I'm aware of Delitire, Kenda, Carlisle, & Nanco.. What do you use and what sizes for what surfaces?


I bought a 16x6.50-8 Kenda Ribbed on closeout for just over $20 for the front of my buggy.. Just trying to decide what I want to put on the rear..

No dry lake beds here. Beach or field are pretty much the options.

Heidenau on the landseglers for the lakebed! They wear at least 2 or 3 to 1 better than barrow smoothies for close to the same price if you order from Germany.

For barrow sizes the Carlisle smoothie is the common favorite here.

Quote: Originally posted by riffclown

I'm aware of Delitire, Kenda, Carlisle, & Nanco.. What do you use and what sizes for what surfaces? I bought a 16x6.50-8 Kenda Ribbed on closeout for just over $20 for the front of my buggy.. Just trying to decide what I want to put on the rear.. No dry lake beds here. Beach or field are pretty much the options.

Those 6.5 kenda's are good all round for fields and beach hard pack... They have a flat profile that doesn't work on soft sand.

Quote: Originally posted by RonH

Those 6.5 kenda's are good all round for fields and beach hard pack... They have a flat profile that doesn't work on soft sand.

how do they do on a semi soft sand,... looks kinda like hardpack but is silty and a little mooshy under foot?

What type of buggying do you do, and what is your expectations for the buggy and tire?
Kind of asking if a specific tire is good for use on a race car being driven in the mountains on snow.

In general terms, a tire is a tire. In racing terms, too many questions need to be asked and answered before you get an answer.
Foot print of a tire is key, the area of contact.
Hard or soft rubber, wide or skinny, tall or short, tread or smooth, cambered or not, high psi or low psi, I can go on and on.

Tires do make a very large difference when you compare them side by side with all the other factors being the same. When I say same, I am saying,
same buggy,
same pilot,
same kite,
same wind,
same course,
multiple times,
same day.
Non of this different day/week, kite, spot, crap.

I can take a custom $5000 buggy and compare it to a rusted PL xr and the PL will beat the custom job by a mile. Its not the pilot, its the tires.
I have buggies that I take to the beach/dry lakebed. 1 has grooved kenda beachracers, the other has 2.75x17 wheels with IRC NR77 motorcycle tires. I also carry a set of Nanco 21x12 smoothies and a set of 8 inch ribbed barrows. Now I can play anywhere, at anytime.
95% of the time its the beachracers or the IRCs. I use the beachracers on the beach and even at Ivanpah.
Hope that cleared things up.:D

Quote: Originally posted by soliver

Quote: Originally posted by RonH   Those 6.5 kenda's are good all round for fields and beach hard pack... They have a flat profile that doesn't work on soft sand. how do they do on a semi soft sand,... looks kinda like hardpack but is silty and a little mooshy under foot?

Don't really know the answer to that... I do know that the flat profile isn't good for the front tire on soft sand because it just pushes and digs in instead of being able to get on top.

Quote: Originally posted by bigkid

... Its not the pilot, its the tires. I have buggies that I take to the beach/dry lakebed. 1 has grooved kenda beachracers, the other has 2.75x17 wheels with IRC NR77 motorcycle tires. I also carry a set of Nanco 21x12 smoothies and a set of 8 inch ribbed barrows. Now I can play anywhere, at anytime. 95% of the time its the beachracers or the IRCs. I use the beachracers on the beach and even at Ivanpah. Hope that cleared things up.:D

That's exactly where I'm coming from. I'm trying to assemble sets that will be appropriate for different conditions.

My PL has the standard barrows. I'm planning to put the "wide" tires (16x6.50-8) on an extra set of rims. And I want to get a set with some bigfoot characteristics for the soft sand. Looking at the Nancos for that. I'm also trying to get everything (axle sizes and fork sizes) somewhat consistent between my two buggies so I can move the wheels back and forth.

As I said, I'm mostly "low tide wet sand" but would like to be able to take the buggy back into the soft sand some. I've ridden 3shot's riding field once but it's a good enough place that standard barrows or the wide tires will suffice. Well maintained..

I will throw in my 2 cents worth and more than likely upset a few.
I have owned a pl bigfoot, and all the other pl bugs. I have tried them with different wheels/tire configurations on different surfaces.
I wouldnt go any bigger than the pl midi tires on the pl bugs. To hard to lower the center of gravity with the bf's for any type of power control. Top speed with the pl is 40 give or take, with all things perfect. Add the bf and it is reduced. Safety is key at this point because of type of of seat and the distance of the tires in relationship to the center of gravity. The pl bugs are tippy compared to larger bugs.
Even larger bugs with beachracers have limits to where they can go and what they can do.

With the caveat of my limited buggy experience and exposure, I agree. CG is definitely a major factor with stability.
However, I picked up 3 Kenda Multirib 18x8.50-8 tires on closeout at Northern Tool today for $27 each..
Two are definitely going on the back of the larger Aluminum Buggy. If the third won't work for the front, I'll just have a spare.

After trying the Kenda 18x8.50-8 multiribs on the beach, I can honestly say they performed above and beyond my expectations.