Pneumatic vs. solid for trailer tires...
 

Hey all, I'm having a hard time committing to a tire for the flat bed I'm building. I was going with a "16 5 spoke w/tube and now am looking toward a more utilitarian "10 solid tire. The smaller one has a heavier weight rating and I do expect to pull weight (100+ lbs.) regularly, so a lower deck is a plus. Am I looking at ride differences only? Or is there some inherent friction/stability aspect of the solid tire I'm not thinking of? Any input is, as always, greatly welcomed.

pneumatic tires have better traction in my experience. That's not a big deal if you aren't going that fast...but if you ever plan to go over 10mph, it's a consideration.

Also, solid tires won't roll as quickly or handle in rain.

Thanks Nahh, that's what I like about this forum... honest, meaningful input. Didn't think about the speed aspect or wet pavement...

Bigger wheels roll much smoother over uneven pavement. I understand your preference for a lower deck, but a small pot hole might swallow a ten inch wheel and cause your trailer to bottom out. I haven't made a trailer, but the two store bought ones I've used both had 16 inch wheels. I don't think I would prefer smaller than that.

Pneumatic tires give a much smoother ride and lower rolling resistance. You might not care about the ride comfort for the cargo on the trailer, but it also means the trailer wouldn't be bounced around as much when hitting potholes. Of course there's also the disadvantage that you might get a flat tire on the trailer, but in general I'd try to go with the pneumatic wheels.

bigger wheels with air tires at least 24"
pulling100+ is a snap rotational weight is a killer and a drag !
get dish less wheels if poss
and for bombproof go for skyway mags
see my vid on other post if you havn't already

I have a trailer with 20 inch pneumatic tires. I started with knobby tires but I could feel the vibration/resistance on road riding. I switched to slicks, gave it a much smoother ride.

Thanks!! I'll take the sage advice from the man that makes his living pulling the BAW's around our nations capitol... since the OP I have settled on "16's like on your BAW's... trying to figure out the axle issue... one long one or 2 shorter ones (not an engineer, but play one in my garage!!).

One other thing to consider one vs two axles. My cart only fits through my door with the wheels off so the 2 axles with quick release works well for me. I have small wheels on the back that work as wheelie bars and also to roll it around with the wheels off. Thinking about how you will be moving it around and how you will be storing it might affect how you build it. My first build was a three wheeler that didn't fit out my back door.

My choice in tyres was the only poor decision that I made when I originally built my bike trailer some 10 years ago. At the time I was using a steel framed, hard tail mountain bike for all my cycling needs; pleasure, commuting, errends, etc.

The trailer was designed so that I could easily complete the weekly shopping run, haul the family picnics, run out on trips with my fishing gear, and to support my children and their friends when out and about with the school on cycling trips in countryside.

I chose a very cheap set of nobbly tyres to fit on to the 16 X 1.75 rims that I had fitted to my trailer, and physically paid the price with the increased friction and rolling resistance that they imparted on the road surface and me, they were also exceptionally good at picking up mud when used off road on the forest trails and river banks. Like a damn fool I persisted with these tyres for almost 9 years on my trailer. When I completely refurbished my bike trailer last year, one of the first jobs that I did was to remove the old knobbly tyres and replace them with a pair of semi-slick Schwalbe City Jet tyres in size 16 X 1.9; a very wise decision on my part.


These tyres have virtually no tread patern, except some water channelling, which works exceptionally well. They also have a Vee type cross section across their width. The result of this when the tyre is correctly inflated is; only the minimum amount of tyre required to support the load is in contact with the road surface. This has greatly reduced the contact friction and rolling resistance to the point that my trailer is so much easier and is an absolute pleasure rather than a chore to tow. The noise from the trailer tyres has reduced to an almost silent hum, and they no longer pick up or flick any mud when used off road. OK, the vast majority of the 1000 miles or so that my trailer does each year is on tamac surfaced roads here within the city of Norwich, but it does get to do about 100 of those miles off road on some of the many cross country cycle routes and coastal paths here in the UK when I go away on brief cycling and camping trips.

As for punctures; I have yet to have one on my trailer; either laden or unladen, but I do run the trailer tyres (and my bicyle tyres) at the manufacturers recommended maximum pressure, I also have OKO (or slime) in the inner tubes, and a puncture resistant Kevler liner between the tyre and tube.

It is my considered opinion and experience that a set of correctly inflated, semi-slick pneumatic tyres are the only viable and sensible solution to be fitted on to a bicycle trailer.