Tires for a lwb?
 

I have an EZ Sport AX with 26x1.35(559) rear and 20x1.35(406) front tires. Both are Schwalbe Kojak folding bead tires. I would like to try out some narrower tires that have folding beads, which I find really smooth out the ride. Any suggestions? Thanks, bk

You can try Schwalbe Ultremo ZX's

Folding beads make the tire lighter and easy to fold but why/how would they have any effect on the performance characteristics of a tire?

I have been running a Conti Gatorskin 26x1.1 at 105psi on the rear of my LWB Bacchetta Belladare recumbent and like it a LOT. The narrow and fast tire is just about impossible to put a hole in and so less flats, and since I'm using the bike as a commuter, it's the right tire for me. HOWEVER, I'm just finding that I'm beating the heck out of my new rear wheel, and have just ordered a Schwalbe in a 26x1.75 size to try. I'm a BIG guy, 6'-4" and about 260 lbs, and so much of the load is on the rear wheel, so I'm going to try the bigger cross section tire, and a bit lower pressure to try and protect the rim

Schwalbe Ultremo 406 on the front?
 

I got a pair of Schwalbe Ultremo ZX 406 tires as front tires on my 2013 Catrike 700. I replaced them almost immediately because it was pretty obvious that they were specifically designed for racing and not for someone who rides roads in the desert where thorns are sometimes a problem. They are feather light and have very little thickness where the rubber meets the road. Before I took them off, I looked up the price at several online recumbent stores and tire stores. If they were available, the cost was $75 each. The pressure range on them is 85 to 160 psi. I replaced them with some Mitsubishi Tioga tires that are wider, heavier, very much cheaper, and have visible tread on them. I haven't had any flats in just about 1,200 miles on the Tiogas. The rear tire, a 700C X23 Schwalbe Durano lasted 300 miles before developing sidewall failure. The Kenda Kadence tire that replaced the Durano had it's first flats at 900 miles and obviously a much tougher sidewall as there is no problem at all with the tire after the tube was repaired. I've purchased Schwalbe tires in the past but I don't see any in my future. In my personal experience the durability doesn't match the price they get for them.

Bontrager T2 Road 700x28c on the rear of my LWB Tour easy LE,,
Max pressure is 115 I think,
I'm 175 pounds and run 95 psi
Wears like Iron,
Rolls real easy,
never a puncture and no this won't Jinx me,,,

$25

Three of the above for $75,, about the same cost as the big names.
will outlast them with ease and I get to spend more time on fresh sticky rubber.
So Go on and pay the big name prices if you like.
I can afford to hang a spare on my wall..

The Front of my LWB is lightly loaded so It keeps the Kenda quest 100psi 20x451
I run 85 psi up there, good traction wet or dry, light sand dustings not a problem...

Also an Inexpensive tire...

Hmm. I've had really good luck with Ultremo ZX's on both the commuter P-38 and the boy's lowracer. Not bad for a racing tire. I do have Conti GP4000's on the M-racer so we'll see if they're as good or better than the Ultremos.

JanMM, I run them below max pressure and the thin flexible sidewalls absorb a lot of pavement induced vibration which was driving the nerves in my hands nuts. They still give good speed, too. bk

Wire bead tires can have equally flexible sidewalls. I wouldn't think that going to skinnier tires would be a good move if you value shock absorption by tires.
That said, I've been running 26x1.25 Forte Metro K tires on my LWB (50/80psi Front/Rear) and find them a good balance between fast enough and sturdy. Reasonably cheap, too. Esp. compared to Schwalbe. Nashbar has a similar tire except with a higher thread count. (120 tpi) Neither come in a 20" version.

The OP has a 26" wheel by the sounds of it ... not sure those 700c tyres would fit :)

Andrew

Ah ok my bad,, try these shoes on : http://www.bontrager.com/model/08885 or http://www.bontrager.com/model/02856 or http://www.bontrager.com/model/07795

http://www.bontrager.com/products/components/tires/

Doesn't an EZ Sport have wide rims? Don't know how narrow a tire will go on those rims. Could probably take 1.25 Kenda Kwests, but narrower than that might be iffy.

I'm liking the looks of the gatorskins. 26x1.25 might just be the thing. Thanks guys. bk

There is a bit of a fun thread over at the Australian Cycling Forums on Gatorskins. Personally I gave up on them early in the piece but the later incarnation may well be an improvement.

Andrew

That's 26 X 1.125. Not much bigger than a 1" tire. You need to measure the inside of your wheel rim where the bead rides, and see if they recommend that narrow a tire. You don't want the bead popping off on a downhill.

http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html Scroll down this page for the green and red chart.

For a fast tire, you might try the Primo Comets in the size you have now.

Sheldon's chart clearly says 1.25 is too narrow. It also shows that the 26x1.35's I now have are too narrow. Yet with 26x1.5's, which are o.k. on the chart, I kept cracking the rims around the brake surface. This lead me to believe the 1.5's were too wide, so I changed to 1.35's. So far, they are working well.

The more I think about this, the more doubts I get about Velocity rims. bk

Cracking around the brake surface isn't typically caused from tire width. Which rim are you running? Rim brakes or disc? How many miles on the rims? What tire pressure? Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this for you.

Here is a comparison of my,
20 x 1.50 (40-406) max pressure 65 psi, I run 70 ish,,,
and my,
20 x 1 1/8 (28-451) max pressure 100 psi, I run 85 ish,,,
Both 20 inchers,, yeah right.

I've run both on my Tour Easy, although with the 406 I have no front brake,
with 65 psi in the fatty and 85 in the skinny,
I feel Absolutely NO difference in rolling resistance, acceleration rate or handling...
Note: These are front rollers on a Long wheel base !

I would assume I will feel a difference when I buy my next rear tire,
I am on a 700x28C and will switch to a 700X32 or 34C, for no particular reason other than side walk cracks, rim protection, etc.

Just saying,,,

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=334691

I did make the 16" to 20" mod to the front of my EZ-1 sx and that made a difference In handling.
Too long to get into but the short version is, It did Improve the low speed handling some and to a lesser degree the Hi-speed handling.
BUT trying to make the EZ-1 something Its not was not really worth the $100 and all the testing to get the rake just right.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=334692http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=334693

I had a Sport AX, AFAIK it came with 1.5 width tires?

I never had a problem with the rims cracking: logically the width of the tires should have no relation to brake/rum width.

As for the OP, going for a narrower tire when looking for a more comfortable ride doesn't compute. Better to try different tire pressures, and compare sidewall stiffness.
The Sport doesn't carry much weight on the front wheel, I found higher pressure there made the ride the ride hard and the tire skipped around on bumpy roads.

I didn't need more than 60 to 65 psi up front, and 85 in the back (195 - 200 lb rider). While the Sport was faster than my Trice trike, it's more of a touring / cruising bike than a racer.

Hi, I'm wondering what you dislike about the Kojaks. I have run them before and they rocked. They rolled fast and smooth, but wear fast. I also like Schwalbe Durano. A great milage tire. We are running Marathon Supremes on our tandem. They are my favorite all around tire.