Tyre size question

[AllanB]

Not following you here. Can you post a pic of this ?

Yep - I'll try to get a post up this weekend - I'll cut the old tyre in half and post a measurement. The risk of a flat on a bald tyre is highly increased.

[Fatjim]

In my experience the belts are immediately below the rubber at the bottom of the treads. They start showing through fairly soon afer going bald.

[xwhatsit]

Nope I haven't.

Gah! You're dead right. Didn't even think about the rim size coming into it. Now it makes sense

What you need, Mr DB sir, is a King's Tyre. I had one on my 250RS for near 18,000kms, god knows how long it had been on there before I bought it. Never showed any signs of wear whatsoever -- and probably cost less than $30

[MSTRS:Me]

What you need, Mr DB sir, is a King's Tyre. I had one on my 250RS for near 18,000kms, god knows how long it had been on there before I bought it. Never showed any signs of wear whatsoever -- and probably cost less than $30

Begone ye devil's spawn!!!
Nobody listen to him. His advice will kill you as sure as eggs. Kings are made of ceramic strengthened by carbon steel and coated with diesel.

[CookMySock]

If you are having the bike feel jittery, I would suggest more spring pre-load on the forks, and less rebound damping at the back. WARNING, I may misunderstand what you mean by "jittery", and my advice could make things worse if it's a stability issue.

Actually, you are right. There is not enough preload on the front. Its not adjustable unfortunately. Thats the next thing to be sorted out before the summer. Good call.

Steve

[MSTRS:Me]

Preload may be adjustable, you'd need to unscrew the top caps and insert a (longer) spacer. Shortens the available fork travel but stiffens it up.

[CookMySock]

Preload may be adjustable, you'd need to unscrew the top caps and insert a (longer) spacer. Shortens the available fork travel but stiffens it up.

Hrm, its that simple ? I found a suspension tech guy yesterday who tried to persuade me not to spend hard earned cash on racetech bits. "Nah if its got cartridges in it I can do quite a lot with it actually". All for the princely sum of $250 !! He's one of these guys who doesn't stop working at lightning pace while ya talk to him, and has a spotless workshop full of really shiney suspension componentry all apart production-line stylez. I'm tempted to let him have a try.

Thanks MSTRS.

Steve

[cowboyz]

You have misinterpreted what I have said. When I refer to the tread I'm talking about the part of the tyre that's on the road as opposed to the sidewall, same applies to slicks.

It has nothing to do with tread pattern, the reasons above are absolutley correct. What I'm saying is the way the tyre profile is changed by fitting it to a narrow rim then the the outside part of the tread is too close to being vertical.

Again. I am not disagreeing with what you are saying but there becomes a "fit for purpos" theroy. I suspect those who think it is the worst idea are those who ride for entertainment only. Who cares what the edge of the tyre is doing if you never get there?
Somewhere in there you referrred to wanting the comfort of knowing there is more traction than required and have I ever gone into a corner too hot etc...

The simple answer is no. Never have I gone into a corner too quick while commuting. I very much doubt that I have ever leant the bike more than 15 degrees while commuting. I said right from the start. If it is a "tide me over" thing and am not going out to play (read: put pressure on your bike and skillset) then I dont see anything wrong with putting cheap/crap/fucking with the profile tyres on. If restraint cant be excercised then it might just pay to stick with good rubber.

Again, I am not saying your wrong techincally, but simply think your reasoning behind it is moot and void.

[AllanB]

I've stuck the hacksaw through the old rear tyre and here are the results

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...47#post1674147

There is not a lot left if you are down to the cords on the rear.

One question if you are riding at night do you get sparks off the steel cords?

[cowboyz]

I missed the bit where anyone was riding on the cords?

I thought the issue was tyre size?

[Drew]

One question if you are riding at night do you get sparks off the steel cords?

Ya sure do, looks cool, but I dont recommend running a tyre to the cords, or following someone who has.

[CookMySock]

Ok I slapped this undersized tyre on. The bike shop who fitted it smirked at me and said I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. So I put my wheel back on, checked the bike over thoroughly, and nervously headed off to taupo. I forgot about the tyre after 20 mins and got back to passing everything in sight - no worries. The conti was a little less twitchy than the bridgestone - I expected that.

The contact patch on the road looks obviously bigger - not what I had thought.

The sidewalls are obviously more vertical.

Thanks to all. I'm back on the road.

Steve

[malcy25]

Interestingly through all of this no one asked the questions "what does the Conti tech specs say about optimum and possible rim sizes?"

ie Most tyre manufacturers will for each tyre suggest a recommended rim size (ie 4.5), plus also a min and maximum width to which the tyre can be fitted ( ie 4.0 to 5.0)

If your rim fits in the manufacurer specified rim size for the tyre you want to fit, it generally means there should be no specific concerns about incompatibility, profile etc.

i'd even suggest as the team who designed the tyre, they probably have a bloody good idea on what you can and can't do and as they have a lot of liability in this, they are generally very cautious in specifying anything which will get them in the crap.

[MSTRS:Me]

Bikers have been fitting all sorts of odd tyres to rims over the years. No doubt some have regretted their particular choice, or have discovered handling oddities as a result of an over-large/small tyre. In general, it is accepted that one size up/down is not normally a problem.