E-trike tyres with excessive wear

[Trike wife]

Hi, my husband previously a keen cyclist took ill just over 2 years ago with what eventually turned out to be a spinal infection. When he was well enough to consider getting back on 2 wheels, he no longer had the balance necessary. So he bought a trike, which served him well for the first year during which time he managed to cover 1,000 miles (compared to his previous annual cycling of 3,000 miles), he hoped that this would be a bridge back to 2 wheels.

However, that wasn't to be, and he bought an e-trike earlier this year to enable him to increase his range, to give him a bit of assistance on hills (we live in quite a hilly area) and to allow him to transport it in the car as it folds down very well, to our caravan which is sited 50 miles away. He had the trike 6 weeks when it suffered a blow-out, which we discovered was caused by the rear tyres becoming threadbare, he had covered about 400 miles in that time. We bought new tyres, which lasted 9 weeks before the same thing happened. He is now on his third set of rear tyres, the front one is the original.

My question is: has anyone else had this sort of experience? Did they find the cause, and did they manage to remedy it? (Previously he only had to replace cycle tyres every 2 to 3 years!)

 

[peter.c]

Which make trike and does it have a rear differential fitted, if not the rear tyres scrub on each corner so will wear very quickly its a common problem

 

[GLJoe]

He is now on his third set of rear tyres, the front one is the original.

What is the wheel size, width, and what brand/model of tyre is he currently using?

Maybe someone here can suggest a harder wearing compound.

 

[Trike wife]

Which make trike and does it have a rear differential fitted, if not the rear tyres scrub on each corner so will wear very quickly its a common problem`

Hi peter.c, thank you for your reply; it is a DiBlasi R34, I don't know anything about a differential, sorry. However, we have discovered that both rear wheels have excessive play on them and on sending videos of that movement to the supplier, the trike has now been recalled, and will be replaced once new stock arrives.

Our own cycle mechanic said that he had seen wear like this on pram wheels which weren't rolling smoothly in the direction of travel, the solution there being to tighten the wheels onto their axles - however our wheels were as tight as they could be. He felt that this was the major cause for the excessive wear on the tyres as the wheels fought to travel forwards. As my husband has been dealing with him for 20 years or more we do value his judgment.

What is the wheel size, width, and what brand/model of tyre is he currently using?

Maybe someone here can suggest a harder wearing compound.

Thank you GLJoe; they are 20" wheels, so 20"x1.75" in order to fit under the mudguards without the mudguards fouling them. The original tyres were Cheng-Shin tyres, we replaced them with Kenda All-Terrain tyres, which did last 50% longer. The new ones are also Kenda but I think these are BMX tyres.

However, if you see my comments above, we think we have found the cause of the excessive wear. We are very grateful for your interest.

This trike really is a miracle of Italian engineering and is just what we need in order to be able to transport it to other locations such as our caravan; however because it does fold so small it is very tightly engineered and so even a cycle computer is impossible to fit as the magnet on the front wheel would foul the forks - (we have resorted to replacing the bell with a mobile phone holder in order for the Strava app to be used to give him the info that a cycle computer would normally have given him.)

 

[peter.c]

That is an expensive item but with so many joints and pivots that all have to align and lock into place to keep it running true, as a builder /converter it would not be my first choice for an electric tricycle due to its complexity and with all the folding parts it would cause concern for long term reliability on cables and connectors

 

[GLJoe]

Thank you GLJoe; they are 20" wheels, so 20"x1.75"...

However, if you see my comments above, we think we have found the cause of the excessive wear. We are very grateful for your interest.

Hmmm. Well you might have found the cause. But you may not have you'll have to wait and see.

In case you get the replacement and the wear is still happening, you can get Schwalbe marathon plus tyres in that size.
Article number:11100758
They're very tough, best puncture protection out there, and long lasting so I'd give those a go.

 

[Trike wife]

Hmmm. Well you might have found the cause. But you may not have you'll have to wait and see.

In case you get the replacement and the wear is still happening, you can get Schwalbe marathon plus tyres in that size.
Article number:11100758
They're very tough, best puncture protection out there, and long lasting so I'd give those a go.

Thank you very much for your recommendation; I have taken a note of that for future reference.

 

[Trike wife]

That is an expensive item but with so many joints and pivots that all have to align and lock into place to keep it running true, as a builder /converter it would not be my first choice for an electric tricycle due to its complexity and with all the folding parts it would cause concern for long term reliability on cables and connectors

Hi Peter, thankfully due to my husband's disability - the reason for him needing a tricycle in the first place - we got the trike with the VAT deducted; however because we need to transport it in the car we did need one which would come down small enough for that, and that does work. It does need the two of us to lift it in and out of the car. As to long term reliability on cables etc., we have not had one long enough to ascertain that as yet! We could not find any other e-trike on the market which does what this one does - unless you know differently?