In 1981, I was using Michelin Elans on Mavic Module E rims. iirc, the Elans were listed as 1¼" but in reality measured up at about 1". This was before the internet and I didn't belong to a local club; my (and my friend's) main source of information was the CTC magazine so I don't really know what the "trend" was at the time but in my mind now, my vague recollection is that Elans were quite common in the touring fraternity (I could be completely wrong) but club riders/time trial riders were rolling on tubs.
I'm currently on 32mm Vittoria Randonneurs, which are very puncture resistant and lasting a lot better than the Elans used to (though they probably have more rolling resistance). I have some folding Randonneur MkII tyres in store (I managed to get some cheap from PlanetX when they were getting hard to source). I gather that the Elans were prone to blowouts and I did have one blowout with them (rear wheel), in the middle of town and it was very loud
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