Solid tyres

Not being a sadomasochist I

As I’m not a sadomasochist I’ve never used solid tires but I’ve heard that they can be difficult to get on and off rims. 

Personally I’d far rather chnage a puncture or two a year than put up daily with the alleged poor ride quality. 

You have struck lucky sir, for I am the only cyclist I know who has used solid tyres for a lengthy spell of all-weather commuting.  Mind you, it was a long time ago and my memories grow rosier with every passing year, but, for what it’s worth here goes …..

They were from Halfords, called something like Green Tyres but were boringly black in colour.  They were fairly expensive, as are modern solids, and pretty heavy too.  But they seated easily enough and I don’t remember any unexpected skids or loss of control in the wet.

What I do recall is the first time I rode them they seemed hard and unyielding, but as the days passed that disappointment wore off and I soon settled into a reassuringly flat-free life.

I suppose if that’s the extent of my recollection they must have been reasonably satisfactory.  I sold the bike about a year later, to a bloke who never asked me about them, and, although I would sometimes bump into him, he never once complained or commented.

Would I repeat the experiment?  No, once you reach a certain price point modern tyres are marvellous.  Using rubber like Michelin Pro4 Endurance, Conti 4000 or Pirelli Cinturato ensures I get an average one flat a year, and I ride 4000 miles over varying surfaces in most weathers.  (Of course, now I’ve boasted that fact I’m in for an uncomfortable series of blow-outs!)

Best of luck.

Not really long-term

Not really long-term experience, but I have tried them out (on a unicycle and a bike) and found them to have a very poor ride quality. To be fair, this was decades ago, so I’m sure that newer tyres are slightly better.

The major problem seems to be with how solid tyres absorb shocks. With a standard pneumatic tyre, a bump will cause deformation of the tyre around the bump and then the shock/pressure change gets distributed around the wheel via the air inside. With solid tyres, the bump doesn’t get distributed as well and thus you need harsher rubber to keep from bumping the rim.

The other issue is that solid tyres are heavier and it feels as though they absorb energy on rough surfaces – higher rolling resistance.

Unless you have a specific reason to use solid tyres, I’d give them a miss.

(By the way, a solid tyre worked okay on a unicycle. It was specifically for playing unicycle hockey and I needed a non-marking tyre for use in church-halls etc.)

Edit: Just remembered that although you can’t get punctures, I did notice that the solid tyres pick up quite a few nicks and cuts which doesn’t help their ride quality at all.