Recumbent - Another Newbie Question

Apologies for the stoopid question (I am somewhat ashamed to have to ask) but.......is it essential to use "recumbent" tires? What makes tires marketed as being for recumbents different than those for regular bikes?

Thanks

Tires that fit the wheel size you have is the only requirement. (well and clearance for brakes, fenders etc).

thanks!

Is psi range important? Many "recumbent" tires seem to rate up to 100 psi whereas it seems common for many tires to only go to 80 psi (eg my Specialized crossroads or Michelin City)

I use a Specialized Nimbus Armadillo for my rear tire, 80 psi max with no problems.

The fatter the tire, the lower its pressure will tend to be. Just like on tires for uprights. Get a tire for the style riding you want. It's not required to meet some psi requirement. Heck, I run a Sport Contact on the front of my lowracer, and its recommended pressure is 85 psi. It works just fine paired with a 120psi rear tire.

excellent...thanks guys

I notice down at the bike shop, there are some oddball tire sizes that I assume are used only on recumbents. If you think about it, just about every tire smaller than 26" is a "fat tire" for upright bicycles. So anything smaller than 26" that's a skinny tire is likely limited pretty much to recumbents.

If you have 20" wheels on your recumbent be aware that there are two different sized rims 406 and 451. The tires for these two rims are NOT interchangeable. You can occasionally find recumbent tires at online stores such as Nashbar but a recumbent specific online store such as Gaerlan near San Francisco, the Hostel Shoppe in Wisconsin, and Poweron Cycling in Florida have a wide variety of recumbent tires in both narrow and wide sizes. I've gotten parts from all three and found the service to be first rate.

They have special tires for recumbents?? Woulnd't have thunk it...

They have special tires for recumbents?? Woulnd't have thunk it...

They don't, but road tires in the small sizes don't have much use anywhere else - whoever heard of a toddler's mountain bike with 305mm or 349mm racing tires?