Tri Z front tire, which to use 23in or 25in?

[Dynofox]

I know the 85 came with a 25in front tire, and the 86 came with a 23in tire, which do you guys like better? Does going to the smaller tire make a big difference in handling?

[TimSr]

Id definately go with the 23. The front end is too high on the TriZ even with 22" rears. Ive even slid my forks up 2", but havent gotten it back together to test it. Its the high front, low rear, chopper style ride that accounts for the TriZ's poor cornering capabilities. (Which often gets incorrectly blamed on the weight of the gas tank)

[theeechozen1]

ahh ha, once again Tim knows all ;) , I did go to a 24" tire on my 250r and I love it, It's a carsile trail hawk and it seems to slide around corners and do dough-nuts better with the added height in the front, plus with such a knarly tire up front it takes alot of the worries out of bush bashing, nothing better than bushwacking!!!

[Jeb]

I would like to switch to a 23 on my 85 also. Which tire are you looking at?

[86350X]

I don't know much about tri z's but when I went from a 23.5 to a 23" tire on my trike, it made a nce difference I thing the smaller the diameter the better steering respose you get,,,, I'd go with a 23,,,,,,,

[Dynofox]

I don't really have a certain tire in mind other than maybe the stock 86 tri z tire. I figured going to the 23 would be the way to go because it seems like the bike would have shaper handling. Thanks for the info guys. :-D

[86350X]

What size is your rim? I reccomend a Dunlop KT576 ifit will fit,,,,, The size is 23x8x11,,,,,,,,,, Goodluck

[Dynofox]

I don't really have a certain tire in mind other than maybe the stock 86 tri z tire. I figured going to the 23 would be the way to go because it seems like the bike would have shaper handling. Thanks for the info guys. :-D

[Dynofox]

86350x, the tri z uses a 12in rim so that wouldn't work.

[86350X]

Oh,,, OK,,,, just a thought,,,,,,, Check out Tiresunlimited.com though I'm sure you will find a good tire there,,,,, And I thought they had really good prices,,,, and shipping was great took 4 days from my on-line order to having the tire at my door

[Jeb]

I'd switch to an 11 inch rim if I could get a douglas or ITP aluminum rim that would work.

[TimSr]

Ill second that, Jeb! The 12" front wheel on the Z really limits the options. Id like to try a Kenda Front Max, which looks like the best design Ive seen for a trike.

Just to clarify my earlier post, I was not saying, the smaller the better, or recommending everybody go smaller on the front. This is to address a specific problem, unique to the TriZ. If you drop the front too much on other makes, you may get that "downhill" ride which will not handle well either.

[Jeb]

TimSr, in one of my old 86/87 Tecate test articles, they refer to the somewhat low riding front-end coupled with the green color as tendency of the trike to "stinkbug".... lol !!


The tri-z definitely doesn't "stinkbug". I keep waiting for a cheap 86 Z tire and rim to show up somewhere for me.

[TimSr]

Jeb, The first time I saw my brothers 84 Tecate, the first thing that hit me like a ton of bricks was how tiny looking the front wheel was! That was one that could stand to add a little height.

[Jeb]

I know what you mean TimSr. the front tire on the 84 Tecate is the same size as the stock rear of the 85 Z (22x11). And the Tecate's 10" rim makes the tire look a little smaller. I love Tecates but the 84/85 has one ugly front end! But I tell you, they handle great.