any advise on tyres for my A65.650 star tyres. the front is a Dunlop 3.25 x18 and the rear is a Avon MR2 3.50 x18. that i have just removed, I am having new wheel rims and spokes fitted so want new tyres and tubes. also where to buy from. many thanks steve.
I was advised to try the kendra classics i wondered if any one had any preferences and why. cheers
Tyres are very much a personal choice. Also depends on what you are going to use the bike for.
If it just for Sunday outings in good weather, budget tyres will do. Tyres have come on leaps and bounds from the 60s and 70s.
Give Central Wheels in Coleshill a ring. They rebuild wheels and have good stocks of tyres and are very helpful regarding advice.
Hi,
I have been using Avon RoadRiders for many years and miles. I suspect that the main makers, like Continental, Dunlop etc., products are pretty similar but the RoadRiders do get a good write up. The classic profiles are usually available as well as a more modern profile. I suppose that the main consideration must be safety with braking and wet grip being most important with longevity being secondary.
Budget tyres may be ok so long as it the longevity only that is compromised as even on a Sunday pootle it may be necessary to brake hard and it might even be wet. Is it worth the difference in the cost to risk an avoidable 'off' that at best could damage your bike and at worst could damage you?
Your choice at the end of the day.
Dave.
Da
Ok thanks for the advise, I dont really know what to do, been to buy a triumph today for a mate, the triumph had kendra tyres on it, so i asked the owner, he said they where on it when he bought it 3 years ago, and he has used it over that time with no problems, he was retired and used it quite frequently during the week and weekend, so may just give them a try.
I suspect most budget tyres are infinitely better than some of the rubber( or plastic) we had in the 70s.
There is a place for budget tyres for pottering around where they are not going to be tested to the limit. Unless your brakes on your classic bike are up to modern standards, the tyres will never really be put to test braking. I've budget tyres on my B40 and Bantam and not had any issues with them. The other point to consider is that they will probably deteriorate through age and not through wear unless you use your bike as a daily rider.
I still like Avon Roadrunners! I've got them on another bike but they don't get used as much as they should!
Hi,
I suppose the thing to consider is that poor brakes plus poor tyres is the worst case scenario. If you have your BSA brake at its best possible performance and you have a tyre with poor grip then it will be far more likely lock up on a on slippery/wet surface as the adhesion of the tyre will be more easily overcome by the affect of the brake.
On the other hand, a tyre with good adhesion will transmit all of the braking force from the brake in to gripping the road.
An analogy that might help is to get a piece of sandpaper smooth side down on a piece of wood and try to slide it with a flat hand. The smooth side will not grip the wood very well and it will slide, whereas your hand will find plenty of grip on the rough side and have no problem sliding the smooth side of the sand paper along the piece of wood.
Now turn it over with the rough side down on to the wood and the smooth side uppermost. Your hand will find some grip on the smooth side but will have greater difficulty making the sand paper move along the piece of wood.
Braking takes place between the tyre and the road as much as between the brake lining and the drum so the more efficiently you can get the stopping power, no matter how feeble, from the brake in to the this patch on the road the better.
So if your BSA brake is as good as it can be then the only way to improve braking is with a decent tyre.
Dave.
I had A10 my wheels rebuilt with stainless spokes & rims by Central wheel. Found the run out of the rims bigger than expected. Had them checked by them and they said they were within tolerance. They informed me that the run out stainless is greater than alloy or chrome steel due to materials & manufacturing. I had Avon Roadriders fitted which are great but are a very close fit to the fully enclosed chain guard due to the run out of the rim. I have used Avon tyres for years on MZs (road & racing) & BMWs and find them very good and they suit my riding style.
I have had a relatively large number of rims from CWC, mostly SS, and the lateral runout at the weld can sometimes be quite large. Normally, you try to achieve a run out of between about 1-2 mm when truing a wheel but the distortion of the SS rims can exceed this and there is nothing you can do about it. The limit is set at 4 mm in the MOT regulations which is probably what CWC go by in terms of acceptability?
Im not a speedster by ay means, and have been riding since i was a kid, so i will come back and report on the performance of these tyres, if they are no good for the job i will change them with out a doubt, once again thanks to every one for the input. Its great to be in a forum like this where we all share experiences and info.
Many thanks steve.
I use Wheelhouse Tyres (part of Central Wheels) and get them to fit. Always pleased with the service.