My buddy has a set of 16x4” 48 adjustable spoke wire wheels that I’ve never seen before. They are stamped Michelin Bibendum and clearly made for the 1932-35 Ford brake drums. They resemble the Firestone Air Baloon wheels. Does anyone have any information about these Michelin wheels?
Michelin wire wheels
- Thread starter BlueNotes
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petehoovie
Well-known member
woodiewagon46
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Why do you think that they are for '32-'35 Ford brake drums? I would think they were for some sort of French or European car.
bob miller
Senior Member
renault , hotchkiss, citroen had the same bolt circle . my ex 32 had citroen wheels when i find it
Exactly!
deuce lover
Well-known member
Look closely as the drop center fades away to become flat opposite of the valve stem hole.
A friend here in France has this Michelin 32 spoke wheel.Here are pics. It is a 16 " Ford Michelin spoke wheel with welded spokes as opposed to adjustable. Identical to OP post #1 except the amount of spokes and they are welded instead of adjustable.
A friend here in France has this Michelin 32 spoke wheel.Here are pics. It is a 16 " Ford Michelin spoke wheel with welded spokes as opposed to adjustable. Identical to OP post #1 except the amount of spokes and they are welded instead of adjustable.
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deuce lover
Well-known member
In fact yes .Here are 2, 17" 33-34 Bent spoke Ford wheels. I have seen them(picture) on Custom bodied German 33 Fords.
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I found some good information on Longstone Classic Tyres website:
"Bibendum was Michelins Name for its New Tyres
Michelin, aware of the concerns over vintage tyres detaching themselves from beaded edge tyre rims, pursued the design of a Bibendum rim with a well for only half its circumference. However as the well-base wheel proved its integrity and its design was refined Michelin's bibendum tyres rim was discontinued."
What are Bibendum tires? They are crossply tyres that need to be fitted to a millimetric Bibendum wheel rim. When well based wheels were first developed they were developed in imperial inch sizes, however in Europe they wanted to have their wheels measures in millimetres or centimetres. Bibendum tyres come in sizes suited to fit 50cm, 45cm and 400mm wheel sizes."
Here's a link to Longstone's website if you want to read more: https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/vintage-tyres/bibendum-vintage-tyres.html
"Bibendum was Michelins Name for its New Tyres
Michelin, aware of the concerns over vintage tyres detaching themselves from beaded edge tyre rims, pursued the design of a Bibendum rim with a well for only half its circumference. However as the well-base wheel proved its integrity and its design was refined Michelin's bibendum tyres rim was discontinued."
What are Bibendum tires? They are crossply tyres that need to be fitted to a millimetric Bibendum wheel rim. When well based wheels were first developed they were developed in imperial inch sizes, however in Europe they wanted to have their wheels measures in millimetres or centimetres. Bibendum tyres come in sizes suited to fit 50cm, 45cm and 400mm wheel sizes."
Here's a link to Longstone's website if you want to read more: https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/vintage-tyres/bibendum-vintage-tyres.html
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They are also used on the standard Ford 4 cylinder "Rheinland" model 40 that was produced from 1933 to 1936 in Cologne
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petehoovie
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petehoovie
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