What size tire should I buy..........and thoughts on liners

[michael whiteman]

I have a 26"rim that will accept a 1.50 to 1.95 tire. Which size would be better for riding on the pavement with an occasional trip down a packed dirt trail. Is there any reason for a wider tire than this? What would you suggest for a tire liner. Are solid nylon ones better that rubber?

 

[Sidewinder Jerry]

I have a 26"rim that will accept a 1.50 to 1.95 tire. Which size would be better for riding on the pavement with an occasional trip down a packed dirt trail. Is there any reason for a wider tire than this? What would you suggest for a tire liner. Are solid nylon ones better that rubber?

There's a lot tires wider than a 1.95" width. However you'll need a rim for the wider tire and all of it will have to fit inside of your frame, forks and brakes if using rim brakes.

Cyclist use slimmer tires to cut down on rolling resistance on pavement. With a motorized bicycle that isn't going to give you much of a speed increase like it would a pedal only bike. Your common sense is obvious here in that you recognize why wider tires are better on dirt. Another thing though is the wider tire will give you more comfort in that it can absorb impacts over a wider area.

Since you say you're going to be riding on packed dirt roads as well as pavement, I recommend getting a hybrid thread pattern instead of a road slick.

 

[YetiWoodz]

I agree with Jerry. Wider tires are best. If you hit a bad pothole hard it may bend your rim from impact. Wider tires have more cushion to protect that.

Also keep tire pressure up, that will also reduce impact damage.

 

[Tyler6357]

Get the widest tire you can put on your rim! The wider your tire is the more traction you will have and the more you can lean into turns.

 

[Sidewinder Jerry]

Get the widest tire you can put on your rim! The wider your tire is the more traction you will have and the more you can lean into turns.

Guess you haven't watched many bicycle races on the down hill stretches. Often they're doing 70+ mph on road bikes. Along with leaning a lot into the curves.

Tire width and performance is a balancing act. The same is true with thread patterns. When it comes to traction the factors there are horse power/torque and purpose.

 

[Tyler6357]

Guess you haven't watched many bicycle races on the down hill stretches. Often they're doing 70+ mph on road bikes. Along with leaning a lot into the curves.

Tire width and performance is a balancing act. The same is true with thread patterns. When it comes to traction the factors there are horse power/torque and purpose.

But we are talking about motor bicycles, not peddle bicycles. I've been in motor bicycle races and everyone uses 2"+ wide tires so they can lean into the turns easier and the wider tire helps support the heavier bike with an engine on it with better traction and more rubber on the road, it's not rocket science.

 

[Sidewinder Jerry]

But we are talking about motor bicycles, not peddle bicycles. I've been in motor bicycle races and everyone uses 2"+ wide tires so they can lean into the turns easier and the wider tire helps support the heavier bike with an engine on it with better traction and more rubber on the road, it's not rocket science.

I personally don't recommend any motorized bicycle go under a 1.5" width. I guess what I'm really trying to say is too much rubber to pavement can hinder performance about as bad as too little when dealing with curves. This is why I don't like seeing small cc engines on fat tire builds. With small cc (>80) I don't recommend going over a 2.125 width.

 

[Street Ryderz]

Guess you haven't watched many bicycle races on the down hill stretches. Often they're doing 70+ mph on road bikes. Along with leaning a lot into the curves.

Tire width and performance is a balancing act. The same is true with thread patterns. When it comes to traction the factors there are horse power/torque and purpose.

101.5kph
Top recorded speed: 101.5kph (63.1mph)
The fastest recorded speed at the 2019 Tour de France came on a white-knuckle descent of the Col de Vars by one of the peloton's hard men.Jul. 30, 2019
They also don't lean much at all!

 

[Sidewinder Jerry]

True about the TDF but here's what some pro cyclist have said about their top speeds.



In Decent Deciples they lean a good bit in their high speed turns. Just one of their many videos.

 

[Street Ryderz]

True about the TDF but here's what some pro cyclist have said about their top speeds.



In Decent Deciples they lean a good bit in their high speed turns. Just one of their many videos.

LOL those guy's are just like the spandex crowd here, probably react the same too when I pass them at 55-60 in tighter turns than that on my chopper fake pedaling!