I recently removed the tires on a vintage 650B wheelset from a vintage 1950s Pelissier randonneur bike I've been working on. The tires were "Dunlop Balon Leger" with sidewalls completely toast. The tires were difficult to remove, I ended up cutting the beads with a pair of brake cable cutters. Much to my surprise, tire beads had multi-strand wires, each about the size of one mondern wire bead. The rims had cloth rim strips woven in a tubular style. The rims also have a very interesting profile, but with non-hook bead rim edges making them only suitable for lower pressures.
© 2010 Velotouriste
