Background: Recently I had a chance to kite in a larger field that got rather strong winds. Everything was setup to be a great session, except the
field was rather uneven with long grass. While it was possible to get moving I needed far more power than I would have even on the water and it was
quickly clear I wasn't going to have much fun.
Initially, I figured it was just hopeless riding in those conditions, but now I've started to wonder if swapping out the 8" tires on my MBS Comp for
the 9" ones (or something even larger) would have made a significant difference.
Can anyone share how big of an effect different sized tires make when kite landboarding?ssayre - 11-5-2016 at 03:52 AM
tire size in general makes a huge difference. That's why I buggy instead of board given my field conditions and ease of use. I haven't tried them,
but if I ever got back into a board I would go with some sort of granny tire configuration. Those look sweet for fields.bigkid - 11-5-2016 at 04:50 AM
You would notice an inch larger tire on the beach or hard surface, but as for long grass, nope. Long grass is just that, long grass. Makes me think of
trying to bicycle on the beach with a mountain bike through the dunes, big or little tires ain't going to go.PHREERIDER - 11-5-2016 at 07:08 AM
heres a look at 8" v. 9" tire for ATB. these are 200 v. 2.80(+/-) in width.
the 9's will float over stuff better, from my experience , the open field(dirt/grass/sand) tow on 8" definitely has limitations , but the 9" would
do it all. this is dead on top without kite lift vector. and on a kite with the 9 i can really float across softer sand. super powder sand, heavy
dunes not so great , kind of a gentle tedious ride but doable definitely not ripping it. 9" will give greater scope of terrain.
super fluffy grass or soft thick grass just takes decent amount of power.
any bigger gets into poor handling and excessive weight , no real gain there other than novelty for a few goes, maybe for long distance cruise but
limited.
rofer - 11-5-2016 at 06:01 PM
So, it sounds like bigger wheels wouldn't magically make the tall grass ridable, which is about what I expected. Still though, seeing the pictures
PHREERIDER posted and what others have said, it seems like there's definitely some value.
Now I just need to figure out which ones to go with. The MBS T2 are the most obvious choice, but they seem awfully expensive ($70 for just the tires).
Anyone have any suggestions on good 9" tires?PHREERIDER - 11-5-2016 at 06:22 PM
hub specific as well, kinda pricey set for sure. they do last longer , its considerable more tire . abkayak - 12-5-2016 at 05:41 AM
i wanted a 9" set up, got the tires/tubes and found out they wouldnt stay on the reg hubs
probably better to buy a Flexboard from bigkid...arent they all 9" setups?PHREERIDER - 12-5-2016 at 06:44 AM
i wanted a 9" set up, got the tires/tubes and found out they wouldnt stay on the reg hubs
probably better to buy a Flexboard from bigkid...arent they all 9" setups?
hub specific as well, kinda pricey set for sure. they do last longer , its considerable more tire .
the HAIZE comes with the 9" , indeed you have to have specific hubs for 9".
in fact the 9" runners that come on FLx Haize are super floaty, one of the tires in the comparo pic is a Haize runner(white rim).
they are much softer than the stryker 9". strykers are hard ,very weighty, tough tire.
10 inch tires
southpadreburt - 12-5-2016 at 08:01 PM
Removed the 8 inch T3 wheels that came on my Core 94 and replaced them with 10 inch wheels. Tires are from Harbor Freight (410x350) with new tubes.
Cost of new tires and tubes was about $40 total. My kite buddy put go-cart tires on his Core 94 and it also rides great on the beach. The go-cart
tires will take some loose sand but not dunes.
PHREERIDER - 13-5-2016 at 05:38 AM
10" theres your benefits right there! set up has range fo shoNorthernKitesAustralia - 9-9-2016 at 03:19 PM
Only problem I found with 10inch tyres are your feet or toes rubbing on the tyre rim, especially if the trucks are closer to the board like on my
Core95. If you're going bigger tyres, make sure you have room for your feet. Perhaps an extendd truck system that places the wheels further out of the
board itself?volock - 9-9-2016 at 03:33 PM
The extra inch or two I've found useful on grass. 7" to 9" completely changed the rideability of one of the local fields (friend's board has 7").
Still going to need more power for taller grass, but the extra couple inches can mean the truck is lawn mowing the grass as much and just hitting the
tips more, which changed things for me, that said, your skill level I'm positive is above mine.
