Please, Please Help! First time builder...Tire question..

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dswilliamson2112

New Member
Jan 30, 2011
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South Florida
Hello to all!

I am getting ready to get a DAX friction kit in the mail in a few days and am going to mount it to a lightweight TREK 24 speed cruiser style bike. Engine: Honda GX 35. The tires are labeled on the sidewall "700X38c". They have some tread: not slick, but not knobby. In any event, I have looked for wider tires with no luck. The best width measurment I got was a hair under 1.3'' wide. Is this enough of a "contact patch" for the drive roller on a friction kit or do i need to go looking for another bike? Any comments would be greatly appreciated!!!!! Happy riding to you guys!

- Daviddance1
 
earl.k

earl.k

New Member
Jan 19, 2011
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PA! USA
i dont know anything about friction drive motors or your size question. but if you are trying to find wider tiers. i have a 700c28/38c rim. and i have 29" 2.1(52/47) WTB nano raptors on it. its a 29er build. and my tiers are beefy! they have good griping tread that also rolls good on flats. i dont know if they will work for you. but its something to look into. i dont know how to post links or i would give you one to a site with the tiers. anyway, good luck.
 
Venice Motor Bikes

Venice Motor Bikes

Custom Builder / Dealer/Los Angeles
Mar 20, 2008
7,271
1,810
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Los Angeles, CA.
I'm not a expert on friction drives either, but I've seen several of them on our monthly club rides.
I don't think you'll have any real problems using the skinny tires. Just as with most any motorized bicycle, you just have to pedal the bike from a dead stop to build up a little speed to help the engine. :)
 
2door

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
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Littleton, Colorado
If you contact Dax, he'll tell you all about friction drives. I've ridden several of his friction driven bikes and most of them have smaller (skinny) tires, way skinnier than my fat tire cruisers have. They seem to perform well. He'll also tell you that if wet, there will be some slippage but that can happen no matter the tire width. Good luck, ride safe.
Tom
 
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