Can a square tire actually corner?

KeithSeymour

KeithSeymour

Active Member
hey Guys,

Came across these tires on Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Schwinn-Cruiser-Kevlar-Black-2-12-Inch/dp/B007XZ2OJ0/ref=pd_sbs_sg_9

They're square which I think would look awesome on my 49cc 4 stroke BTR tribute build but I'm thinking they would be crappy at cornering. I'm not going to race my motorized bicycle but don't want to lay it down while putting around the neighborhood. Let me know if anyone on here has any thoughts or experience with this tire or any square tire.

Thanks,

Keith
 
I've used those tires on two bikes and I've not had any cornering or traction issues. I really like the looks too. That's one man's opinion; you'll get others.

Tom
 
i have those EXACT tires on my cruiser and they wear out a lil quick but other than that they coner fine, just not as good as a rounded rire ... they do ride verry nice on the strait away..


if you buy them dont make hard coners like your on a race track lol, but regular turning wont be affected
 
Agree with Tom & Roger...
I run flat tread balloon cruiser tires on one of my MABs.
They provide a good cushion for road shock, but obviously won't be a really good speedy small radius turning tire... they kinda walk outwards in a turn a bit.
Use heavy duty tubes and slime 'em... should be no probs for the life of the casing!
Bring us back a review on them, next year! :-)
rc
 
That specific tread pattern & sidewall style is offered under a number of names, I suspect from the above replies that they aren't all made quite the same however as the ones I had were a mixed blessing at best - they lasted forever with very little tread wear & were very puncture resistant but cornered like crap, worse yet their molding was slightly irregular, they weren't quite perfectly round.

My bike shop guy offered me to them just as a cheapo set to keep my then new wheelset off the ground, he said they were commonly used on rental bikes because they were so cheap but tough. I ran them for quite a while as they looked perfect for my vintage bike, but their lousy high speed cornering habits eventually caused me to shed them. I gave 'em to a buddy for his vintage build and ran these instead;

http://www.amazon.com/Cheng-Shin-C1218-Street-2-125/dp/B000A7RTAC/

...and love 'em so much I run 'em on all my builds now ;)
 
A while ago I purchased a Raleigh heavyweight gents bike with an almost new set of tyres on it that were of this pattern and size. The bike had a seriously bad twist in the frame and obvious damage to the top tube which leads me to wonder if the tyres contributed to the crash. As I'd only got the bike to provide spare parts for my other English heavyweight bikes the frame damage didn't worry me, but I did wonder about the odd square tyre profile.

For a while I used the wheels and tyres on my Hercules trike and I must say that these tyres are excellent for that purpose. I think they would be really great on a sidecar outfit too, - not that I've been able to test out that theory because I don't have a functioning outfit at the moment.
The wheels and tyres are living on my prewar Phillips gents bike at the moment which is fine because the Phillips is a 'wallhanger' rather than a 'rider' even though it is in rideable condition. Ankle length skirts and a gents frame do not make for a successful combination!
 
Most of the square profile tires I have tried in the last decade did not like cornering above a walking pace. They all seem "squirmy" for lack of a better word.
I still remember the square schwinn slicks from the crate series bikes.
Those tires were awesome! And yes, they cornered extremely well if you didn't mind sliding into turns...
I don't like the square tires made now for motorized use. Just too unsettled cornering at speed.
 
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