Monday, January 25, 2016

Motorcycle tires for Cargo bikes?

Schwalbe Marathon 



more info here

Bicycle tires do not do well on really heavy duty cargo bikes. But you may need to buy or build a new disc brake steering fork to hold a moped tire on a large cycle truck. An Elf car could use these or even bigger three inch wide by 24" O.D. moped tires with no problem.

Most bicyclist will instantly think that a tire that runs on 33psi will have too much rolling resistance. This is bull shit, these tires have such thick side wall that they can stand up to more than 200lbs each at 7.5psi; the first time I rode to town and back, I had a slow leak, when I got home I measured the psi... boy was I surprised!

I can't stand to hear that people are so effing brainwashed by the bicycle industry that they would rather use a one ply narrow tire made for a fraction of the weight than one of these are made for. Being made for 300lbs each they sit high on tarmac so they actually have less rolling resistance than you think. and then there is the bottom line: they last ten to one over any kind of bicycle tire. My front tire has lasted 5 years and is still going. While my bicycle tires were wearing out twice a year. If you are racing with heavy cargo on a daily basis you need to have your brain examined.



This is the best
Shinko SR714
Motorcycle Tire 2.25-16

Radial vs Bias ply tires


240lbs load limit 





16" x 2.25" motorcycle tire on a 1.25" bicycle rim

406mm BMX rim is a 16" rim


17 inch rim and motorcycle tire 


Michelin City Pro RADIAL PLY 
[ not heavy duty enough ]
Bias 4 ply tires will out last every other kind of tire
and will handle much more weight. 

















I have a collection of different tire irons. But these "tire spoons" are the only ones that have not gouged my aluminum motorcycle rim. And they are not the most expensive. I should have bought steel motorcycle rims, but they could still be damaged by some of the levers I have used.





If you want a tire that will outlast all bicycle tires, consider this:

The Motorcycle tire to use for a heavy duty cargo bike build should have a load rating of 50 for 419 lbs and 4-ply tread casing 16” rim size X 2.25-2.50 inch section width (Unless you an find wider fenders). But it is very difficult to find one that will fit a bicycle rim. And some of the single ply tires have a 4 ply rating, not as good as actually having 4 plies.
Approximately 21-22 inch O.D. fits well in a 1.25” to 1.4”-inch wide BMX rim. You will need to use large steel tire irons.

Mopeds (tires use 2 ply only) and motorcycles (tires use 4 ply) measure tires at the rim, bicycles measure the outer tread, and they are heavier than bicycle tires, but surprisingly, they are also cheaper than high-performance bicycle tires. Coupled with 16-inch motorcycle tubes, they are unlikely to ever get a flat even without liner.

For the rear even if you can find a large enough moped tire, you will probably have to build the frame to fit. Unless you can find an old cruiser bike frame. And while you’re at it, make room for a motor and reduction gears behind the seat post. You’re not going to want to pedal 600 to 800 lbs up a 4% grade or steeper.

19" Motorcycle Wheels vs 26" Bicycle Wheels (rim and tires)

I finally had to convert to 17" tires because it is too difficult to find narrow 19" tires.

For Elf cars a 2.75”/19” tire on a 1.85” x 19” rim or wider! Wider tires need wider rims.

For my small cycle truck I need a 2.25”/16” for the front 20” tire. But for the rear 24” tire a 2.25/19 is needed. But only available in Europe and not worth the shipping to the U.S., and still may not fit on a bicycle rim.

A 24”MTB has a 20.5" O.D. rim but the 19” moped tire is measured at bottom of the bead just to confuse you. you need a moped rim, not a bicycle rim for 19" moped tire.

For a bike frame with 24” bicycle tire a 19” rim with 2 ply moped tire is usable, but if you can build an extra-cycle add-on for your bicycle, use a 16 inch rim with 2.5” 4 ply motorcycle tire or a 17 inch rim with a larger tire, but that will require a frame rebuild. A 19 inch rim with a 2.75 inch tire will be less likely to change your steering trail because the outside diameter is about 24.5” while a 19”x 2.25” is 23.25”...but the bike frame will need a wider space for the 2.75” tire. This is a good reason to build the add-on yourself..





These tires are bit heavy for people with weak legs, 4 to 6lbs each does not bother me. If you're riding a heavy cycle truck you need to build muscles! Or get a strong motor that will drive your lazy butt up an 8% grade with a total combined weight of 400lbs or more.
2.50-16
Pirelli ML75


Pirelli Tire ML75 2.5-16 is officially 21.3 inches in overall diameter.

Bike rims do not provide the side wall height, only the value listed as 'rim depth'. So the larger moped tires may not be held well enough on the same size bicycle rim.

There does not appear to be 20-inch motorcycle tires that can mount onto a 24-inch bicycle rim in the same manner that a 16-inch motorcycle tire can be mounted on a 20-inch bicycle rim; the motorcycle sizes skip 20" altogether. Likewise, there does not appear to be a market for 22-inch bicycle rims which would seriously open up many more motorcycle tire options in the 18" range.

So if you want to use a motorcycle tire that will replace a 24 inch bicycle tire, you will have to use motorcycle rims, and possibly spokes.

My next bike will made to accommodate 3" x 16"rim tires [about 22"OD]

Kinda 3" x 16"rim motorcycle tire






There are a lot more 16" tires than 17"




 Tire Conversion Chart: http://www.cb450stuff.com/tires/





bicycle tires


If children weigh about 50 to100lbs each? [three children and one over sized adult could easily weigh 600lbs then there are the groceries and the weight of the vehicle] When I build one of these bikes I am going to engineer it for at least 650lbs [On two wheels]; but maybe I really should build a three wheeled vehicle for 750lbs max. That will probably need at least three solid wheels with motorcycle tires, and a larger motor with a very low gear. And I think it may need a belt drive for motor. How strong can spoked wheel be made for such a low gear? Interesting how the trust force goes from the chain to the spokes when using a very low gear. Maybe I could still use a chain drive then? [But not for tractor pulling competition.]

Hauling 550lbs [250kg] on 4 tires will need to handle at l only 150lbs each [68kg] but for a bicycle with trailer or even worse a long box bike with only two tires a minimum of 275lbs each that would require larger than 2.25” motorcycle tires I think 2.75” to 3 inch 4ply tires are needed. [never engineer to only the minimum needed] Two 16inch x 2.5” diameter tire on the front and one 17inch x 3D tire on the rear should do it.

I will need a 42t sprocket on the rear cassette with the 32t chainwheel on the front.And the rear derailleur may need a longer hanger.












             motorcycle tire load rating index:

'Sun Ringle Big Baller 20" 36h steel rim' is better than any aluminum alloy rim for these tires.

How to Change a Dirt Bike Tire in Minutes

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hello, I would like to use heavier more durable moped tires on my FAW+ velomobile that uses 20 inch BMX size wheels. According to the information on your link, I can use this size? 16-3 tire 2.25-16 Shinko SR714 WP191-874550 which is a 16 inch rim on a moped?

Prodromal said...

406mm BMX rims are 16" rims. However a motorcycle rim in 16" is easyer to put the tires onto.