19" Motorcycle Wheels vs 26" Bicycle Wheels (rim and tires)

[captain387]

Motocross tires are a pain in the .. The key to changing them is making sure the bead on the opposite side is as deep in the rim as possible to give enough slack. Last section of tire to put on the rim is at the rim lock. Long enough tire irons as leverage is our friend and finally the most important ingredient Lube such as soapy water.

 

[Rix]

Great thread Greg! I've got a lot of info on building of the wheels and little time to share it unfortunately. Subscribed for later fullfillment :wink:


19s seem to be the popular choice at the moment, especially for front wheels. A lot of guys seem to like 17 rear 19 front as well, keeps the pedals up and torque high.

Yah JR, thats what I am running on the Bomber right now. That front 19x1.4 rim volt riders laced up to the Marzocchi hub is just a work of beauty. I have a 5403 with a 19x1.4 and the 5404 with a 17x1.4 (both Prowheel rims). Soon I will have a 5405 with an 18" rim to round out my collection of 54xx hub motors and different size rims.

Rick

 

[Dauntless]

ps: i would love to see a vid of this:

Pried car tires onto rims after I cut the bad one off.

what did you use to cut the tire off? a chain saw?

that's living up to your username!

You'd have loved the first one, high speed hacksawing through the sidewall, which allowed the bead to stretch. I quickly figured out that I could pry a bit of the bead out and cut it, then the tire came off easy.

Prying them on is a matter of patience. I had a tire iron and an enormous screwdriver to edge in and keep the bead from skipping off. Its not as hard as you're thinking, when you're desperate enough.

 

[Cresh]

and just for fun, here's my 2012 highlights vid, in which i beat up a 26" rim and spokes and install a 19" MC wheel:

I just had volt riders lace a cromotor into a 26" bike rim for my greyborg. I suspect I'll be replacing it with a MC wheel in the not-too-distant future! Thanks for the guide...

 

[sacko]

Excellent write up.

Cheers

 

[Carlito]

Size can be easily check. What about the weight of motorcycle tire and rim, they are substantially heavier than bicycle tires. They are rotating weights which makes it difficult to pedal and more rolling resistance, another point is they are unsprung weights which makes for a harsh ride and harder to control when traveling in rough surfaces.

 

[Carlito]

Motorcycle Tire rims sizes are straight forward. A 18 inch rim means the diameter of the rim where the tire bead sets is 18 inch. For motorcycle tire dimensions go to the manufacturers website they are given there. Bicycle tires and rim could be check with Sheldon Brown tire size table http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

 

[GCinDC]

hs3540, with drilled out side covers

 

[Rix]

Not bad, mine is 10 pounds heavier with the 5403 .

Rick

 

[GCinDC]

If you decide to get a PRO WHEEL and JRH custom spokes and washers, you can figure on an ERD of 460mm

edit: i'm not sure 460mm is the right ERD. my spokes are coming up several mm too short, and my dh comp wheel is so dished, one side has only a couple turns on it, so i think i'll be ordering more spokes...

 

[Rix]

I measured the ERD on my 19x1.4 rims using 6mm spoke nipples 18mm long. Came out to 465mm. For what thats worth.

///edit 469mm/// typo

Rick

 

[GCinDC]

I measured the ERD on my 19x1.4 rims using 6mm spoke nipples 18mm long. Came out to 465mm. For what thats worth.

Rick

That's worth a lot. Can you describe how you measured? Or take a pic?

Thanks!

 

[Rix]

I measured the ERD on my 19x1.4 rims using 6mm spoke nipples 18mm long. Came out to 465mm. For what thats worth.

Rick

That's worth a lot. Can you describe how you measured? Or take a pic?

Thanks!

My appologies, I meant to say 469mm not 465mm. Anyway this is how I got this number. Take your nipples and push them through the spoke holes on the rim at 6 and 12 oclock from each other. Or just count and make sure the nipples have 18 holes between each other on the rim. Measure the diameter only to the spoke nipples pocking through. Measuring with my nipples, I got 17 1/16" inches which converted to decimal is 17.0625 17.0625 x 25.4mm and you get 433mm approximately. Then add the length of your nipples to that number. I mic'd my nipples out at 18mm long. So I added 36mm to the 433mm and got 469mm round up to 470 for spoke calculation. Here is the catch, different length nipples will effect your Effective Rim Diameter measurement number to a certain degree. So don't base my ERD entirely off of my measurement because my spoke nipples are long compared to others brands like Holmes Hobbies.

Rick

 

[Rix]

Just measured my ERD on the Holmes Hobbies 18x1.4 aluminum moped rim using my prowheel racing nipples. ERD came in at 443mm. Holmes Hobbies listed the ERD on their website at 439mm. So it would appear based on spoke nipples and drill hole angles, one could get several mm difference for the same rim.

Rick

 

[Dlogic]

Excellent thread guys, thanks.

Just ordered some 16 inch moped rims plus tires to build 2 wheels for my bike.
Once the custom spokes have arrived i´ll post all the details here.

 

[Rix]

Cant wait to see that, is the 16" wheels for the Dlogic Raptor?

 

[Dlogic]

Yes they are. It´s a must, those hookworms wear out in roughly 700 Km.

Flats are another issue that will surely be a thing of the past with these. Just have to wait a few weeks for the spoke manufacturer to reopen his shop.
Hopefully he can make me some 98mm long stainless steel M3,5 motorcycle spokes.
I´m planning to use those on the front wheel too, so there will be no need for washers under the nipples.
Fitting a standard bike hub will probably not work. Some time will be spent making my own with larger holes to fit these spokes.

Well, it´s all just an idea so far but most parts have been ordered and should arrive here soon.

Parts List:

1.Tires 2,75-16 K55 Slik Heidenau
2.Rim 1,50 x 16 SIMSON ( East German Moped ) black anodized
3.Spokes 98 mm

This wheel is a bit smaller in diameter then the 24 inch version installed now and should give me a better acceleration.

 

[GCinDC]

Flats are another issue that will surely be a thing of the past with these...

i could have sworn that i'd never have a flat again, but i did last week! a nail hit at the perfect direction..

and i didn't even know i had a flat! i knew something was wrong, but was almost at my destination.
[youtube]SjOWkpZz9PE[/youtube]

 

[Rix]

Yes they are. It´s a must, those hookworms wear out in roughly 700 Km.

Flats are another issue that will surely be a thing of the past with these. Just have to wait a few weeks for the spoke manufacturer to reopen his shop.
Hopefully he can make me some 98mm long stainless steel M3,5 motorcycle spokes.
I´m planning to use those on the front wheel too, so there will be no need for washers under the nipples.
Fitting a standard bike hub will probably not work. Some time will be spent making my own with larger holes to fit these spokes.

Well, it´s all just an idea so far but most parts have been ordered and should arrive here soon.

Parts List:

1.Tires 2,75-16 K55 Slik Heidenau
2.Rim 1,50 x 16 SIMSON ( East German Moped ) black anodized
3.Spokes 98 mm

This wheel is a bit smaller in diameter then the 24 inch version installed now and should give me a better acceleration.

Martin, Gary, owner of Prowheel racing has some 98mm stock cut for KLX 140 rear wheel, 3.6mm thick with 90L bends may be a little long for the inside portion of the flange requireing some m5 washers, but if you can get the spokes cut with corrected custom bends for your hub, thats preferable.

GCnDC, a while back through the present, I make comments such as "say goodbye to flats" when someone converts from MTB to MC tires on their Ebikes. That comment is accurate, but not entirely. I guess I will start saying that anything that can flatten a MC dirt bike tire can still flatten a MC tire on an ebike. Even though pinched flats, rock gashes, and thorns wont flatten MC tires nearly as easy as MTB tires, big nails like the one you picked up still can. Too boot, the 244s use a harder compound than the 241s so I know they aren't immuned.

Rick

 

[MitchJi]

Hi,

Are there MC tires and rims, that are close to 29 inch? What sizes?

 

[efMX Trials Electric Freeride]

21" moto rim / tire I think is the largest OD commonly available..
that's what full size dirtbike front wheel runs..
add a fat moto tire to the 21" moto rim
& it gets close to 28-29" outer tire diameter..

Hi,
Are there MC tires and rims, that are close to 29 inch? What sizes?

 

[fechter]

In searching for replacments for my A2B Metro, I came across the Shinko 244 and it looks like a pretty good deal. I do a fair amount of dirt trail riding and the semi-knobby tread might be helpful. I wonder about the rolling resistance, though.

Does anybody know what the maximum inflation pressure for these is?

Other tires I ran across include the Sava MC2 (street tread), IRC NR-21 and some Dunlops.

The price for the Shinkos was great. I'm probably going to try it at some point.


According to Sheldon Brown's guide, a 29er rim has a bead seat diameter of about 24.5", so too big for a 21" motorcycle tire.

 

[Matt Gruber]

Size can be easily check. What about the weight of motorcycle tire and rim, they are substantially heavier than bicycle tires. They are rotating weights which makes it difficult to pedal and more rolling resistance, another point is they are unsprung weights which makes for a harsh ride and harder to control when traveling in rough surfaces.

Car & Driver tested Bling wheels vs. stock wheels. Those 17 18 19" tires were the same diameter as stock 15 16, but got 2 mpg WORSE and were 6/10 sec SLOWER 0-60.

 

[m52 power!]

It seems to me the weight increase would SUBSTANTIALLY increase the power to spin at speed and greatly reduce your distance and top speed... Has anyone calculated it?

 

[Rix]

Hi,

Are there MC tires and rims, that are close to 29 inch? What sizes?

Yes, Prowheel racing makes 21x1.6 front rims in black, red, blue, gold, and clear polished aluminum that you could run virtually any 21" knobby or front trials tires on that would come in around the 28"-29" mark. The only thing you need to realize is that the tires in this size start out at 10 Ibs and go up from there in weight.

[/quote
According to Sheldon Brown's guide, a 29er rim has a bead seat diameter of about 24.5", so too big for a 21" motorcycle tire]

Fetcher, this true about the 29" MTB Rim being 24.5 or so, but being that MC tires are much taller in profile than the MTB counterparts, a 21" MC tire is really close to a 29MB tire. Don't take my word for it, go to any MC shop of your choice and measure the over all height of any full size dirtbike or MotoX bike, the tape will show various heights around the 28" mark. RIP Sheldon Brown (one speed is all you need) was a great guy, I had the pleasure of meeting him a few years before he passed. I still have a single speed MTB Rear wheel he laced up for me with a Paul Word hub. The best bicyle wheel I have ever had. As far as your A2B goes, the 241 or 244s would serve you much better than a BMX tire or Trials Unicycle tire.

Rick