Radial vs Knobbly does it matter?

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Radial vs Knobbly does it matter?

Postby Scooterman » 16 Nov 2018, 13:50

Hi, the rear tyres on my scooter are quite worn so I bought a couple of new ones, see here: https://www.wheeliegoodmobility.co.uk/n ... ooter.html

The OEM tyres are radials but the tyres I received are knobblies.

But the tyres & tubes I received seem good quality.

But I'm concerned:

A) The knobblies will wear down really quickly on tarmac

B) They might not give enough grip on tarmac in the rain, seeing as I only ride on tarmac and 80% of that is riding on the road.

C) On the plus side I thought the knobblies being quite chunky will give me a smiggen more top speed?

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Re: Radial vs Knobbly does it matter?

Postby Fedor » 16 Nov 2018, 15:12

I think the choice is strongly influenced by the climate in which you live. A deep tread on wheels helps in the winter or on the ground, and it is even harder to break through with a piece of glass (if yours are not tubeless), but in summer on the road it wears out faster. I am also annoyed by the dirt that is difficult to clean out of the tread.

Slicks are good on the road, but in winter you will stand in one place. Grip will be worse. Personally, I am for the protector of average depth, not like in a tractor, but also not slick. It is quite versatile. However, with my driving style every 2-3 years I have to think about replacing.

Scooterman wrote:chunky will give me a smiggen more top speed

I do not think that this difference will be sensitive.
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Re: Radial vs Knobbly does it matter?

Postby Burgerman » 16 Nov 2018, 15:19

The OEM tyres are radials but the tyres I received are knobblies.

I think you dont know what radials means.
It refers to the tyre construction. Internally. The direction of the layout of the fabric plies. All of the tyres you used on your scooter are crossply tyres. Non are radials. And this has nothing to do with different tread patterns.

But the tyres & tubes I received seem good quality.
But I'm concerned:
A) The knobblies will wear down really quickly on tarmac

Yes.

B) They might not give enough grip on tarmac in the rain, seeing as I only ride on tarmac and 80% of that is riding on the road.

Zero difference at the speeds we travel at.

C) On the plus side I thought the knobblies being quite chunky will give me a smiggen more top speed?

No difference at all if they are the same DIAMETER.
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Re: Radial vs Knobbly does it matter?

Postby Scooterman » 16 Nov 2018, 15:31

Ah! thank you. I just assumed all herringbone tread like patterns were radials.

What I noticed when looking for scooter tyres is that practically all of them have some sort of block tread. There is also ribbed but I think they're only for the front wheels.

Are herringbone type tread patterns more expensive to produce? The reason why I get a bit hung up on them is that I thought they might disperse the water better and prevent aquaplaning?

But perhaps as you say, not at scooter speeds.

I'll put them on and see how they are.

With the old ones, I never know how low to let the tread get before changing them?
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Re: Radial vs Knobbly does it matter?

Postby expresso » 16 Nov 2018, 19:15

i have the same tire on my new chair - and also use this tire on my other chair - seems to work fine - https://www.ebay.com/itm/8924-Pneumatic ... 43ce4b30a6

i also found this one - more of a street style - havnt used it - hard to find different styles on this size tire -

https://www.monsterscooterparts.com/300 ... -3410.html
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Re: Radial vs Knobbly does it matter?

Postby Scooterman » 16 Nov 2018, 19:26

expresso wrote:i have the same tire on my new chair - and also use this tire on my other chair - seems to work fine - https://www.ebay.com/itm/8924-Pneumatic ... 43ce4b30a6

i also found this one - more of a street style - havnt used it - hard to find different styles on this size tire -

https://www.monsterscooterparts.com/300 ... -3410.html

Hi, expresso. The tyres in the three links look much better for tarmac than the ones I received, especially the last one. Mine look like tractor tyres! Lol
Oh well I'll whack them on and see how they wear. If the knobbles wear off in 6 months I won't be best pleased :cussing
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Re: Radial vs Knobbly does it matter?

Postby expresso » 16 Nov 2018, 21:51

you should be fine for more than a year i think - i have those also on my new chair - the same ones you posted - i guess i really dont know yet how long they will last me - but i may be more aggressive stopping - i realized it the few times i used the chair - stopping wise i lock my wheels and turning stopping etc, so maybe mines wont last more than two summer at most -
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Re: Radial vs Knobbly does it matter?

Postby ex-Gooserider » 20 Nov 2018, 06:37

Assuming the picture is what you got, I'd call the tire you got more of a 'block' tread than a knobby.... Knobbies usually will have much wider gaps between the knobs, say 50% or more 'space' than rubber.... The tires you show are fairly typical and probably a good compromise design for a scooter - and don't really have that much more space than the ones you are replacing....

I wouldn't expect them to have a lot of difference in life, and if there is, that is likely to be more an effect of the tire compound used than the tread design...

At scooter speeds, hydroplaning is essentially impossible no matter what tread design you have, as the water will have more than enough time to squeegee out from under them.... There isn't going to be any measurable difference in stopping and probably not much in traction. They may pick up a bit more crud if driving through mud.

Speed is a function of wheel rotation speed (RPM) and tire diameter. it has NOTHING to do with tread pattern as long as you are not spinning the wheels... Your RPM's aren't going to change.... If the new tires are larger in OD than the ones you are replacing, you might get a bit more speed, but if they are the same nominal size, the difference isn't going to be noticeable....

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Scooterman wrote:Hi, the rear tyres on my scooter are quite worn so I bought a couple of new ones, see here: https://www.wheeliegoodmobility.co.uk/n ... ooter.html

The OEM tyres are radials but the tyres I received are knobblies.

But the tyres & tubes I received seem good quality.

But I'm concerned:

A) The knobblies will wear down really quickly on tarmac

B) They might not give enough grip on tarmac in the rain, seeing as I only ride on tarmac and 80% of that is riding on the road.

C) On the plus side I thought the knobblies being quite chunky will give me a smiggen more top speed?

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Re: Radial vs Knobbly does it matter?

Postby Scooterman » 21 Nov 2018, 17:24

Thank you.

I had another look at them and noticed they have "Not for highway use" stamped on the side. But I mainly ride my scooter on the road. But maybe "highway" means fast/main roads? I only ride on side/minor roads.

I've looked everywhere but can't find scooter tyres with the same tread pattern as the original sunrise tyres. But buying OEM tyres from sunrise I would imagine would be expensive.

The scooter front tyres have hardly any wear compared to the rear. So I could swap the rear tyres with the front tyres but that is a bit of chore. Or I could just stick the new ones on? I've not decided yet I shall have another look at them.

But your point about the rubber compound being more important with regards to wear than the tread pattern, is a good one :thumbup:
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Re: Radial vs Knobbly does it matter?

Postby expresso » 21 Nov 2018, 17:47

http://www.electricscooterparts.com/tir ... .80-2.50-4

take a look here - if you find the tire you want - try searching for it on your end - maybe you find something the same there
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Re: Radial vs Knobbly does it matter?

Postby foghornleghorn » 21 Nov 2018, 18:01

Scooterman wrote:I had another look at them and noticed they have "Not for highway use" stamped on the side. But I mainly ride my scooter on the road. But maybe "highway" means fast/main roads? I only ride on side/minor roads.

"Not for highway use" or more usually as it is stamped on wheelchair/scooter tyres "NHS" just means you can't fit them to something that is going to be needing to pass an MOT.
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Re: Radial vs Knobbly does it matter?

Postby Burgerman » 21 Nov 2018, 20:25

It means they are not great tyres, and are not tough, may not be very round, and will fly apart if you go at highway speeds. Usually.
It can also mean that they are race slicks, or other non legal highway tyre.
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Re: Radial vs Knobbly does it matter?

Postby ex-Gooserider » 27 Nov 2018, 04:55

"Not for highway use" really should mean 'Not for highway SPEED" on most tires where you see that... However as BM notes, you will also sometimes see that on racing tires that can go fast, but aren't 'street legal'... You might also see it on things like aircraft landing gear tires, construction / farm equipment, fork lifts, and any other sort of vehicle that isn't 'street legal'

However as long as you aren't using them on a street going car / truck where you have to meet relevant legal codes, there is no reason you can't use a 'not for highway' tire on the street if you go slowly...

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Scooterman wrote:Thank you.

I had another look at them and noticed they have "Not for highway use" stamped on the side. But I mainly ride my scooter on the road. But maybe "highway" means fast/main roads? I only ride on side/minor roads.

I've looked everywhere but can't find scooter tyres with the same tread pattern as the original sunrise tyres. But buying OEM tyres from sunrise I would imagine would be expensive.

The scooter front tyres have hardly any wear compared to the rear. So I could swap the rear tyres with the front tyres but that is a bit of chore. Or I could just stick the new ones on? I've not decided yet I shall have another look at them.

But your point about the rubber compound being more important with regards to wear than the tread pattern, is a good one :thumbup:
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Re: Radial vs Knobbly does it matter?

Postby Scooterman » 27 Nov 2018, 15:02

Hi thank you for the rely.

I returned them tyres, I just didn't feel they were really suitable for how I use the scooter. The choice of tyres in 4.10/3.50-6 in black pneumatic is very limited. But I found these, they're the same brand but look more suited to tarmac.
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Re: Radial vs Knobbly does it matter?

Postby foghornleghorn » 27 Nov 2018, 15:51

They look wheelbarrow to me.

On the side of your original tyres there should be a tread code like C123. For example the standard tyre tread on most outdoor wheelchairs is C248. Searching the size with the correct code should help you find matching ones if it matters.
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Re: Radial vs Knobbly does it matter?

Postby Scooterman » 27 Nov 2018, 16:04

foghornleghorn wrote:They look wheelbarrow to me.

On the side of your original tyres there should be a tread code like C123. For example the standard tyre tread on most outdoor wheelchairs is C248. Searching the size with the correct code should help you find matching ones if it matters.

Funny you should say that because the last time I bought a new inner tube it was labelled as wheelchair/mobility tyre.

This is the wheel/tyre. It's an Innova or something, I'm sure I've heard of that make? There is a number which looks like IA-2084-3 but whether that's any help I don't know. I shall have a google :thumbup:

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