, who knows?!

It's handy! Although I keep seeing people say the Kool Stop "bead jack" is better, based on what I've seen I'm worried about ill effects.

verktyg 

I have one, looks kool but I'm not impressed with it for removing really tight tires.


verktyg

steelbikeguy

The Var tool is useful, although I've found that it was marginal in some of the worst rim/tire combinations that I deal with. It isn't as rigid as the Koolstop (which is understandable, considering the construction), and I've worried about it snapping.

The Koolstop tire jack is intended only as a tire jack, and not a lever. It appears to be designed as a shop tool, as it's not small and compact. It is a great tool for getting that new folding tire onto my Ambrosio or Torelli Master rims, though!

On the bikes equipped with those troublesome rim/tire combos, I carry a little tire jack/lever tool that I bought from Rose bikes in Germany. Very rigid and small. A bit more complicated to use than a regular tire jack, but worth it.

Here's a comparison of the three tools...


... let's try that link again.....


and if that breaks like the others, here's the url:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4192/3...a952b5_z_d.jpg

and the web site that I ordered it from, since it's not easy to find on their site:


let's try that link again (it broke since it was first posted);


and here's the url, if the link breaks again.....
https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7433/2...9ea7bb_z_d.jpg

This seems to be something that only Rose Bikes sells. The last time I ordered a couple (last year??), they were out of the black versions. I'm guessing that they don't restock these regularly, and might be a bit scarce.


Steve in Peoria

francophile 

Thanks @steelbikeguy excellent info

The VAR tool is actually a bead jack/tire jack as well, you just need to remove the inner lever. It always worked for most (not all) of my needs. It doesn't allow you to get the leverage of the Kool Stop or Bike Hand Variations, so risk of damaging your rim is reduced (along with the effectiveness, but I prefer no-damage-ness over effectiveness).

Seems nobody makes things in-house anymore, I can't seem to find any other place selling the Rose tool unbranded. Weird. I'd love to see it in action, I'm having a hard time trying to understand all the functions.

Only two tools I've been using are my 20+ year old blue pre-QuikStik tool for removing (I forget who made it, it's embossed on the product, I think it was originally for motor bikes) and the VAR tool. I've seen too many horror stories like this over the years from other stuff.

madpogue 

Hmm, so what (functionally) distinguishes a "tire jack" from a "tire lever"?