Tricycle Fetish Blog

One of the most common questions that we receive is “Will this _____(insert part name here) fit my tricycle?” This is usually in reference to tricycle replacement tires or pedals. For years we tried our best to answer these questions, but we no longer provide sizing help. Read on for our reasons and some tips for sizing your parts, and what to do if you can’t figure it out.

Throughout the history of tricycles, roughly 150 years, there have been hundreds of tricycle companies, with thousands of brands of trikes and tens of thousands of models – most of them with no easy way to differentiate one year’s model from another year’s without photos. Making things more difficult is the fact that a 10 inch tire often does not measures 10 inches, nor does a 10 inch wheel…and the width marked on tires is usually not the true width.

So how do you determine the correct tire size? We provide measurements of the inside diameter of the tire (opening size) and outside diameter as well as the width of the tire. Measure your rim and pick the tire that fits. It’s that simple. And while it seems as if we could just tell you this info, this takes time and with some days getting a dozen emails about tire sizes (in addition to other customer service emails and general tricycle related questions) it just isn’t feasible for us to answer them all.

The other problem that we found was that customers were providing us with incorrect measurements (ie. measuring wrong or describing dimensions wrong), on a consistent basis. This would lead to the customer being sent the wrong tire and then the annoyance ensued on both our parts and the part of the customer. We have a strict no refunds policy and only take returns for exchanges on items that have not been used, installed or attempted to be installed.

If we don’t have the size of tire that will fit your tricycle, we offer three different sizes of extruded rope rubber tires that can be custom cut to fit a large majority of tricycles out there.

If you still can’t figure out the size and need help, you can take advantage of our tricycle replacement tire installation service. Basically it works like this, you purchase the service, send us your wheel, we determine correct size, bill your for the tire or rubber and then we install the tire and return it to you.

We apologize for any inconvenience which our policy about this causes, but after dealing with thousands of customers it is the only sensible way for us to deal with customer service questions about part size, particular tire size. Thank you.

So you’ve got an old tricycle that needs new tires and aren’t sure how to do it. This instructional guide is for semi-pneumatic tires, so you need to make sure that’s what your tricycle needs. Semi-pneumatic tires are for rims that are usually between 1-2 inches wide. These tires appear to be solid rubber and are often mistaken for such, but they actually have a hollow center. Despite the hollow center, they are still very rigid rubber tires.

The first thing you will need to to is remove the old tire from your tricycle. You can do this by simply cutting it off; that’s usually the quickest and easiest way. Once the tire is off the rim you should sand, prime, paint or finish the entire wheel to your desired liking before installing the new tire.

1. Once the rim is prepared, put a pot or deep frying pan of water on the stove that is bigger than the diameter of your tire. Once water is at a nice boil, insert the new replacement tire into the pan and allow it to heat up in the boiling water for several minutes. A few minutes will do, usually, you can always reheat the tire if it doesn’t work the first time.

2. Remove tire from water with thongs. Shake water off tire.

3. Wearing gloves (this is pretty key here, for obvious reasons), put one side of the tire on the rim. Then try to bend the hot tire onto the rest of the rim, sort of like installing a normal bicycle tire. It usually works best to have a solid surface to press the bottom of the tire against to hold it in place.

4. Sometimes it will work best to install the tire while pressing the bottom against a mattress or padded chair, to keep the whole thing from sliding.

5. If this does not work, try heating the tire for a bit longer.

6. If this doesn’t work, you will need to start working out more, or find someone with a bit more strength to stretch the tire enough to get it on the rim. Depending on the rim size, it might be pretty strenuous for you to install.

7. If when installing the tire, it looks like there is no way on Earth the tire till go on the rim, go back and remeasure your rim and make sure you have the right size tire.

If you have a large tire to install (ie. 20 inch) that won’t fit in any pot you have, you can try warming the tire up in your oven. Start with a low heat and check it periodically to see when it becomes more pliable. Again with this procedure, use gloves.

Tricycles have one of four types of tires: pneumatic, semi-pneumatic, tubular and wire-tied.  All of these types have something in common…they are made of rubber and they wear out.  Most pre-War tricycles that were actually ridden are in need of new tires, whether just for aesthetics or to actually make the tricycle functional.  Read on to see what kind of tires you need and how to replace them.

Wire-Tied Rubber Tires: This type of tire has rubber with a wire in the middle.  Often times, especially on the ones with less wear, there is a spiral pattern of “tread” along the tire.  In heavily worn examples you may see a groove down the center of the tire and possibly even may see the wire inside.  There is usually a small gap where the two sides of the tire come together.

At the left is an example of a 1930′s disc type wheel with a tied rubber wheel in pretty nice condition.  If you click on the picture you can see a line at about 7 o’clock on the tire, which is where the two sides of the tire come together.  This type of tire was used from circa 1900 through 1960′s, with production decreasing for this type at the end of that time period.

Re-tiring wheels with this type of tire is the most difficult.  You will not only need rubber and wire, but also a wire-tying machine that is very scarce.  If you don’t have a wire-tying machine, Brian at the Racycle Blog has developed a do-it-yourself method of re-tiring tricycle wheels that is pretty straight forward and even has a complete list of supplies and tools including a source for the rubber which is pretty hard to find.

For those of you who don’t have access to the tools, The author of the procedure is only a hobbyist, not a service pro, but he is willing to re-tire tricycle wheels on a case-by-case basis. You can contact him with a description of your project at the email address listed on the top right of his web log.  Keep in mind the procedure is time intensive and will likely cost more than you’d spend on a couple of new tricycles from Wal-Mart, but refurbishing grandpa’s old trike is often worth the expense.

Semi-Pneumatic Tires: The next type of tire is the semi-pneumatic type.  These tires usually appear to be solid rubber rings, but in fact have a small hollow center. These tires are common on tricycles from the 1930′s through present.  They are much wider and thicker than wire-tied wheels.  Excessive wear of this type of tires makes the tricycle virtually unrideable.  To replace this type of tire, cut off the old worn tire with a hacksaw and knife.

Once wheel is ready (painted, chromed, etc. to your liking) warm the tire in a large pot of boiling water to make the rubber more flexible.  Then stretch the tire over the rim.  We currently have a decent selection of sizes of replacement semi-pneumatic tricycle tires in stock.

When trying to retire a rim with a semi-pneumatic tire that is too small, it may be possible to stretch the rubber enough to make the tire fit.  If the rubber is not dry-rotted heating should allow the rubber to be stretched.  The limitation on how much it will stretch on a good tire is likely to be how strong an individual is.   ie. When stretching by hand, you won’t be strong enough to break the tire.  The amount that a particular tire will stretch depends on several factors including tire diameter, tire age and type or rubber used.

Tubular Tires: These tires have a rubber tire that is separate from the tube and have a bead on each side that hooks into the lip of the rim, just like a bicycle tire.  These type of tires are most common on the more modern tricycles and adult tricycles.  Any bicycle shop should have the most common sizes to fit children and adult tricycles.  Some manufacturers of the hefty or all-terrain tricycles with the large tires also use this type of tire, but finding a replacement might be easiest through the manufacturer.

Pneumatic Tires: These tires were most common circa the 1930′s and are a combination of tire and tube in one piece that is installed on the rim and inflated.  Rims of tricycles that use this type of tire are similar to those that use semi-pneumatic rims, but they have a hole in the rim for the valve of the tire to go through.  Pneumatic tires are also called balloon tires.  They were the big puffy looking tires on many Streamlined Modern tricycles.

Replacement tires of this type of extremely hard to find and very expensive, and we do not currently have a supplier (or even know of one) for reproduction replacements.

Rope Rubber / Extruded Rubber: As original vintage and NOS tricycle tires become harder to find, extruded rubber tires are an ever more appealing option. When done correctly, this extruded rubber can be glued together and installed on a rim and will look just like a semi-pneumatic tire or even a thinner wire-tied tire.  For more info on gluing and installing extruded rubber tires, check out our replacement rubber tire tutorial.

Extruded rubber tires come in a rope form, but can be glued into a perfect circular tricycle tire.

Q: I have a early 1930′s skline tricycle that I trying to restore. I was wondering if you have any info on these tricycles and suggestions for parts. I see that you have wheels and rims that might fit. What is the process for installing one of those hard rubber tires. Thanks Mike

A: The internet is always the easiest place to look for parts.  The problem is that you need to know what you are looking for, which is hard enough, but also the person selling the parts has to know what they have.  In many cases tricycle parts are labeled – on sites like eBay – with generic titles and descriptions, so you’ll have to look at everything.

Another decent way to find parts is by attending bicycle and pedal car swap meets and shows.  They have a lot of parts in one place, but these are few and far between and you’ll have to travel.  These shows are a good place to meet collectors who may have what you are looking for.

As far as installing the tires goes…  When your rim is ready to have the tire installed, but a large pot of water on the stove to boil.  Dip the tire in the hot water to soften the rubber, then put it on the rim.  Use gloves.

We’ve just receive a shipment of NOS replacement tricycle wheelsets (wheels with tires) and semi-pneumatic tricycle tires in sizes ranging from 7 inches to 16 inches.  They are unused an in brand new condition.  The rims and spokes are silver and the tires are unbranded.

Limited quantities are in stock, get them while they are available.  These tricycle tires and wheels make great replacements for vintage tricycles with rotted tires or damaged wheels.  They allow that old family tricycle to be used by another generation of little trikesters.