hyperhippy Posted July 31, 2003 Report Posted July 31, 2003 have just spent an hour fitting Coastguards "Turf tyre package" on to standard rims (took it to a tyre smith and he said no way !!!) I did it, and man are they Big !!! My flexi buggy now looks extreme:cool: At present waiting on a extra wide axle, by the time I get out Kiting again there is no way the buggy will flip me!!!! Quote
photek1000 Posted July 31, 2003 Report Posted July 31, 2003 I have been looking at getting a set of these for my flexi buggy, how did you get them to fit up, did you use existing inner tubes or are there new ones, any issues with the front fork. And do they look as cool as they do on the web site. Cheers Quote
Kiteboyza Posted July 31, 2003 Report Posted July 31, 2003 any tips on fitting them as i have a set of bigfoots arriving real soon and no doubt there will be blue smoke in my garage whilst fitting them:D Quote
hyperhippy Posted July 31, 2003 Author Report Posted July 31, 2003 Yeah not a piece of cake. It was quite tuff taking the standard tyres off the hub, the tyre seems to stick close to the rim, little bit of brute force, with the wheel lying flat on the ground, and using knees to push down on the tyre sorts that out. Fitting the tyre- get hold of some valves from a tyre smith for tubeless tyres- Whilst my tyre smith wouldnt fit the tyres for me he did give me three valves for free. Insert the valve use pliers to pull the valve in snuggly ( it has groove) if you try pushing it in with hands it wont happen, so pliers made it easy. the front tyre being smaller was quite easy, use a bit of fairy liquid right on the edge of the rims and push down on a flat surface. The rear tyres - man they are wide- the first rim actually goes in real easy, but because of the width almost impossible to put enough pressure on the second rim ( the hub just slips out because it is that much smaller) The main problem is you need to put something like a steel dog bowl upside down on the floor position the hub exactly on top of that then push down on the tyre working the rim in- with a bit of use from a heavy duty screwdriver or similar flat ended tool. You have to use quite a lot of pressure and be real careful ( I had visions of implaing my self on the screwdriver). I managed to do this with a dicky left hand (recent buggy accident) but I did do it- it might pay to have a helping hand, but it is possible on your own. The clearence on the front wheel is about 5-10 mm. I fitted these bad boys to a standard axle- and the buggy looks really wild. Gonna give my wrist another week to heal up before I try it out- Hopefully by then my extra wide axle might have arrived. definatly glad i got those tyres. Quote
Kiteboyza Posted July 31, 2003 Report Posted July 31, 2003 Seems like i might need a few Stellas before attempting this feat of indurance....cheers for the advice Quote
buggykiller Posted July 31, 2003 Report Posted July 31, 2003 putting an agressive tread tyre on your buggy would seem like a pretty good way to improve your chances of flipping to me. Quote
Kiteboyza Posted July 31, 2003 Report Posted July 31, 2003 thats why i got bigfoot slicks, and i use em on the beach Quote
BobTheRussianGarbageMan Posted July 31, 2003 Report Posted July 31, 2003 Originally posted by Kiteboyza Seems like i might need a few Stellas before attempting this feat of indurance....cheers for the advice I had a few stellas before I fitted my rear tyres I tried using a chisel to get them on and off at first then I realised why I kept getting punctures... I went out today with them for the first time and realised I would need more space than a couple of football pitches if I didnt want to kill myself. I was overpowered for a start but I couldnt scrub off speed because I had too much grip! I nearly had 2 or 3 OOBs today- but it was amazing all the same. I'll get used to it- well worth the money for the extra speed! Quote
Furry Ginger One Posted July 31, 2003 Report Posted July 31, 2003 Photek, have sent you a pm ref some big tyres for sale. Quote
HD462 Posted July 31, 2003 Report Posted July 31, 2003 Have you got a pic of your Flexi buggy with the turf tyre pack fitted? My mate has one with a wide axle, and I was saying he should do it to his. I'm considering one myself too, if I upgrade my buggy, so wouldn't mine seeing what they look like when they're on. I saw a large ride-on lawnmower / tractor at B&Q Warehouse the other night with the same size tyres on, and they looked like they'd be pretty wicked on a buggy. Thanks. Quote
Furry Ginger One Posted July 31, 2003 Report Posted July 31, 2003 HD462 Have a look here http://www.coastguard-kites.com/core_gallery.asp?id=225 Quote
HD462 Posted July 31, 2003 Report Posted July 31, 2003 Ah thanks Wing Commander. I'd looked on that page before, but neve rnoticed that pic, I'd been looking at the single tyres. Cheers. Quote
Netboy Posted August 1, 2003 Report Posted August 1, 2003 I have had the wide tyres for a couple of weeks now. I have found the grip I am getting going upwind is great, yet I am still able to slid the back around on turns. The only thing is that I have the standard axle and the thing looks like a tractor. I am thinking that I would have been better off if I had ordered the small front ones for the back as well. Quote
nytrox Posted August 1, 2003 Report Posted August 1, 2003 the pic on coastguards site is of my buggy with the wide axle etc the only thing i would say is that if you have a standard axle you might also want to consider getting a wide one when fitting the big rear tyres, my mate has a standard axle and keeps catching his elbows/handles on the tyres in the turns because of the extra width Quote
Muttley Posted August 1, 2003 Report Posted August 1, 2003 after 6 months of using these tyres, i have just sold mine whilst they performed quite well on sand, i found that they slowed me down far too much, especially buggying on long grass i have now bought some disk wheels (courtesy of coastguard kites) & the increase in speed is incredible... i recon i can buggy almost twice as fast across the 25acre field at hydroextreme with these thinner tyres really looking forward to middle wallop to test them to the limit (cleaning the buggy in my lounge at the mo so have taken a pic ) Quote
HD462 Posted August 1, 2003 Report Posted August 1, 2003 I think yours' look ok Netboy, although if I did go the Flexi route I'd be going for the wide axle anyway, so it would be like Nytroxs'. Just wondering if the turf tyres would be good on sand too rather than the knobbly versions. I think they look better, the knobblies might have too much grip? Quote
Netboy Posted August 1, 2003 Report Posted August 1, 2003 I would agree with you HD462, the extra wide axle is the way to go with these tyres. The only problem I have with getting one is fitting it in the car. Quote
HD462 Posted August 1, 2003 Report Posted August 1, 2003 Yeah, that would be the problem for me too. May have to use a bike rack or something (I already have a rack). That's one of the things I worked round when I made my buggy, I made it so the back axle slides off, it's just held on with straps (and tight fitting steel dowels), so you can drop the axle off in seconds to go in the car. Doubt I could with big wheels on though...lol Quote
Waitingforwind Posted August 3, 2003 Report Posted August 3, 2003 What pressure do you run them at? I went to the tyre shop to get ATV knobblies fitted and they said not possible. I told them it was for a buggy and the manager said" I play alot of Golf and I've never seen tyres like that on a buggy before" So I explained and they fitted them. Much easier to stand and watch than fight for hours with 2 screw drivers ;) I run them at 10 psi at the moment but would like to go lower. Waiting for more time and more wind to experiment. Any set ups situations appreciated. Turned the front wheel into a mud ball on Friday wouldnt go round in the forks :mad: Quote
BobTheRussianGarbageMan Posted August 3, 2003 Report Posted August 3, 2003 I run mine at high pressure- not sure how much exactly then run my front wheel at low pressure which helps when turning so the front wheel isnt 'washed out' as much. I can hold huge amounts of power with my knobblies on grass- which means lots more speed:D . I have yet to try them on sand but have heard they perform well. My local tyre shop were right twats they wouldnt touch it. They said if anyone can fit those on there then they are geniuses. They were just too lazy. It ended up being a battle between me and the tyres on the living room floor. But I managed and next time I go out I will stop by and say 'Look you half arsed lazy tyre changing c*nts- I'm a ****ing genius!' Quote
Waitingforwind Posted August 4, 2003 Report Posted August 4, 2003 The fitter did put the lever through the inner tube though. Should have seen his face when he realized he would have to take it off and start again Gave him £4 tip thinking I would get billed for it as well but he said not to worry :) So top blokes at Stapletons. :D Need to keep them soft to give more shock absorblion over rough terrain. With barrow wheels anything over 25 mph and fillings start coming loose :( Quote
nytrox Posted August 4, 2003 Report Posted August 4, 2003 just a little tip if your running these on a flexi wide axle... when i first fitted my rear atv tyres i had them really hard thinking they would perform better on a sandy surface at pressure, however when doing hard upwind slides on uneven sand i managed to rip the ends out of the axle along with the thread that the bolts screw into i now run the rears at about 5psi and not only do they grip like feck on grass/sand but there is hardly any lateral force on the axle bolts anymore. having them this low also gives you a nice smooth ride in the buggy without all the bumping about just a thought neway, didnt want to see other ppl sending their rear axles into flexi for repair like i had to, also a big thanks to flexi for making such a good job on the new welds :D Quote
Waitingforwind Posted August 4, 2003 Report Posted August 4, 2003 Thanks Nytrox 5 psi was about where I hoped to get the pressure down to. Do you still use the barrow wheels? I think I will miss the ability to throw the buggy around as you can with barrows, but looking forward to a more comfortable ride at speed:D Quote
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