Beaded Edge Wheels

Beaded edge tyres are kept in place by reinforced rubber beads which are held by the rolled edges of the wheel rim.

They were used on early bicycles, many pre-1924 cars and most motorbikes until 1927.

European tyres were usually measured in millimetres whilst in America they used inches.

The first table below gives details of the dimensions of beaded edge wheel rims. The second table refers to the tyre sizes.

HIGH PRESSURE TYRES PRIOR TO 1928 Wheel Rim Sizes - dimensions in millimetres:
Tyre Size	Outside Diameter	Inside Diameter	Overall width	Inside width
26 x 3	540	506	63	44
30 x 3	639	605	63	44
28 x 3.5	565	528	75	51
30 x 3.5	616	579	74	51
32 x 3.5	672	631	75	51
550 x 65	446	414	58	39
650 x 65	536	506	58	39
710 x 90	548	511	74	51
760 x 90	592	555	74	51
810 x 90	646	609	74	51
756 x 105	596	553	88	62
815 x 105	649	606	88	62
875 x 105	712	671	88	62
820 x 120	609	561	98	67
880 x 120	672	625	98	67
920 x 120	711	663	98	67
835 x 135	609	559	109	77
895 x 135	634	585	109	77
935 x 135	684	635	109	77
855 x 155	579	519	127	90
955 x 155	677	617	127	90
1025 x 185	670	592	160	113
1085 x 185	771	693	160	113

HIGH PRESSURE TYRES PRIOR TO 1928 Tyre Sizes - dimensions in inches:
Tyre Size	Overall Diameter	Inflated Width	Approved Rim Width	Max. Load lbs.	Revs per Mile
26x3(700x80)	27.25	3.25	1.75	440	779
710 x 90	28.30	3.60	2.00	650	750
760 x 90	30.30	3.60	2.00	650	707
810 x 90	32.30	3.60	2.00	650	657
815 x 105	33.00	4.10	2.45	900	643
875 x 105	35.50	4.10	2.45	900	597
820 x 120	32.20	4.65	2.64	1225	659
880 x 120	34.80	4.65	2.64	1225	610
895 x 135	35.00	5.25	3.03	1600	606
715 x 115	28.20	4.50	2.44	560	752
720 x 120	28.50	4.75	2.44	780	743
730 x 130	29.10	5.10	2.44	895	732
775 x 145	31.00	5.65	2.64	1120	684
30 x 3.5	31.00	3.65	2.00	750	684
30 x 3	30.60	3.15	1.75	600	693
36 x 4	36.10	4.20	2.50	1000	588
37 x 4	37.00	4.10	2.50	1000	573

LOW PRESSURE TYRES USED FROM 1925 TO 1928 Tyre Sizes - dimensions in millimetres:
Tyre Size	Outside Diameter	Inside Diameter	Overall width	Inside width
715 x 115	488	447	88	62
720 x 120	488	447	88	62
730 x 135	488	447	88	62
775 x 145	526	480	98	67
780 x 150	526	480	98	67
860 x 160	552	503	109	77
905 x 165	579	525	114	81