antobag

I'm going to cycle from London to the Scottish Highlands with a Burley Nomad trailer. The stock 16" Kenda tyres on the Burley feel a bit cheap and have a bit of wear and tear (although still a fair amount of life left in them). I was considering replacing them with some 16" Schwalbe Marathons (here: Wiggle | Schwalbe Marathon Original GreenGuard Rigid MTB City Tyre | MTB Slick Tyres)

With these tyres, I'll be able to inflate them to a higher pressure than the recommended 40 psi on the Kendas. They also have better flat-resistance. Admittedly, I've never used a trailer for a long journey before so I have no idea whether flats are a common occurrence on a trailer with a medium load.

Just wondered if this would make any noticeable difference (efficiency, likelihood of flats, etc), or whether I'm splashing out on something that is largel unnecessary?

Secondly, the tyres are currently sized at 16 x 1.75. Would getting the thinner 16 x 1.35 size improve the efficiency in any noticeable way, or would this just lead to increased bounciness, etc?

Any help would be much appreciated.

urbanescapee

If it were me, I'd ditch the trailer and just do racks/panniers for that ride specifically. I just spent a month driving all over the UK and most roads are very, very narrow, many barely wide enough for a single car to drive through. I'd be driving along a country road and people that were walking on the road would have to climb into the bushes on either side just to let me pass through because there really was no other option. I can't imagine the same scenario with a cyclist pulling a trailer. But if it must be a trailer, then I'd go with the BOB or other single wheel which is no wider than you are when you're on the bike. And if it must be a two-wheel trailer then I'd just get the Schwalbe Kojaks. They're light, fairly inexpensive, have some puncture protection, reflective sidewalls, and low friction on the riding surface due to no tread and high pressure. You don't really need tread on a trailer because the wheels are not driven, are not steering, and you won't be riding on ice/snow. You can ask anyone who has converted a mtb for commuting/road use...decreasing tire width and grip makes a huge difference on the speediness of the ride. And in your case, with a second pair of wheels on the ground, I'd take all the drag reductions I could manage. Tire change is one of the easiest.

https://www.schwalbetires.com/node/3537

antobag

Thanks very much for the info. Unfortunately I don't have the funds to get a different trailer at this point. I've used panniers before but I got the Burley Nomad for a pretty good secondhand price - my idea was to try out the trailer on my Scotland trip and see how I feel about it before going on anything longer (across Europe, etc). Believe me, I've read countless "pros and cons" of trailers vs panniers and had a long internal debate about it - I'm still sitting on the fence!

Haha yes, our tiny British lanes can be incredibly frustrating when driving (lots of reversing to the nearest passing point when a car comes the other way) but luckily I'm very accustomed to manoeuvring through them, both in a car and on a bike. Using the trailer often means that drivers hang back and give me a bit more room when overtaking, which is definitely a good thing.

In terms of the Kojaks - they look great. I was concerned that I was being overly fussy when it came to replacing the trailer tyres with thinner/lighter ones but you've reassured me. Drag is definitely going to be a problem so slicks seem like the way to go. I'm assuming that the 1.25" width will make for a slightly more bumpy trailer than the 1.75" I'm used to?

Tourist in MSN

I never have used a trailer, but I did a group tour with a total of 16 people, two of which used Bike Friday trailers. One of those two had very worn tires from lots of use. He suffered several flats, which he blamed on pushing his tires too far. His wife had no trailer flats with newer Schwalbe tires.

So, I can't answer your questions except I can say I would not want a worn out tire if it was me doing that trip. If I was nervous about my tires, I would immediately buy new.

I have used the Greenguard Marathons on one of my touring bikes, was very happy with them.

fietsbob

You would get the Puncture resistant features , of another tire rather than the stock tires that lack that.

I bought Marathon Plus tires for My Brompton 349/16" , my Burly and my Carry Freedom-city still have the stock tires

I did go for thorn resistant inner-tubes .. low air loss because they have more rubber in them.

soze

My husband rolls with a Marathon tire on his Bob trailer, ~30mi/wk through a variety of truly high-quality Boston streets. Never a flat yet! He previously had a Kenda tire, and let me tell you how much it sucks changing out a flat on a trailer with melting ice cream in your groceries.

Going to a narrower tire may put your rim at more risk if you're dealing with poor quality terrain, and it really won't make the trailer feel any faster. It's always going to feel like driving a truck (lorry).

Just buy the darn things. They're amazing.

urbanescapee

Yes, the narrower tires will mean that more road vibrations will be transferred to your trailer load but it's effect on the rider will be insignificant and unless you're hauling eggs or hard disk drives, won't really matter. You will feel the drag from the tires but you won't really feel the bumps coming from the trailer because the hinge virtually eliminates that sort of movement from being transferred to the rider.

fietsbob

I feel the weight I'm hauling, not the tires (Both Hitches are using elastomers after all)

last thing I carried in my CF-C trailer was a basket ball sized watermelon..

gregjones

I doubt that you would notice any difference, unless you are an engineer or a statistician.

I quit worrying about everything that forum posters write will break until I see a sign of trouble from what I have. Otherwise, I'd be looking at a bike on the front porch and worrying in a folding lawn chair.

You're pulling a trailer. Carry and extra tube and maybe a tire, even if you tie wrap it underneath the trailer. Then sleep well.

Don't worry.

antobag

Many thanks to everyone, your replies have been a real help. Inspecting my current Kenda tyres for a second time, I do think they'll need replacing in the very near future so I might as well go ahead and do it now. Schwalbe definitely seems to be the way to go - not sure which exact model I'll get but at least now I know I'll make a well-informed decision.

PS:

Thanks for the translation soze I feel I ought to temporarily modify my strange UK spelling of "tyre" for all you helpful people across the pond!

Tourist in MSN

I rode Triumph motorcycles for about 40 years, from the repair manuals I got used to odd spelling of tyres, colours, etc.



And driving a 2003 Land Rover Discovery means that I am still reading manuals with odd spellings.

antobag

And we sometimes call motorcycles "motorbikes"! Thinking about it, our vehicle/traffic terms are worlds apart:

Cars are filled with petrol and have a bonnet, boot, windscreen, number plate and tyres. They're often found on a motorway or in a car park.

(Cars are filled with gasoline and have a hood, trunk, windshield, license plate and tires. They're often found on a highway or in a parking lot.)

Apologies for going off-topic, just thought it was interesting!