Motored Bike Specific Tire Coming.

Motored Bike Tire

  • Should there be a motored bike specific tire?

    Votes: 52 96.3%
  • Shouldn't be a motored bike specific tire.

    Votes: 2 3.7%

  • Total voters
    54
Good Looking

I think both of the tires your showing are great looking designs. Both would work with the friction drives also. Good luck with this project. I would pay $40.00 each for somthing with some thick rubber on it!
Brent
 
I am in close contact with a principal of a bicycle component manufacturer. They would like to build a tire for the motored bike community, but because there are so many different tire diameter/sizes to choose from I felt that coming here to see what you all think is needed and why and if we are on the right track. ...

Feel free to provide any input you may have to share about this and the sooner it will happen.
What I would wonder is what exactly do you think this tire is going to do that lots of other tires won't? The three features you mentioned--puncture resistance, tubeless ability and tread patterns, are already available in a wide variety of existing tires.

I ask this not to be disrespectful, but just to make a point.... there's a few companies out there that already make "e-bike tires", and in every instance that I've seen, all they are is a medium-width, semi-slick tire with a special (non-functional) tread pattern, and a "e-bike" logo stuck on the side.



(Note that I am trying to make tires myself, but there's room for more than a few tire companies and I don't want to give away too much of what I'm thinking of... :D )



I will say that the size should be 26" x 2.125", no doubt about that. Lots of people who do use 26" bikes say that they want wider tires, but the fact is a lot of engine kit chains already rub the sides of a 2.125" tire.

As far as tread goes--a slick tread gives the best traction on clean or wet pavement, but the worst traction in rocks/sand/mud and snow. There is no tread that will do well in both.
~
 
I have moved on to needing a DOT approved tire.

You are right. There are lots of tires out there that will work and do. But unfortunately not many are paying attention to the need for good rubber and get the cheapest stuff they can. Caveat Empor.

Best of luck with your venture.
 
well i like to run a skinny slick in the front using the CST traveler in the front 26x1.5 and maybe a 26x 1.5-2.125 slick in the rear s right now is the same cst traveler, am waiting 4 a schwalbe marathon 40x559 and a big apple 50x559 both are slicks with some tred... i run 50x407 big apples on my little schwinn i ride it in the rain all the time and it stops amaizingly well when wet...have noticed the almost bee buzz sound I get flyin down the hill......I have ridin the MB in the rain with the slicks that are on it now, but they slide all over the place when braking so I'm switching to a more "treded slick"
as far a durability the scwalbe tires seem to last for-ev-er..
 
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I use the Schwalbe Marathon on my Tandem. I am considering the Marathon plus after I motorize it. I have tried several other brands and they fail before the tread wears out. The 26"X 2" model is rated at 140kilograms. This means that at 70psi each tire will support 308 lbs of weight. The Marathon is the most popular tire in Europe. I have the 1.5" version of the Marathon on my single. They are rated at 100Kilograns. This means that at 100psi each tire will support 220 lbs of weight. Because MB can travel at higher sustained speeds I would not consider the narrower tires as an option. I would put the widest that my setup would allow. This offers a bit more control in turns. It is also more stable on poorly maintained roads. A few years ago during the Tour De France spectators watched in horror as a member of the American team ran into a pylon designed to keep cars from leaving the highway He was racing down hill and had reached a speed near 55mph. He was killed instantly when he struck it. The Tour De France organizers made a ruling that the racers could not use tires below a certain width after this. They still allow narrower tires during the time trial portion of the race.
 
I also find the 2.125 width the best commonly available for street riding. I'd like to point something out, though:

2.125" = 2 1/8", exactly.
 
I also find the 2.125 width the best commonly available for street riding. I'd like to point something out, though:

2.125" = 2 1/8", exactly.
On a ruler yes, but not when you're talking bicycle tires.

From http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html -

Brown's Law Of Tire Sizing:

If two tires are marked with sizes that are mathematically equal,
but one is expressed as a decimal and the other as a fraction,
these two tires will not be interchangeable.
~
 
"Beach cruiser" size. 2.125, 2.25 or 2.5
Just make it beefy, thick and durable. I will buy the first 4. I'd pay up to $50 each for something like that.
 
I 've seen talk here about a tubless tires. On a pedalbike this would lead to a lot of changes down the road. First of all the rim would have to be redesigned to accomodate spokes that didn't leak. Not to mention a new rim design to seal the bead, which would then lead to redesigning the brakes to go along with these new rims. By the time you get done redesigning all this the price of a bicycle will be thru the roof and out of reach for most people that ride bikes. I would stick to a new tire, made for a specific purpose, the motored bike. Lets not reinvent the wheel here
 
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