Trike front tyre?

[kevin bolden]

Having bought a new tyre for the Heritage as a solo the question is would this Cobra with its round section now be suitable for the trike as opposed to one with a squarer section and maybe harder wearing? Suggestions please.

 

[Limey_Dave]

Re: Trike front tyre?

I don't see any reason not to use it.It will wear faster than a flat section tyre,but the steering will be lighter.A flat section tyre can take some of the front end shake away from an outfit,but I would guess the problem wouldn't arise with a trike,as the front wheel is central.
If there's nothing else you can use it on,run it till it wears out,then look at an alternative profile.

 

[kevin bolden]

Re: Trike front tyre?

Thanks for the reply Dave. As per usual always appreciated.

 

[panheadpete]

Re: Trike front tyre?

Two schools of thought on this;
One is that that a squarer section tyre will do as Dave says and be more stable and harder wearing.
T'other idea is that, if you watch the tyre as you turn the bars lock-to-lock, the wheel still leans over onto it's edge, so a rounded tyre is best.
My opinion? I think that you only use full lock at walking speed and the bars are very near straight-on when travelling at speed, so the squarer tyre wins; trikes are subject to steering wobble too, usually due to the geometry with a compromise between weight of steering at low speed and stability at high.
Trouble is, finding a suitable tyre with the right speed and load rating.
Cheers,
Pete

 

[little_dave]

Re: Trike front tyre?

I know that the next front tyre I buy is going to have a square tread and not rounded, the more tread you have on the ground the better grip for stopping, especially when those twats with 4 wheels decide to pull out in front of you! Years ago I had a BSA B40 with a Watsonian chair and that had flat or square tread tyes all round. I've noticed that my front tyre is wearing just in the middle and there's not a great contact patch, I've thought about lowering the tyre pressure but worried, how low can you go safely? At the moment it's 30psi, anyone any ideas? I also raked out my Sportster 3 degrees to 6 degrees to stop a front wheel wobble at about 25mph, I just use the damper to stop the shakes when hitting a pothole on our so smooth roads!:wink:

 

[cut throat]

Re: Trike front tyre?

i run mine at 25psi but am getting a mt90-16 71h k112 continental to try it has a lot more tred will let u know how it runs

 

[Supertriker1]

Re: Trike front tyre?

Hi again folks it's bin a while...
After 12 years running on a Dunlop (original) tyre n now having a broken spoke to replace on me sporty Trike I'm not sure it's worth replacing the original tyre so have opted to stay with a similar round type tyre Maxxis Promax ...
mho :wink: oopps by the way I run 30psi in front tyre

 

[Supertriker1]

Re: Trike front tyre?

oopps by the way I run my front tyre @ 30psi :smile:

 

[little_dave]

Re: Trike front tyre?

I'm going to see online what range of square section tread tyres there are, as mine is wearing close to the limit and my MOT is due in May and the MOT over here is more like a PSV than across the "shuck" over in your part of the UK! See what comes up and I'll get one ordered from my local tyre dealer about 3oo yards from my house, he's very easy to deal with.