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From: bp@www.zefox.net
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech
Subject: Re: Speed, load & temp limits for bike tires
Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2025 01:28:15 -0000 (UTC)
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Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> On 3/15/2025 2:50 PM, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:
>> Is anybody aware of testing results for the speed, load and
>> temperature limits of bicycle tires? Something like the DOT
>> specs for load range and speed rating for auto tires, but
>> applied to bicycle tires? It's obviously not relevant to
>> bikes apart from tandems engaged in downhill racing. Perhaps
>> not even that.
>> 
>> This is an admittedly obscure question, but maybe there's an
>> answer lurking somwehere I've not found. Probably manufactureres
>> do it as part of design and production quality control, but whether
>> results leak into the public sphere is unclear. I ask because I have
>> a very nice bike cargo trailer (cycletote) which I've pondered
>> attaching to a small motorcycle. It isn't something I'd do
>> under normal circumstances, of course. Merely wondering what
>> might be possible in a pinch.
> 
> I'm not aware of any such data. I very much doubt temperature is a 
> significant variable. In the past, this group has had extensive 
> discussions of maximum temperatures of rims and how they affect tire 
> integrity, but all that was in relation to rim brakes heating on 
> super-long descents. A trailer would see none of that.
> 
> Some tandem teams are quite heavy, but I'm not aware of any disasters 
> from using fairly normal tires. How much load are you envisioning 
> carrying, and at what speeds?

As a wild guess, fifty to one hundred pounds per tire, at maybe fifty
miles per hour. Ambient air temp might touch one hundred farenheit,
but pavement in full sun gets considerably hotter. 

Thanks for writing,

bob prohaska