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Trailer tire selection - psi, wear, toughness?

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Old 07-29-23, 10:39 AM
  #26  
indyfabz
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Pictures or it didn’t happen.
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Old 07-29-23, 11:44 AM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by saddlesores
i don't think you'll have much luck finding 16"/20" bicycle wheels capable of reliably handling 200-400 pounds of dead weight. and you'll need to consider the intended use of whatever wheels you find on the market.
I expect risk of mechanical issues - mainly spokes, rims, and axles. I am far less concerned with hubs. And (as the original topic of the thread was) - with suitable tires I should be OK there, though there is always the potential for tire issues no matter what the tire/application is on a bike etc.

Originally Posted by saddlesores
to pull this off, you're going to need to over-engineer your trailer for local deliveries such that it's too heavy for cycle touring. it's one thing to pull a couple hundred pounds a few miles on flat city streets, quite another to lug half that up a hill on a rough surface.

why not build two trailers. trying to get one trailer to do everything involves achieving contradictory goals. you'll wind up with the F-35 of bike trailers - great for padding the pockets of the machine shop owner, but useless in real world situations.
There are some tricks I am working through with the current set up to see what works and what doesn't. You can follow the thread I have on the trailer in the link below for more reading material if you wish:
https://www.bikeforums.net/utility-c...h-frame-2.html

Post #26 was the most I have hauled on it to date, that was about the 300lb mark I'm guessing.
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Old 07-29-23, 11:56 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by tcs
....
But I thought the cool thing was the trailer brakes are rigged up to a mechanism on the tow bar, so if the trailer begins to overrun the bike, the trailer brakes are actuated.
Is that automatic, the rider does not have to manually actuate them? If so, GREAT ! ! !
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Old 07-29-23, 12:09 PM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by KC8QVO
I expect risk of mechanical issues - mainly spokes, rims, and axles. ....
I have seen 20 inch BMX wheels with 48 spokes. Whatever rim you choose, try to find out what the max pressure the rim can hold for the tire width you choose. Whatever tire that Bike Friday puts on a 20 inch wheel on a tandem, that is the tire I would use, I would not spend any time researching it further.

I agree with Saddlesores, you want two trailers, but I expect you have your reasons to stay with one.

If your tires do not track perfectly straight, that will increase rolling resistance and wear, be careful on alignment and good luck.
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Old 07-29-23, 12:38 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by tcs
...
Perhaps a bit outside our purview here, although Adventure Cyclist did a feature on a rider using a cargo bike on a cycletour.

https://www.adventurecycling.org/blo...-in-wisconsin/
....
Thanks for posting, nice writeup on that bike. I often see similar bikes in my community, often with toddlers in the cargo space.
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Old 07-29-23, 12:58 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN
Whatever tire that Bike Friday puts on a 20 inch wheel on a tandem, that is the tire I would use, I would not spend any time researching it further.
Good thought.

I dug a bit and found a review of one (family tandem, not the two's day) and it came with 20x1.5 Kenda Kwest tires on it. The review is dated Nov of '20, so a few years ago. I dug a little and it doesn't look like these are made anymore (the Kenda bike tire page doesn't have them listed). However, some vendors may still have them in stock. I haven't found many specs on them.

For what it is worth - both our Dahons are 20" and have that same size tire - 20x1.5. I don't think they are Kenda's. However, those are light weight and light capacity bikes. I just find it odd a tandem rated to 400lbs (which the Bike Friday's are) would use that size. Considering the quality of Bike Friday, I can't imagine them offering a bike with sub-par tires, even a low end/entry level option tire for them.
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Old 07-29-23, 02:34 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN
Is that automatic, the rider does not have to manually actuate them? If so, GREAT ! ! !
Yes. Adds cost, complexity and safety.

Last edited by tcs; 07-29-23 at 02:38 PM.
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Old 08-30-23, 03:52 AM
  #33  
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Just a quick follow up. I went with the We The People tires - 20 x 2.4. I am working on the axle frame section this week. As of right now I don't have a way to get them mounted - the hubs are conventional hubs that are supported on both sides, the current wheels on the trailer are stub axles - not interchangeable.

As of what I have at the moment - I like the tires. They are definitely beefy tires. What is a bit odd with these is how high the pressure rating is. You don't usually see wide tires with a high pressure rating. The long and short of that is I have plenty of head room to experiment with the pressure. I am guessing if I am in the 50-80psi range that will probably be enough. Though, the tires are rated all the way to 100. I forget where it was mentioned now - but the thought of what pressure the rim can handle came up somewhere. That is a good question. The rim is made by the same brand as the tire, and is their welded seam version (stronger than sleeved). So I am assuming the rim can handle it. I will ask the question to be sure, though.





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