For what it's worth, back in the day these were always the common 'go-to' rim here for steel to alloy, or tubular to clincher conversions, they were cheap, took a wide range of tires, and held up as well as any other clincher that was available at that time. Pricewise they were one of the more affordable rims of that period as well. These were used on just about everything back then around here, at least until the Araya box pattern or W/O alloy came about, which was also a very afforable option that held up well for being a single wall rim. I still have several bikes with the Rigida 13-20s, and haven't had trouble and I have certainly gained some pounds over the years. While I wouldn't run the 7/8" tires these days on them like I used to, I have no problem with 1 1/8" tires. Keep in mind that while these may be a bit softer than some other rims, they are a double wall rim. I have several bikes here, all with similar rims, and can't say I have gained any prefference over one or the other. I've ridden similar rims from Wienmann, Araya, Matrix, and Sun with none ever being a problem or seeming better than any of the others. The only one's I never really liked were those that were anodized in color, simply due how they looked after the brake pads wore away the sidewall anodizing. I think the choice of any rim had more to do with the rider and type of riding, if I was looking to build a set of wheels for heavy touring, I would probably not look to any of the above rims, I would be more inclined to go to the Weinmann Concave or any double wall rim with a wider section. The narrower rims, in my opinion are more suited for lighter loads and smoother roads.
Joe McKishen
Vineland, NJ
USA