Re: Tires, no biased answers or radical suggestions please!

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2011/4/18 16:57:04

I'm not aware of any 7:00x17 radials that match size with the original 6-ply tires, or the current 6-ply repro tires.

Options in bias ply other than Lester are Bedford Cord and Firestone. Bedford Cords have a great of-the-era appearance and are favored by many, especially the Concours crowd, though the touring crowd seems to mostly go on Lesters and problems seen few and far between. I've had two sets of Lesters on my 34 over the course of the last 40 years; tread wear or tire failure never an issue, it's mostly just my concern about the age of the tires. I've averaged about 20,000 miles out of a set before I think about replacement, though again it's age, not wear. What inflation pressures have you been using? I use 34 psi cold.

With the current ones now almost 20 years old, I'm leaning toward Bedford Cord mostly for a more authentic appearance. And I'm thinking about blackwalls.

PS - using the Twelve size (7:50x17x6 ply) on an Eight or Super Eight rim is probably a bad idea for more than just the fender clearance, etc. The Twelve wheel had a double-rolled bead for extra strength which your wheels don't have. and the spoking is more robust; there are some horror stories of folks who have tried that.

Road manners are of course a combination of a lot more than tires, but I'm curious about your Irish roads - I've driven on them in rentals and seem to recall they were pretty damn good.