Tire advice needed

Hi,

I'm looking for some advice for a tire replacement.

I was under the impression that on a trike (Tadpole) the total weight is spread fairly equal between the three wheels (I have not tested for it). Based on that impression I figured that for the most part the three tires would wear fairly equal. But that does not seem to be the case, after 1760 miles my rear tire (Schwalbe Big Apple HS 338 50-406 (20 X 2.00)) has no tread pattern left in the center 3/4 inch, where the front tires show very little wear. I understand that the rear should wear a bit faster since it is the drive wheel, but at 1760 miles have I met the mileage life of a Big Apple on the rear?

I'm looking at the following tires as a replacement, all Schwalbe;

• Marathon HS 420 47-406 (20 X 1.75) part # 1110137
• Marathon HS 420 40-406 (20 X 1.5) part # 1110148
• Big Apple HS 430 50-406 (20 X 2.00) part # 11100304

The current Big Apple's on the trike are the ones with the profile HS 338 that Schwalbe has appeared to have discontinued. See the note at the bottom of this page

Some additional information

• The trike is an ICE Adventure HD FS.
• The trike has a long cage dérailleur.
• I currently run all three tires inflated at 60 psi (side wall pressure reads 30-70).

I understand that if I change to either of the Marathon tires that I may have a speed drop and that the ride may not be as smooth with the Marathon as compared to the Big Apple.

Please keep this discussion to the above three mentioned tires. I'm NOT interested in other brands and/or models at this time.

Thanks,
Gary

 

Some Marathons, although nearly bulletproof, are a total pain to fix a flat. Hard to de-rim and even harder to re-rim.

The weight distribution on a given trike may vary, but gut tells me the rear will wear faster than either front due to its singularity as well as being a driving wheel. But fronts get a lot of extra wear from sharp turns. My Catrike dealer warned me that my CT700 would not get the tire mileage that my Corsa or Rocket does.

 

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the input.

A concern I have about changing to the Marathons (or any other smaller tire) is the drop in the height of the sidewall and the long derailleur cage which is already close to the ground. Comparing a 47-406 (tire on trailer) to the Big Apple 50-406 on the trike, I measured from the floor to the center of the axle, the 50-406 puts the axle at 10 inches and 47-406 about 1/4 inch lower.

Yes the Marathons appear to be bulletproof and have a history of getting tens of thousands of miles. We have the Marathon HS 420 (700 X 32) on two DF bikes and 47-559 on our DF tandem, but we don't have enough miles on them to have an opinion on them yet as to wear etc. I have another set to install on another DF.

They were a bit harder to install then some others that I had installed, but not as difficult as some others I have had to deal with. I was talking to a rider a few weeks ago, when he showed me his hands, both palms were blistered. He had replaced a Gatorskin tire that morning. I've been riding for over 50 years and never had blisters after changing tires. Sore hands, but not blisters.

In the past year I have added a couple tools to my collection for mounting tires.

• For the shop a Kool Stop Tire Bead Jack
• For the bike a VAR compact tire bead jack

I have used the Kool Stop once to test it. I really didn't needed it for that tire.

For our DF Tandem in the past I purchased 3 tires at a time (only 2 of the Marathons), 2 rear for every front (2:1). But it looks like the trike's rear is wearing faster, more like 3:1 or 4:1.

Speaking buying sets one idea I have is to replace all 3 tires (if I don't put a Big Apple on) and keep the two from the front as replacements for my wife's trike.

Gary

 

The image below shows the tread of the rear and right front times with 1760 miles. All the miles but ±10 were on pavement.



I thought that Schwalbe tires were long distance tires. Or is it just a few of their products?

I've contacted Schwalbe with the image via their website, I doubt that I'll get a response.

Gary

 

The contact patch (tire to road) for a bicycle tire is so small that one camp says tread is unnecessary. So another question is, despite the tread wear, is there still another 2,000 miles left on the tire?

Another question is how well balanced and True is the wheel? Either less than 100% with a soft tire can simply abrade away the tread.

 

I concur with Dave on the weight issue. I have changed countless rear tires due to the rear section of the bike supporting the riders weight while also being the drive wheel. in the case of the bike being a df, I switch the front tire to the rear IF it is in good shape. On recumbents that is a little more tricky, esp if the wheels are different sizes.

 

I have been thinking that maybe I should rotate the rear with one of the fronts at this time, delaying the process of buy new tires.

Gary

 

More Confused

This tire wear thing has me confused. My wife rides the same make and model trike and has about 800 miles less then I do. Her rear tire appears to be wearing down at the same rate as mine.



It must be the quality of the tire. I was expecting more out of a Schwalbe based on having touring, self supported, cyclists stop at the house who have multiple of thousands miles on their tires and have not had any issues including no flats.

Now the new question is, do I replace, when the time comes, just the rear or all three and keep the fronts from my trike to use on my wife's trike as replacements?

Thanks for your help,
Gary

 

It may be that the type of surface you are riding on is "eating" away the tread more so than other types of terrain. I know a "chip 'n seal" road will eat away at tread way more than a smooth black top surface.

 

Serenity, you've seen the roads in KY.

I know that every one has BAD roads.

Not much "chip 'n seal" where I ride just a bunch of crappy pavement, but some (not many, some) are getting a face lift this summer.

Gary

 

oh yeah, I know all about the roads in Ky...remember I grew up there. My mom's road, which was chip 'n seal" finally eroded away to gravel...it has been so long since they've made any repairs.

 

Did not know that.

That is so true.

Gary

 

Oh yeah, I was born & raised in the "boonies"...literally the daniel boone national forest.

 

Well, I wouldn't spenf much time riding on it if that is the case...don't need to get dentures when you don,t need them.