Beaded Edge Tyres


Veteran Car Tyres


Beaded Edge Vintage Tyres

Beaded Edge Tyres

  • Beaded edge tyres were fitted to most brass-era and vintage cars until the mid-1920s.
  • In the USA beaded edge tyres are called clincher tyres & in France pneu talon.
  • Clincher tyres must be run at high pressure. A minimum of 60 psi is required on vintage cars.
  • Follow this link for tips on how to fit beaded edge tyres.
  • The Wards Riverside 30X3½ & Wards Riverside 30X3 are perfect clincher tyres for the Ford Model T.
  • In the beaded edge tyre description, the large number is diameter, and the smaller number is the section size.
  • To find your inner tube click on a tyre of your size and it will offer you an inner tube. Or use our Inner Tube page.
  • All beaded edge or clincher tyres need innertubes. It is the force pushing out from the inner tube that pushes the bead into the clinch of the rim that holds the tyre on the wheel.

29 Items

29 Items


Beaded Edge Car Tyres


Clincher tires are unreliable technology, which is why they stopped using them. Please bear in mind that during this period, these tyres regularly punctured and came off the wheel rim, often ripping the bead off as it came out of the clinch rim.

For example; the French 1908 Grand Prix, which was run over 769.88 km (478.38 miles), one of the reasons that Christian Lautenschlager won in his 140hp Mercedes which was using beaded edge tyres was because he only had 22 punctures.

Beaded Edge Tyre

Prior to 1924, in the veteran and vintage car periods, the majority of European automobile manufacturers fitted clincher wheels for use with beaded edge tyres. Some car manufacturers, such Ford continued to fit clincher tyres up to the late 20's because they were cheaper, and others, like Sunbeam and Bentley, stayed with beaded edge tyres because they kept the steering nice and light.

Beaded edge veteran and vintage tyres have large circumferential ridges of hard rubber (the bead). These beads fit into the hook ‘clinch’ of the special wheel rim.

Beaded edge vintage tyre


Clincher Tires


The Term Clincher tire is the American term for beaded-edge tyres. Beaded edge or clincher tyres need a minimum tyre pressure of 60 psi to push the beads into the clinch of the rim and keep the tyre in place. The most common cause of a beaded edge vintage tyre failure is a lack of pressure that allows the tyre to detach itself from the rim. Beaded-edge tyres can only be used on the rim size for that specific tyre size.


Beaded Edge Tyre Videos


How do you remove a beaded edge tyre?

How do you fit an inner tube to a beaded edge tyre?

How do you fit a beaded edge tyre?


What are the best beaded edge tyres?

For a Model T Ford, possibly the most common user beaded edge tyres we would suggest fitting the Wards Riverside tyres 30X3½, if it is a pre 1918 Model T, then it will probably want 30X3 Wards Riverside on the front. For the other vintage cars the range of Ensign Chevron Cord are excellent tyres with a good carcass structure and use the period Dunlop Chevron tread pattern.

Q: Do beaded edge tyres need inner tubes?

A: Yes they are critical in a clincher tyre, it is the inner tube that holds tyre beads of the tyre in the rim and stops your beaded edge tyre from coming off.

Q: What is the difference between a clincher tyre and a beaded edge tyre?

A: Non. A Beaded edge tyre and a clincher tyre are exactly the same. The term clincher tyre is used in the US.

Q: What tyre pressure do you put in a clincher tyre.

A: Clincher tyres need a minimum of 60psi in them to hold the bead of the tyre into the rim. You may find lower recommendations in original books, but bare in mind, before 1924 the majority of roads were not tarmac and the tyres were not subject to anywhere near the same side forces. We would put 60psi in an Austin 7 and 90psi to 100psi in a Silver Ghost.


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