Recumbent - narrower tires to get more speed from a trike?

So my new trike has 20x1.35 tires up front and 26x1.5 behind. I'm wondering if putting 1" tires all around would reduce drag.
The question is, can I put narrower tires on the existing rims, or would I have to replace the rims as well?

So my new trike has 20x1.35 tires up front and 26x1.5 behind. I'm wondering if putting 1" tires all around would reduce drag.
The question is, can I put narrower tires on the existing rims, or would I have to replace the rims as well?

I am not wondering so much about the rims as the lateral force on the trike itself. I believe that is why most trikes are outfitted with wider tires.

Are you suggesting a handling issue might result or that the skinnier tires wouldn't hold up in the turns :eek: ?

I've never altered a cycle before, just ridden them as is. The trike just seems to have an awfully big footprint.

I have found that I have an increase in speed running skinnier tires on my Micro - I went from 349 Rims running Bromptons to 355 Rims running Stelvios. No "lateral" forces to worry about here.

Rolling friction is only loosely related to tire diameter or width. Inflation pressure can be a more significant parameter. Generally speaking Stelvios, though pricy, are probably better than the OEM tires. Check your rim width though, dropping from 1.5 to 1.0" is sometimes borderline for wider rims. If the rim is less than 25mm wide you should be ok. You can probably google up the rim 'official sizes' from the manufacturer site or such sites as www.gaerlan.com or www.poweroncycling.com
There have been roll down studies done on various tires mostly in Europe that can sometimes be googled up but since tires change from time to time the relevance of these to what you can find is uncertain. They are useful mostly to show that tires roll differently and the obvious (narrow is faster) is not always true. Steve

I have a 04 Catrike Road. I changed the rear wheel to a 451. New thinner rim and tire same tire pressure100psi. My LBS is experimenting with his personal Road. He is installing a 24" wheel in the rear and 451's in the front. He offered me use of his 451 wheels to try out on my Road. I am hoping that the higher pressure and smaller foot print will translate to higher speed. If I see a improvement I will be running 451 on all three wheels. He had 3 different tires in his hand I don't remember there names but I will probably get the most expensive one. Seems that the way it works out for me.