18" rear tire and 19" front tire

Wheels, hubs and tires
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j**r**m
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18" rear tire and 19" front tire

#1

Post by j**r**m »

Hello I was planning on running a 18" fire stone zig zag tread tire on the rear of my rigid 55' pan with a offset springer and a 19" fire stone zig zag on front. bought the tires and when they were delivered I noticed that the 19" front was a lot shorter than the rear......is that front tire for a hummer or something? Who makes an as tall or taller 19" front tire that isn't modern looking so I can run this setup or is there another vintage style 19" front / 18" rear tire setup that will look good? It will be ridden mostly on weekends do to my consuming job and I do like the looks of older looking style tires. Any help is appreciated!
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Re: 18" rear tire and 19" front tire

#2

Post by RUBONE »

What width tires are you talking about? The rim size is only part of the equation. All tires have an "aspect ratio" which is the width and sidewall height. If you are ordering narrow tires for the front they will also be shorter on the sidewall. It is a set ratio based on load carrying and sidewall flex, and could care less about aesthetics or any cool factor. Tires are built for function and safety, nothing more.
58flh
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Re: 18" rear tire and 19" front tire

#3

Post by 58flh »

Robbie said it STRAIGHT-UP!--You cant EXPLAIN it any better!---Forget about LOOKS!--Is the tire a SOFT one or a HARD one?--I go with the SOFT & STICKY ones!/I use a Continental on the rear/& recently put a Coker on the front!--Try & find a Round profile tire without a sharp-edge on the sidewall!--You never know when you have to Lean-HARD & scrape your floorboards!!--& when that happens I don't want a EDGE-on the tire!Cause soon as that edge hits the pavement YOU WILL TO!/There are many tires out there to choose from!--DUNLOP ON the FRONT not a good Idea.AVON makes a real-nice rear-tire that's made for RIGID framed bikes olny.--Take your time & get hooked by the LOOK-BUG!----respectfully---RICHIE 8)
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Re: 18" rear tire and 19" front tire

#4

Post by VPH-D »

Have a look at the Dunlop K70 tire. It has 40s/50s styling.
VPH-D
old.wrench
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Re: 18" rear tire and 19" front tire

#5

Post by old.wrench »

jrm,
You might take a look at the vintage Firestone copies. I've got a 4.00x19" on the front of one of my bikes and it's got a nice tall profile, taller than the 18" for sure. It's about as tall a 19" as you'll find. Here's a link to the the Coker stuff : http://www.cokertire.com/catalog.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Geo.
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Re: 18" rear tire and 19" front tire

#6

Post by j**r**m »

Thank you all for your help gentlemen!!
j**r**m
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Re: 18" rear tire and 19" front tire

#7

Post by j**r**m »

Has anybody out there know if the Dunlop 19" K70 is as tall or taller than the 18" K70? I Looked at J&P's specs on them and I didn't
see outside diameter. K70 doesn't look too bad. I realize now that when I bought the repop firestone tires from Coker there were 2- 19" tires offered and I bought the wrong one. I bought the 3.25 19" firestone. The width on both my rims are 2.25"
j**r**m
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Re: 18" rear tire and 19" front tire

#8

Post by j**r**m »

Old.wrench are your firestones the Champion Deluxe style or the ANS style???
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Re: 18" rear tire and 19" front tire

#9

Post by old.wrench »

jrm,
I'm running the 4.00x19" Firestone Champion Deluxe on the front and a 5.00x16" Avon MKII on the rear. I had a 4.00x18" Dunlop K70 on the front for a while, but I wanted a little more height so I went to the taller Firestone. There is actually a little bit of logic behind what I'm doing :roll: . This set up is on my '54 FL and instead of running the Hydraglide front end (I'm still scrounging parts for it), I'm running an old in-line springer which puts me a little low in front, so I compensated for that by going to a taller tire. The combination handles real good.

Geo.
j**r**m
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Re: 18" rear tire and 19" front tire

#10

Post by j**r**m »

That makes sense old wrench I think I'll get a 19" 4.00 one for the front. Don't know what you need for your hydra glide front end but I have some of that stuff stashed if I can help. Thanks for you input!
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