I purchased a rather old Austro-Daimler girls multi speed bicycle at T-town last year. I am just getting to it and it is coming out great. I noticed something when I went to clean and repack the wheels. The tires that came off this derailleur bike were 28 inch clinchers. They are wide but when removing them I noticed what I thought to be extra material beyond the bead. About half an inch of extra material on each side. I did not pay attention at first thinking it was just an old fashioned tire. While cleaning the rim I also noticed no rim strip of any kind. It did not hit me till I tried to replace the 28 inch tire with a more modern German brand. The first 28 inch tire I tried would not fit on the rim at all, to small. The second 28 inch tire was so much bigger than the rim that the bead would not set. Fortunatly I scrambled back to my trash can to retrieve the old tires. I cleand and armoralled them and then re-installed them on the rim. I then realized that the extra material was actually a built in rim strip. The tube sat inside of the tire completly surrounded by it. It installed on the rim easily and when inflated the bead set up nicely. This was a first for me, glad the trashman did not come that day. I tried to find reference to these tires but could not. Any one know what they are called or when they were in use. This bike is pretty old, judging from the set up and components it may be late 30s to mid 40s.
Ray Homiski
Elizabeth, NJ