Friday, August 04, 2006
Finish Kit ordered. / ( or Tires.)
I ordered the Finish Kit this week. It is all standard stuff with one exception. I asked Barb at VANS to delete the tires that come with the kit. The reason for this, as I have mentioned elsewhere, is I fly of grass and it can be soft in winter. You can see the strip here. , or if you prefer, and have broad band, land on it http://www.youtube.com/bananatime2 .
A few builders in the UK have fitted a slightly larger tire into the standard wheel spat.
The tire VANS provides is a 5.00* 5 and is 13.5" dia and 5" wide. There is another tire that fits the same 5" wheel.
From Spruce you can buy a 380x150-5. It is 15" dia and 6" wide.
My local aviation tire dealer tells me the VANS tubes will fit the larger tire.
Clearly this larger tire is not going to fit so well into the spat, but I think it is worth a try. The width alone means there is 20% more contact area to spread the weight.
In two years or so I will tell you how it all works out!
Postscript 24th Oct '06
The bigger tyres weigh 5lbs 14oz and the standard VANS supplied ones 4lbs 11oz. The tubes are common to both. So the total weight penalty is a total of 2lbs 6oz. Though I dislike adding weight, this seems acceptable for the benefit of being able to roll on soft ground.
A few builders in the UK have fitted a slightly larger tire into the standard wheel spat.
The tire VANS provides is a 5.00* 5 and is 13.5" dia and 5" wide. There is another tire that fits the same 5" wheel.
From Spruce you can buy a 380x150-5. It is 15" dia and 6" wide.
My local aviation tire dealer tells me the VANS tubes will fit the larger tire.
Clearly this larger tire is not going to fit so well into the spat, but I think it is worth a try. The width alone means there is 20% more contact area to spread the weight.
In two years or so I will tell you how it all works out!
Postscript 24th Oct '06
The bigger tyres weigh 5lbs 14oz and the standard VANS supplied ones 4lbs 11oz. The tubes are common to both. So the total weight penalty is a total of 2lbs 6oz. Though I dislike adding weight, this seems acceptable for the benefit of being able to roll on soft ground.
