I bought a 1970’s Claude Butler road bike at a car boot sale for the bargain price of £10 this weekend. Lovely bit of kit with some really nice Campag kit on it.
The wheels are 27 x 1 1/4 and are marked Rigida Superchromix (made in France). I removed the tyres as they were badly perished however I am unsure on what type of tyres it needs – as there appears to be no lip on the inside of the rim. A quick Google search suggests I need tubular tyres which I am not really keen on the hassle or expense. It was fitted with some standard Raleigh beaded tyres.

Would re-fitting new beaded tyres be a bad idea? I am not keen on crashing!

Any advice on options?

Many thanks

Rigidia Superchromix is a steel rim, so doubt they are tubulars, just a hookless bead. If you are planning to ride the bike a fair bit, then finding some suitable alloy-rimmed wheels would be better – 1970s brakes are pretty grim at the best of times and steelie rims are pretty awful in the wet.

Thanks for the reply. Good suggestion about the alloy rims as the brakes were pretty much non-existent even in the dry.

H Plus Son TB14 would be a good choice for a modern rim with a classic look.

Thanks