Beach Cruiser Tires Speed Rating?
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writingscifi65
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Wow... 35Mph on a Bicycle... I have an Ebike and it pretty much tops out at 25, which just feels wrong for a bicycle. And, to be fair, I upgraded the hell out of the bike! It's got:
Thornproof tubes (26x1.75)
tight pattern knobby tires (Good for the street, not so for off road)
Stem riser, wider bars, and a nice fat butt gel seat
It came with disc brakes front and rear (180F/160R) but I upgraded both to 203mm discs and ceramic pads front and rear
Tail light with turn signals (headlight came with the eBike motor kit)
It's a suspension fork/hardtail, 7 speed freewheel, running 46t to 12t in 7th. I was going to upgrade the back wheell to a 8 speed internal drive to eliminate the derailluer, but my last surgery destroyed my left knee, so now I don't even ride it anymore. It's sitting in my living room collecting dust.
I feel for you, man, but I've been riding motorcycles for 20+ years, and while 35 is slow on them, 35 on a bicycle is downright insane, especially with lackluster brakes and stock rubber. As soon as you pass 15mph, you really need Discs and calipers. Rim-rider brakes are a recipe for disaster.
Thornproof tubes (26x1.75)
tight pattern knobby tires (Good for the street, not so for off road)
Stem riser, wider bars, and a nice fat butt gel seat
It came with disc brakes front and rear (180F/160R) but I upgraded both to 203mm discs and ceramic pads front and rear
Tail light with turn signals (headlight came with the eBike motor kit)
It's a suspension fork/hardtail, 7 speed freewheel, running 46t to 12t in 7th. I was going to upgrade the back wheell to a 8 speed internal drive to eliminate the derailluer, but my last surgery destroyed my left knee, so now I don't even ride it anymore. It's sitting in my living room collecting dust.
I feel for you, man, but I've been riding motorcycles for 20+ years, and while 35 is slow on them, 35 on a bicycle is downright insane, especially with lackluster brakes and stock rubber. As soon as you pass 15mph, you really need Discs and calipers. Rim-rider brakes are a recipe for disaster.
Sidewinder Jerry
Well-Known Member
When I rode the LandRider which shifted 7 engine/human driven gears automatically, I used rim brakes. Bike/rider weight was 350 lbs. I also live in the mountains. Down hill speeds can reach 50 mph. With rim brakes pads aren't created equally; a good quality compound pad is a must. Things like bump braking and longer stopping distance is required.
MY current bike the Sidewinder has front and rear disc. I still have to do bump braking going down steep hills but my stopping distance is shorter now.
writingscifi65
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With either type, heat is your enemy. At least with an open to the air rotor, heat is less of an issue for a disc brake bike than rim riders. That pad material may be formulated to dissipate heat, but what about the rim itself? Some of the higher end bikes use aluminum rims, which can't use rim riders, since the added heat would deform them.
No, like I said, once your top speed starts to go over 15-20 mph, discs all the way. Or big horken drum brakes, which have their own heat issues. Just ask any trucker trying to ride their brakes down Mt Eagle mtn...
The only "speed" certification for bicycle tires is the "ECE-R75".
Bicycle tires can be rated for 25 kph (15.5 mph), 50 kph (31 mph), or not rated (most bicycle tires).
If you are going to be going much faster for very long, I'd recommend lacing up a motorcycle/moped rim and running tires that actually have a DOT speed certification.
Schwalbe and Maxxis are the brangs I stick with, although there others that also have ECE-R75 rated tires.
For pavement, I like the Schwalbe Super Moto-X https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/super-moto-x and the Pick-Up https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/pick-up. The Pick-Up has the highest load carrying capability of any bicycle tire I have found...most bicycle tires do not have a "Load Rating" but Schwalbe does for most of their tires.
Bicycle tires can be rated for 25 kph (15.5 mph), 50 kph (31 mph), or not rated (most bicycle tires).
If you are going to be going much faster for very long, I'd recommend lacing up a motorcycle/moped rim and running tires that actually have a DOT speed certification.
Schwalbe and Maxxis are the brangs I stick with, although there others that also have ECE-R75 rated tires.
For pavement, I like the Schwalbe Super Moto-X https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/super-moto-x and the Pick-Up https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/pick-up. The Pick-Up has the highest load carrying capability of any bicycle tire I have found...most bicycle tires do not have a "Load Rating" but Schwalbe does for most of their tires.
Sidewinder Jerry
Well-Known Member
Here I'm not disputing disc are better. However, I rode on rim brakes for 10 years without a single problem. Most of it is in knowing how to use them. For example if you have a STOP sign at the bottom of a long 30% grade hill, you can't ride your brakes all the way down the hill with rim or disc. What you do is bump brake so that the speed stays low enough to where you can stop at the sign. With rim brakes if you're at a high speed on level ground then you bump brake to slow down before applying full braking.
Sidewinder Jerry
Well-Known Member
All I've ever used on my bikes is Kendra 838 and only replaced them due to general wear.
Glad your ok!
Personally, ive had great luck running the tires that came on my bikes. Never had a direct failure (yet) but popped a lot of tubes..
an issue I've had is where the spokes of the rim are too long (from the factory) and protrude out of the nipple causing a point of failure, along with the fact that the rim strips are SUPER crappy, they slip very easily and causes failures.
Another issue is that some tires (usually the cheaper Walmart stockers) have a super loose fit, which causes the tire to pop out of the rim and can cause a blowout (especially if inflated to the max as mentioned above) I've had a few close calls but managed to catch it and deflate the tire before anything bad happened.
my remedy is to remove the crappy rim strip and flatten any protruding spokes (while conforming that the rim is true) so that there isn't any possibility of the spokes poking through and causing a hole in the inner tube.
Next, i get some gorilla tape (the TO-GO stuff is the perfect width, https://www.walmart.com/ip/Gorilla-Black-Tape-To-Go-Handy-Roll-1-in-x-10-Yard-Roll/15160148)
and seal up the rim like in this video (1 wrap is good for me, 2 if the tire is SUPER loose) as shown here around 1.30-2.00 mark (
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuEiBSAKWLI&ab_channel=ParkTool)
this causes the tire to have a better interference fit and creates a stronger bead seat.
Personally, ive had great luck running the tires that came on my bikes. Never had a direct failure (yet) but popped a lot of tubes..
an issue I've had is where the spokes of the rim are too long (from the factory) and protrude out of the nipple causing a point of failure, along with the fact that the rim strips are SUPER crappy, they slip very easily and causes failures.
Another issue is that some tires (usually the cheaper Walmart stockers) have a super loose fit, which causes the tire to pop out of the rim and can cause a blowout (especially if inflated to the max as mentioned above) I've had a few close calls but managed to catch it and deflate the tire before anything bad happened.
my remedy is to remove the crappy rim strip and flatten any protruding spokes (while conforming that the rim is true) so that there isn't any possibility of the spokes poking through and causing a hole in the inner tube.
Next, i get some gorilla tape (the TO-GO stuff is the perfect width, https://www.walmart.com/ip/Gorilla-Black-Tape-To-Go-Handy-Roll-1-in-x-10-Yard-Roll/15160148)
and seal up the rim like in this video (1 wrap is good for me, 2 if the tire is SUPER loose) as shown here around 1.30-2.00 mark (
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuEiBSAKWLI&ab_channel=ParkTool)
this causes the tire to have a better interference fit and creates a stronger bead seat.
writingscifi65
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I went to that website, and those tires are pretty good! I like the price too! But, as far as lacing up a motorcycle wheel/rim to use on a bicycle, just remember that 90% of motorcycle tires are very W-I-D-E... Wider in fact, than any bike tire, short of a fat tire bike. Check your frame clearances before going down that path.
Back in the late 80s, I had my local bike guru build me a custom wheel for a Schwinn Stingray I just found at a yard sale (Banana sear and center bar gear shift and all!) He used a ACS Z-rim, moped spokes and a tandem bike hub (internal drum brake) with a new at the time 7 speed free wheel. With a front tooth count of 52T, and a final drive of 13T, this bike was FAST! Coming down the hill out of Oaklyn, NJ on White Horse Pike, I was flat out going faster than 35mph!
How do I know? I got pulled over by one of the cops that I knew in Oaklyn, who clocked me at 38mph (in a 25mph zone!) After looking at what I had built, he told me to keep it between the ditches and to be careful (no tickets! Yay!) The back tire was a retro throwback Schwinn 20" Slick with a thornproof tube, and the 12" front wheel with springer fork. That bike was fun and fast! I wish I still had the legs to ride like that again...
Back in the late 80s, I had my local bike guru build me a custom wheel for a Schwinn Stingray I just found at a yard sale (Banana sear and center bar gear shift and all!) He used a ACS Z-rim, moped spokes and a tandem bike hub (internal drum brake) with a new at the time 7 speed free wheel. With a front tooth count of 52T, and a final drive of 13T, this bike was FAST! Coming down the hill out of Oaklyn, NJ on White Horse Pike, I was flat out going faster than 35mph!
How do I know? I got pulled over by one of the cops that I knew in Oaklyn, who clocked me at 38mph (in a 25mph zone!) After looking at what I had built, he told me to keep it between the ditches and to be careful (no tickets! Yay!) The back tire was a retro throwback Schwinn 20" Slick with a thornproof tube, and the 12" front wheel with springer fork. That bike was fun and fast! I wish I still had the legs to ride like that again...
