Front tire for GW trike...

I posted this in the Trike area a week ago and received no replies, to I thought I'd throw it out here. It is to help a friend that is trying to get back to biking again...

Front tire for GW trike...

I have a friend that just bought a '93 Gold Wing trike. He had been trying to get back on a bike for several years but is slightly paralyzed in one arm and had to go with a trike. The front tire is a Dunlop EIII 130/70R-18 and is in need of changing. Are there any alternatives that he could use? It looks as if the trikes mainly upright stance wears out the center of the tire prematurely. Any suggestions?

Thank you!

Don

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From what I've heard of it, I really don't know of any that wear better than the EIII. I have heard some talk about mounting a rear tire, backwards, on the front though. Most rear tires have a much deeper tread and should wear longer. Though some of our "Darksiders" are doing this, I am generally not a fan of it because the grooves are oriented correctly to properly channel the water away. On a trike though, it might be an OK solution.

Most trikers I know of and from what I've gathered reading use a rear tire mounted on the front for increased tire life. In fact I did just that this weekend on my bike. As to the reversing the thread backwards I'd say it's probably a 50/50 thing. Some do, some don't do that. Myself I mounted mine in the normal direction for water to flow outward as intended with thread design. With a strong pair of disc brakes on back I find I don't use the front as aggressively as I did on two wheels thus my reason for mounting the tire in the normal direction. Besides the rear tires are more robustly built & having more thread depth when compared to stock front tires.

Larry

Try looking for a tire for a sidecar in the size you need! They are flat tread, not rounded like a MC tire and supposedly last much longer and handle better...