Anyone Using Moped Tires?

[5-7HEAVEN]

On my 6-mile commute to work, I often get flat tires from thorns or a small screw. There has to be a better way to make my daily driver more dependable. I bought these for a future project, but decided I need them to ensure I get to and from work on time:

.amazon.com/Michelin-Gazelle-M62-Moped-Tire/dp/B001CD5HDE

The brand speaks for itself, and price is great @ $20.99! I also found NOS 17" moped wheels, 1.5" and 2" wide. This tire is about 21.32" diameter, much shorter than my 26 x 2.35 Schwalbe Big Apple tires (26.73 diameter. It'll prolly look goofy, but functional. The gear ratios will lower greatly with my 8-speed shift kit, but final drive is high at 15:1 already.

I measured the rear dropout, should have plenty room. I use disc brakes, so no need to worry about v-brakes and shorter rims.

Now to see if my LBS can spoke up the moped wheels to the bicycle hubs.

Anyone else doing this?

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

Gear ratio change drastically when you change tire size. My Schwalbes are actually 26.73" diameter. Without mounting the 17" moped tires, tape measure says 21.32" diameter. At 7500rpm, that changes effective final drive ratio in 8th gear from 15:1 to 18.8:1. Top speed @ that rpm lowers from 39.8mph to 31.7mph. To get back my 8th gear to highway speed, I can simply change my engine sprocket from 11-tooth to 14-tooth gear. With the 17" moped tires, this gear swap raises the final drive from 18:1 to 14.75:1. Theoretical speed @ 7500rpm rises from 31.7mph back up to 40.4mph.

Sadly, my 46.36:1 granny gear will raise to 36.43:1. This is slightly HIGHER than what my second gear is (38.18:1). I should still be able to climb the dirt path next to the very steep hill to get home.

One more thing to worry about is that with the shorter moped tire, the bike will lower almost 3". That means the chainring sprocket's ground clearance lowers from 9" to 6.3" and the derailleur's chain tensioner lowers from 6.5" to 3.8" off the ground!

At least it'll be easier to hop on and off the bike. Height @ the seat lowers from 36" to almost 33". Right now the seat adjustment is at its lowest, so now I'll have adjustment! Yay! (Short legs)

 

[bairdco]

there's a few threads about moped tires already.

i've run the pirelli ml75's on my race bike, but they're 16x2.5, which is equal to a 20" bike wheel. they're on a modified 26" frame, and the low center of gravity is awesome for the corners, but i'm getting beat in the straights, so i'm going back to 24" hookworms on my next racer.

magrider runs 17"s on his morini racer.

i was looking into getting some 18's for a future bike. you can run 80/90/18 motorcycle tires and have all kinds of options.

 

[MotorBicycleRacing]

magrider runs 17"s on his morini racer.

i was looking into getting some 18's for a future bike. you can run 80/90/18 motorcycle tires and have all kinds of options.

Here are magriders 17" moped wheels and tires.

 

[Goat Herder]

Somebody linked a tire here dunno much about it? http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=46288

 

[ocho ninja]

I put some thought to this... I feel like its not always the tire, but the style in which motor bicycles are ridden.
I noticed on my slower bike, I would always be stuck riding on the side/bike lane were there are more debris, nails, glass so on. Which also got more flats, three days in row once.
My faster bike that's able to keep up with traffic most of time, and hence allows me to follow the normal pathway of cars were there is less junk, has never gotten a flat... Nock on wood lol

It's also the way the weight is distributed on the tires... If your a heavy set guy like me, and you have a lay back seat post, relaxed riding position, and so on most of the weight is on the rear tire making it more prone to flats

Idk thats just my 2cents I guess.

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

Thanks for feedback, guys.

The LBS seemed to think it's overkill to install moped tires. All I have to do is keep my eye on the road for thorns and small screws. Besides, the guy sed I'll have a hard time finding hubs, 12g spokes and someone to build the wheel.

I'm not doing that, especially with senior citizen eyeballs and congested traffic. Ocho ninja, I USED to claim the road. Now I try to distance myself by taking or giving the cars a 30-second lead. That, or ride in the bike lane or sidewalk. Four moped riders have been hospitalized in serious condition colliding w/cars in four days!. Anyway, keeping my distance.

If I convert front disc brake to the moped's drum brake, I can just mount the tire and bolt on the front moped wheel. The ROCKSHOX fork should be wide enough to accept the wheel. Then all I have to do is worry about rebuilding the rear wheel. That's half the cost reduced, almost.

 

[bairdco]

the moped hubs use a thicker, 1/2" axle in most cases, so you'd have to modify the dropouts on the forks. not a big chore if there's enough metal to grind or drill a bigger hole.

you can also drill the spoke holes larger on most hubs, again, as long as there's enough meat on the hub flange so you don't compromise strength. i've done it plenty of times and it's common practice in custom builds.

i never listen to bike shop guys. they just assemble bicycles, and i find they don't usually take much interest in anything without bright tacky logos and huge price tags attached.

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

Thanks for the tips, bairdco. I had opened up the dropouts for this moped wheel on another fork, and it was pretty easy to do.

I slept on it and decided to have the LBS try to build the wheels w/13 or 14g SS spokes. On my present ride, I use OEM 14g SS spokes. I have never broken front ones, and I haven't broken rear spokes in a year. Since the new spokes will be shorter, the rebuilt wheels should be strong enough for my purposes.

Since I'm downsizing spokes, will I need some sort of barrel spacers to get the smaller 14g spoke ends to fit into the moped rims' larger 12g holes?

Right now, I'm thinking someone has done this before and it shouldn't be so difficult. But I might be wrong.

 

[bairdco]

on most rims and hubs, going down one size on spokes will work without worrying about the spokes pulling through.

the size of the head on the nipples varies by manufacturer. if you're lucky, your shop should have some on hand that will fit.

i've used 12g spokes on worksman rims before, which are 11g, with no problems.

as a last resort, they do make specialty washers for nipples designed to take up the slack, but i have no idea where to look for the ones you need.

i build my own wheels, and if i was in your situation, well, i'd drill everything for larger spokes, but if i wanted thinner ones for some reason, i'd probably dig around at the industrial hardware place i go to (McFadden-Dale) for some washers thst would work.

failing that, i could always weld up all the holes on a steel rim and redrill them smaller.

if you don't mind me outlining a plan for you, here's what i think you want, and how to do it.

if you have the complete moped wheels with 12g spokes and drum hubs, i would find a high-flange disc brake hub, or one with plenty of material to drill to a larger size.

if it's an alloy hub, drilling the holes larger is a piece of cake. you just need a hand drill, a vice, 2 chunks of wood to protect the hub in the vice, and a good drill bit. steel hubs are harder to drill, so get a few drill bits and use a cutting oil.

drilling the hub is a no brainer, since the original hole acts as a pilot hole, there's little chance of messing up.

after the holes are drilled, clean the burrs and the hub's ready to go.

if you want to lose your dependence on bike shops and save some money, lace the wheel yourself.

a 3 cross pattern is simple, and i learned by looking at a complete wheel and copying it. now you can youtube it.

all you really need is a spoke wrench, a flipped over bike, and a screwdriver, ruler, or something else to act as your feeler gauge.

start by tightening all the spokes evenly, then true it (again, youtube's got that covered.)

your first wheel takes forever, but each one you do makes it easier.

and they don't have to be 100% accurate down to a millionth of an inch in true. you'll never notice if you can't get that tiny bump out (which is almost always at the valve stem or the welded seam on the rim.)

then you can join the wheelbuilder's club. ask anyone here who's done it for the first time how awesome it is. you won't find anyone who says "...ahhh, it's no big deal..."

it's easily the greatest accomplishment for anyone who's ever put a bike together.

if you, like millions of other people get too intimidated by building a wheel, you can take your drilled hubs to the shop and have them do it.

anyway, that's what i'd do...

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

Thanks for great tips, bairdco. I've replaced all the spokes on a set of wheels before. I'll give it a try.

Just to see, I mounted the Michelin tire onto the "RIGIDA" 17" X 2" rim. Reviews on Amazon said it was VERY difficult, and one guy bent his rim installing the tire. I used liquid hand soap and my bike's tire mounting tools. It was a little harder than mounting a bicycle tire (15 minutes), but nowhere near as difficult to mount a Pirelli tire onto a Honda 150 scooter front rim(hours and hours). THAT was a pain.

 

[bairdco]

how the heck do you bend a rim installing a tire? was he using a hammer?

the pirelli's i use are tough, but not impossible. i think i used a 15mm wrench (the closed end) as a tire lever and popped the last bit on.

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

how the heck do you bend a rim installing a tire? was he using a hammer?

the pirelli's i use are tough, but not impossible. i think i used a 15mm wrench (the closed end) as a tire lever and popped the last bit on.

My thoughts exactly. I used my plastic bike tire levers.

 

[webbee]

I used to ride a pedal bike in Houston in the 8o's and had flats on a weekly basis, until I discovered tube liners. They pretty much stop flats. Here is a Link to Amazon for what I currently use. I have nothing to do with Slime or Amazon other than as a customer/user and I don't know that Amazon is the cheapest supplier, just using them as an example.

Slime Tube Liners

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

Seems like a good alternative in almost every way, webbee. However, since I've got everything, I'm going with the Michelins and moped rims.

I installed one tire and tube onto the rim, to make sure everything fit. It took about 15 minutes, using my bicycle plastic tire tools. Taking the tire off the rim was MUCH harder. It took about an hour, using plastic tools, three 7/16" box wrenches, liquid soap and muscle. I also disassembled the 17" x 2" rim, setting aside its 12g spokes and brake hub and sprocket. Now I'll try to rebuild it with a new 11t-34t 8-speed cassette.

 

[webbee]

Yep, sorry I didn't see this thread earlier. You'll do us all a service by reporting on how those tires and rims work out long term. I don't know if tire liners would be necessary on Moped tires as I'm betting the rubber is thicker, hence less chance of "thorns" getting through.

Good luck with your build sounds like your on top of it.

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

Thanks, webbee. No liners needed, as the tread is tough and thick. Sidewalls are thick also. I can't believe these tires are so cheap. I imagine they'll last a LONG time.

 

[bairdco]

at one of the races i put on at the adams track in riverside, the pits and off-track areas were covered with goathead thorns.

i think just about everyone there got at least two flats. some people got a ton more.

i ran all over the place with the pirellis and never got a flat, even with thorns sticking out everywhere.

moped tires are way thicker, dot rated, and are designed to handle real loads, not like a thin bike tire.

liners would be overkill.

 

[5-7HEAVEN]

I can't believe the guy @ the LBS told me to watch the road for thorns and screws. Twigs and branches, yeah, but I need to watch the whole scene.

 

[bairdco]

hard to notice screws and stuff at 30+.

i got a flat a while back with a regular tire. ran over a nail with the back tire. it went low like a normal tire. probably hit it at 40+mph. no damage, just slowed to a stop.

on a bike, you're probably not gonna have a spectacular blowout like a car, with the tire seperating, chunks flying, etc.

i rode my race bike with the pirellis around the block after it sat for a couple months, and the front tire had about 5lbs of air in it.

with the stiff sidewall, you could barely tell. it stayed on the rim, and i could turn, brake, and ride it back to the house.

you gotta remember your bike is 100lbs less than a moped, so even on a flat, you could probably nurse it home. on the front, i bet you could just lean back and go slow. the rear might be a little trickier.

i really wouldn't worry about flats at all with a moped tire. i know i don't...

 

[george_n_texas]

I used kevlar lined tires never got a flat (then again I didn't run them more than a few hundred miles) http://www.walmart.com/ip/Bell-1007758-26in-White-Wall-Bicycle-Tire-Kevlar-Black/19801040
These are pretty much bullet proof!