Recumbent - 20"/26" owners - What widths do you use?

I just got a used 8-year old Vision R40 (full suspension) that needs new rubber. It currently has 1.25"in back and 1.35" in front. I'll likely get Primo or Schwalbe.

Sooh...use the same width front and back? I'm thinking 1.25" would be good. I might use this bike for a supported week-long tour this summer.
Thanks!

My 20-26 Stratus uses Primo 1.5 tires. They are hi pressure (100psi). They have little rolling resistance at all. I prefer this wider tire for safety, since it wont fall into cracks as easily as a narrower tire.

On my Baron, I have Primo 20x1.3 on the front and 26x1 1/4 on the back. They're so close in width to each other that it's not obvious they don't match.

Primo Comet Kevlar, 20x1.35 front (measures 30mm mounted), Schwalbe Kojak 26x1.35 rear, measures 33mm mounted.

Primo Comet Kevlar, 20x1.35 front (measures 30mm mounted), Schwalbe Kojak 26x1.35 rear, measures 33mm mounted.

Currently running Comets on my V-Rex: 1.35/1.5. Have also used 1.5 on the front, too, which allows for running at lower pressure for a cushier ride with no loss of efficiency.

I have a new Slipstream that's about 3 weeks old. I'm not sure what brand the tires are but they are 1.5" width.

Primo Comet Kevlar 20 x 1.35 in the front and the same type of tire but 26 x 1.50 in the back. I would run both tires as 1.35 however I'm unable to find a 26" version of this tire anywhere. For the sake of having a matching set of tires, I might switch the front to 1.50 however right now the combo I'm riding on works fine.

Thanks for the input everyone! Nice to hear that I'm not the only one without a matched set. I was wondering if the larger tire was used in front due to it having the smaller footprint (front-to-back) and therefore needed to be a tad bigger to compensate for ride quality. Yeah, I'm overthinking this. :rolleyes:....but those bleepin' tires aren't cheap.

Am riding with 20x1.75in on Front, 27x1.25 in on Rear. Works great so long as I don't put more than 30psi in the front tire. If I do, it is simply too bumpy to ride over local roads. Bike doesn't have suspension.

I had Schwalbe Big Apples 2" wide in 20" and 26" on my Actionbent Tidalwave III. Great tires - I could even ride in gravel with moderate control, something I haven't managed on other tires (or bents..) Since you have full suspension you don't really need such a wide/heavy tire, unless you plan to ride fire roads or unpaved trails.. My current bike has Schwalbe Marathon Racers - great tires for the road, but doesn't feel stable on loose surfaces (granted, could be the new bike too).

I normally run 1.5"-wide Kenda Kwest 100 PSIs front and rear.

I also have a set of Big Apples (2" front, 2.35" rear) which are great for rougher surfaces but not for hilly riding, as the rear tire rubs on the second-largest cog and blocks using the largest cog totally.
~

On my cargo bent, I run 2.0 on the front and 1.75 on the rear because the weight distribution is slightly forward. The ride is fine unless I'm packing a lot of cargo and it's those times that have me considering running 2.0 on the back also.

:)ensen.

35 on both, Schwalbe marathon plus

I ride an R40 (hardtail) USS with the same tire configuration as you have. Seems like I read an explanation for the width difference somewhere, but I can't remember for the life of me what it was.

Went with the Primo Comets. The originals wore very well and they were the best price online at Hostel Shoppe.

Still love my Vision. Will probably ride it until some part that I can't replace breaks.

The used Rans V-Rex I just got came with a 37-406 (37mm = 1.35") Primo Comet on the front but a 32-559 (32mm = 1.25") Kenda Kwest on the rear. I need to ride the bike more, but may want to go still wider in front for ride quality and further reducing the chance of the front going into a crack in the pavement.

Since 37 is about the maximum width for the rim using the 2007 ETRTO chart (http://www.schwalbetires.com/tech_info/tire_dimensions), going wider means building a new wheel with a wider rim. Before I do that, I need to check brake caliper and fork + fender clearance limits.

40-406 has been the standard front tire on the V-Rex for quite a while. Standard on the rear is 40-559.

FYI I just bought two new Primo Comets. The old ones that came on the bike has 4300 miles on them.

rydabent, are they the same width?

I ended up getting both 1.1" Schwalbe Duranos for the Vision. They ride fine although I was a bit concerned going smaller than the "stock" widths of 1.35/1.25 (20/26). The 26" in particular seemed to sit below the rim a bit, as if it needed to stretch some in order for the bead to fully seat up against the rim's edge...if that makes sense. The Vision's rims are kinda beefy like a hybrid DF's.

Miss posted. The front has 4300 miles on it. The rear has about 2300 on it. Probably could get more, but I prefer doing the safe thing.

Yes both front and rear are 1.5 Primo Comets.

Keep the less worn one as a spare.

:)ensen