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

[Jimboyr6]

I think u both have good points,
I run 2ply trail tyres on my stealth with sm pro rear rim on back never had problem since,so much more confidence now,
Put i think this is the answer to all our dreams,iv asked and thay should be introducing other sizes in future
http://www.schwalbe.com/gb/schwalbe-procore.html

 

[Rix]

Tubliss tires are the easiest to repair in the field with a plug kit, but plug kits don't work on pinched flats which are what ALL of my flats have been with both MC tires and MTB tires. On the front, I am running Mr tuffy tire liners and they do keep most nails and screws from penetrating the tube, provided you stop and and remove the sharp object before it works itself in through the liner. To date, 5 years of ebiking, and I have never flatted the front and I am running MR Tuffys with all my 24" and 26" front wheels. Since going to the MC rear conversion on 3 of my 4 ebikes, I have only flatted once with a combined mileage of 18000 miles total between the 3 bikes with MC tires. And it was a pinch flat, complicated by a slow leak through the valve stem. What happened was my valve stem was leaking air, and my psi dropped low enough that when I center punched some lava rock at speed, I pinched flatted a tire that was slowly going flat so I am not sure that qualifies as a pinch flat failure per se. Anyway my point is, unless running tire balls or a Bib Mousse type tubes, nothing else is flat proof, MC tubes and tires are alot less likely to flat out on a ride than MTB tubes and tires, but it can still happen regardless.

 

[macribs]

@Chalo, why put yourself through all the agony? Tubeless is king.

What agony? The pain I see is when someone spends 30 minutes or more doing a tubeless tire service that would have taken 5 minutes at most to change the tube. And makes a mess in the process. And breaks a couple of tire levers. And then comes back in after a little while to do it again because the bead is still leaking.

I've seen this kind of stuff happen enough times, alongside the trouble-free proven way, to know it's only for fetishists.

Edit:

I just checked out that Dynaplug crap you linked to. Only a fool would intentionally rupture a fine threaded tire casing to "repair" it. Do your tires even run straight anymore?

Hehe dynaplug is not mandatory, any tubeless repair kit would work. Reason I mentioned dynaplug is because of its size and weight.
I have yet to have a flat so I have not tested dynaplug yet, I do see your point that the metal part of the plug can cause a slight wobble or unbalance to the wheel. If that is the case I will just swap it for the good old tire repair shop tubeless repair kit I got in the garage. It has a tiny round file tool too, to use one time after removing the cause of the leak, to ensure perfect "fusion" between the repair plug and the tire. That old thing has been used on my cars and motorcycles for the past 15-20 years. Adding 5 or 10K KM to a plug repaired tire is no problem at all. Using that thing I have not noticed any sign of problems not even at German highways with speed north of 200 K/h.

If you have done a tire change or two before I don't think there should be any problems with beeds not locking onto the rims. If that is the case I would suspect a mismatch between tire and rim size. Today many people that races dirt bikes or enduro bikes run tubeless, on their practice setup as well as race setups.

Been considering getting one of those Qs 205 v3 3T in a forged 17" aluminum rim, that way I don't have to worry about lacing, truing and it will be factory ready to run tubeless. And I think a smaller rim size would be even more fun to ride.

 

[macribs]

I think u both have good points,
I run 2ply trail tyres on my stealth with sm pro rear rim on back never had problem since,so much more confidence now,
Put i think this is the answer to all our dreams,iv asked and thay should be introducing other sizes in future
http://www.schwalbe.com/gb/schwalbe-procore.html

Yeah that procore looks really nice, for lighter riders, lighter builds and especially for non-hub motor builds I am sure people will be very happy with procore. Personally I am a heavy rider, got a heavy build with a heavy hub motor. For me weight of wheel is not an issue, I choose tubeless for ease of repair and use MC tires to be on the safe side regarding weight and speed as it gives me more confidence.

 

[Chalo]

M/C tires have enough extra plies to be safely pluggable. I do remember my moto mechanic strongly recommending that I have flats repaired by internal patches, to avoid further damaging the casing.

Under no circumstances would it be a good idea to plug a hole in a thin walled bicycle tire, which requires reaming an even larger hole through the casing to install the plug.

And also under no circumstances would I recommend the block-of-wood ride quality of a moto tire, when a quality bicycle tire will do the job adequately. On a normal bicycle, the tires are the suspension, and they ride like it. On a motorcycle, they're not, and they don't.

 

[Rix]

@Chalo, why put yourself through all the agony? Tubeless is king.

Been considering getting one of those Qs 205 v3 3T in a forged 17" aluminum rim, that way I don't have to worry about lacing, truing and it will be factory ready to run tubeless. And I think a smaller rim size would be even more fun to ride.

That think will take off like a rocket

 

[Rix]

M/C tires have enough extra plies to be safely pluggable. I do remember my moto mechanic strongly recommending that I have flats repaired by internal patches, to avoid further damaging the casing.

And also under no circumstances would I recommend the block-of-wood ride quality of a moto tire, when a quality bicycle tire will do the job adequately. On a normal bicycle, the tires are the suspension, and they ride like it. On a motorcycle, they're not, and they don't.

This is a great point Chalo, I run MC tires on the rear of my E-bikes out of necessity. When I first got my Bomber almost 5 years back, I pinch flatted the rear almost every ride. The lava rock infested northern Nevada desert that I call home and ride is brutal on MC and MTB tires. On my KTM XCF 450, running a Desert IT MAxxis 110/100x18 tire, I replaced the rear tire on that bike ever 3 rides or about 120 miles. That all I got for mileage. Anyway, when I converted my Bomber to a MC tire and rim on the rear, it really solved my problems. All this said, if I could get away with running MTB rims and tires, I would. I am still experimenting with non MC tires. I got 6 Denzel 24x3.00 bicycle tires coming. The one ebike I have that has MTB tires front and rear is my Beta running a conservative 2kw through a MAC 10 geared hubby. Because of the light weight and low power, I haven't had problems pinch flatting rear tires on that bike......yet. But I dont ride it 30-40MPH through rock gardens on it either as it can barely pull 27MPH on pavement.

 

[Jimboyr6]

Hey rix im running a denzel 24x3 on front works good about 10-15 psi seems to work depending on what u ride

 

[Rix]

Hey rix im running a denzel 24x3 on front works good about 10-15 psi seems to work depending on what u ride

Did not know that. Got some questions for you. How slow or fast is the tire wearing? How does it feel in dry slick terrain? Does it feel like it wants to wash out or does it hold the intended line? What about all around performance in off road situations? I can tell by the tire it will work great on pavement. Any experience riding in rock gardens? We only get 4" of rain/snow a year here where I live, so performance in wet and muddy conditions aren't a high priority for me.

 

[Jimboyr6]

Hey rix im running a denzel 24x3 on front works good about 10-15 psi seems to work depending on what u ride

Did not know that. Got some questions for you. How slow or fast is the tire wearing? How does it feel in dry slick terrain? Does it feel like it wants to wash out or does it hold the intended line? What about all around performance in off road situations? I can tell by the tire it will work great on pavement. Any experience riding in rock gardens? We only get 4" of rain/snow a year here where I live, so performance in wet and muddy conditions aren't a high priority for me.

Hey rix
Tyre wear is really good even edges on the square tread aren't worn i get a pic later

When i was doing abit of commuting i run pressures 20-25 psi but on loose stuff no good,
Now im at 10-15 depending what im doing and its sticks really well

Thay are 2 ply so would work ok in ur rocky riding areas like urs
I just got em as i wanted puncture protection on the front not had problems now,
Its abit of a lottery if thay run true on rim,but u cant feel it through bars,bitch to get on bomber front rim as well.

 

[Rix]

Thats interesting, So it the tire works OK if you run lower PSI offroad, correct? I am glad they wear well. I get about 1500 miles from the Duro Razorbacks on the front. Sounds like I can get a bit more with these tires. Almost years ago, I was working on a 24" tire design specific for Ebikes with Chinese tire manufacture whose name I can't pronounce. Was toying with a 3 ply tire design and a tread pattern like the SR241, except the knobbies were spaced wider apart, double blocked and single blocked alternating rows so it would act a little more like a cross between a Knobby tire and a Trials tire and still be pavement friendly. So the tire tech I was working with drafted me up a CAD Design with projected weight. It came out to 2.07kg or about 4.55 pounds without tube. It wasn't enough of a weight savings over a 2.75-19 MC tires I had ran for me to justify the $6K investment for 250 tires which was the minimum I needed to order. So it never happened.

 

[Jimboyr6]

These work fine low psi,i did have one on rear but went sm pro mx rim so cant use as thay have the lip on tyre for twin wall
mtb rims,i got 5 pairs ,,, duros aint worth a rub to much weight on them so thay wear crazy.
Here is a pic fronts done about 500-800 miles its mint.

 

[Rix]

These work fine low psi,i did have one on rear but went sm pro mx rim so cant use as thay have the lip on tyre for twin wall
mtb rims,i got 5 pairs ,,, duros aint worth a rub to much weight on them so thay wear crazy.
Here is a pic fronts done about 500-800 miles its mint.

Very impressive Jim, looks like they are a 2000 mile tire on the front based on the little wear you have for 500-800 miles. I appreciate you answering my questions and post the pic, thanks mate. when you get to 1500 miles, snap another pic, curious to see what it will look like then.

 

[joe81]

wanted to replace my 26" with 19"..
now i received the wheel and find the 1.4" rim is nearly 50mm wide on the outside and super heavy. and as it is also build about 1.5mm out of center by the chinese wheel builder it nearly touches my frame..
can somebody point me to slimmer 19" rim options out there?

 

[Jimboyr6]

Try find a SM PRO 19" rim,thats what i got
Rix will chime in in abit to help more

 

[Rix]

wanted to replace my 26" with 19"..
now i received the wheel and find the 1.4" rim is nearly 50mm wide on the outside and super heavy. and as it is also build about 1.5mm out of center by the chinese wheel builder it nearly touches my frame..
can somebody point me to slimmer 19" rim options out there?

19x1.4 rim is about as narrow as you are going to find. The narrowest rim I have seen is the Borriani 18x1.20 but even their 19" mc rims don't go narrower than 1.40 wide. http://www.borraniamericas.com/html/motorcycle.html

 

[Offroader]

wanted to replace my 26" with 19"..
now i received the wheel and find the 1.4" rim is nearly 50mm wide on the outside and super heavy. and as it is also build about 1.5mm out of center by the chinese wheel builder it nearly touches my frame..
can somebody point me to slimmer 19" rim options out there?

I'm confused? You find a 19x1.4 super heavy? It weighs 2.5 lbs. My 26" bicycle rim weighs 1.8 lbs. I'm not seeing why you think that is super heavy.

If you got a 1.6" you would be over 3 lbs, then you can start saying heavy, but not super heavy.

Super heavy would be a 1.85" or larger.

 

[Merlin]

he said its from china...
maybe its a steel rim?!

 

[joe81]

thanks guys.
the rim is definitely aluminium. but it's so massive. didn't expect a 1.4" to be so wide on the outside.
my main issue is about clearance. weight is secondary.
probably i would be better off with a steel rim..?!

 

[Merlin]

no,
just center the rim as you need. you can go with a 2.0x19 Tire from continental.
or 2.25x19 if you want to be more safe with the thicker RF tire.

http://www.continental-reifen.de/motorrad/tires/scooter-tires/kks-10-kks-10-ww

 

[Rix]

no,
just center the rim as you need. you can go with a 2.0x19 Tire from continental.
or 2.25x19 if you want to be more safe with the thicker RF tire.

http://www.continental-reifen.de/motorrad/tires/scooter-tires/kks-10-kks-10-ww

Good call Merlin, those tires should clear the narrow frame no problems.

 

[BCTECH]

wanted to replace my 26" with 19"..
now i received the wheel and find the 1.4" rim is nearly 50mm wide on the outside and super heavy. and as it is also build about 1.5mm out of center by the chinese wheel builder it nearly touches my frame..
can somebody point me to slimmer 19" rim options out there?

maybe you received a wrong size rim? 50mm is like 19x2in, that's heavy
I am using 19x1.4 pro wheel rim and so far so good. fits my 2.75 tire perfectly. I think its heavier but not super heavy. My rear is super heavy

 

[Chalo]

maybe you received a wrong size rim? 50mm is like 19x2in, that's heavy

I'm pretty sure he means the 1.4" rim is about 50mm on the outside. The rated size is always inside.

 

[casuarinatree]

Has anyone ever tried to lace 21" motorcycle rims with the corresponding bike hubs for front/rear wheels and a spoke set for a 26" bike wheel? I'm trying to do this on a fat cargo bike build. My idea is to use 40h, 21 x 2.15 moto rims with bike spokes/necessary washers and a front 40h 135mm hub and 40h 135mm rear hub suited for a mountain bike using a 7-9 speed cassette.

For anyone interested I just ordered a set of Racing Boys 21 x 1.85 from MT Motoparts Online Store. I was surprised at how quickly the package arrived from Malaysia to San Francisco it only took 6 days.

https://www.motorparts.com.my/index.php?route=common/home

 

[Merlin]

21"....1.85....weight? plz let us know bare rim weight