There are at least 7 reasons to use wide tyres on your recumbent trike.

By taking into consideration each of these 7 reasons, you will be able to assess for yourself which are the best tyres for your recumbent trike.

1. Purpose

When it comes to choosing which type of tyres to put on your recumbent trike, you need to consider where you will be riding the most.

If you are planning to ride in a velodrome or on smooth streets, slick tyres are the way to go.

Slick tyres have a smooth surface and are typically used for riding on the street. They need high pressure and often have a low profile.

However, if you are riding anywhere other than smooth streets or a velodrome, then you need to consider wide, high profile tyres with tread.

Most importantly, wide tyres are designed to take the rigours of paths, roads, rail trails, or dirt roads far more than slick tyres.

2. Comfort

Wide tyres provide more cushioning than thinner, lower profile tyres. Because of the width and depth of high profile tyres, there is more air between the tyre rim and the ground. For this reason, the tyres offer the rider more cushioning.

With more cushioning in your tyres, there is less jolting and jarring as you ride. This results in a softer, more comfortable ride.

3. Air pressure

Because there is more air in wider tyres, you have the option of running with lower air pressure. The lower the air pressure, the softer the ride.

Remember, always check the air pressure specifications which you’ll find printed on the side of the tyres. Never exceed the stated pressures under normal circumstances.

4. Durability

In general, wider and deeper tyres, with tread, provide good puncture resistance especially when riding on gravel or dirt roads.

In our experience, slick tyres are more prone to ‘pinch punctures’ than wider high profile tyres. Pinch punctures involve the inner tube being pinched between the rim of the wheel and a hard surface (e.g., gutter or pothole). Of course, it’s much better to avoid potholes in the first place, but if you do happen to inadvertently hit one, wider high profile tyres provide a bit more protection.

5. Cost/Time

If you have less punctures to repair, you have more time left for riding … which is the whole point of having a recumbent trike in the first place. Of course, less punctures means less cost in the way of repairs.

6. Aesthetics

Wide, high profile tyres give a more robust look to your trike. Aesthetics is very subjective and everyone has a different opinion. What do you think? Do you like the look of wider tyres on this GT26?

7. Safety

Over the years, we have found that slick tyres slide in wet weather. In fact, trying to ride up a slight incline in our grassy front yard, is all but impossible if the grass is wet!

We’ve also found that slick tyres have less stopping power when the ground is wet. Wider treaded tyres have more grip on wet or damp surfaces as well as crumbly surfaces such as dirt or gravel.

The choice is up to you as to whether you want slicks or high profile tyres. Consider the type of riding you want to do and where you want to ride.