What if? 26" white letter Goodyear Eagle drag slick

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Lonewolf

Lonewolf

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They don't exist. Wouldn't this be a cool thing to have?

What about a 24" hard sidewall drag slick so tall it becomes a 26" wheel? You could fit gigantic white letters on them.

How could we get this to happen? How much would you pay? $50?

I have an Asian (China) manufacturing connection who already makes BMX race and mountain bike tires.

It would require an investment on my part, but I'm gauging interest (just like the re pop truss bar thing).


We couldn't include Goodyear's name on the side, but maybe provide stencils. so who wants Badyear Eagle drag slicks?

You know, kinda lend a cartoon, larger than life, flair to a real world build?
 
if i could get one, thatd be AWESOME! but how much exactly would we have to invest? you said 50?
 
Okay, glad I got some feedback.

Today (Sunday) I emailed and called a company. The first phone message cut me off, so on the second call (as it was ringing so I could finish my message), the owner picked up the phone and we talked.

This guy makes race vintage retreads. He was headed to a show so it was pretty brief. I explained to him basically what I was looking for.

I told him the price range $50- $80 retail, (I imagine he could get away with $100).

I told him it would need to be smooth sidewalls so the end consumer could apply graphics with not too much trouble and that they would have to resemble Goodyear Racing Eagles. I told him 3" wide.

I also told him they should have two sloping sides of the tread surface that make a center ridge line for basic handling characteristics and to minimize rolling resistance, but it would be subtle so as to resemble a flat slick (ala schwinn muscle bike tires).

Initially, he wasn't too turned on by the word "bicycle", or the low expected MSRP, but I told him, just because you aren't familiar with the market doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

-He suddenly changed his attitude and started sounding interested.

He said he would emali me back and for me to call him this week.

I think on my first contact we might have a bite.

Yes, please give input. The 26" going out to a 28" is something I hadn't thought of, but that would certainly lend a cartoon flair to any cruiser build.

The investment that was spoken of, would have to be out of my pocket to get a real, true tire made out of China. I have a formidable contact, but they require me to have set up and shipping, monies together. They have proven in the past, they are willing to play with me.
 
The RatRodBikes.com idea is a solid one.
It would be possible to provide custom stencils.

I figure it would be better to let you guys do what you want to with them.
 
3" wide may present a problem in lots of cruiser frames. The 24x3" tires are tight in most frame/forks and only fit with lots of room to spare in the 50's balloon bikes.

I would say 2.5" would allow it to work in more frames.
 
cman said:
3" wide may present a problem in lots of cruiser frames. The 24x3" tires are tight in most frame/forks and only fit with lots of room to spare in the 50's balloon bikes.

I would say 2.5" would allow it to work in more frames.
Click to expand...

I like the RatRodBikes idea, I'd go for a 24" x 2.75" to fit most bikes. Might have to massage the frame a bit with a big hammer but it'll fit.
 
Noted.

I will keep you guys updated on the status and tell you how the conversation goes. Before any tooling were to take place, we will know what most people would prefer and exacting dimensions so they would fit most frames.

At this point, any suggestions are being carefully considered.

I just did a check and it looks like cman is about right.
 
I think you might be onto a great idea/product.
I'd leave the sidewall blank and offer stencils so the buyer can customize the tire to fit his/her needs. There are alot of people who don't or won't buy something that is promoting a specific thing. Buying a product that promotes it's manufacturer is one thing but having to by a product to promote a club or group limits the product. You also might wanna consider a whitewall slick. Would look great on any bike and kinda give a nostalgic look. Keep the tire's dimensions practical. Nothing looks worse than a tire/rim combo that resembles Dolly Parton in a training bra. Offering various sizes would be best but could get costly.
 
What would be really cool would be a bike tire version of these...

White-Walls.JPG



And don't forget about the 26" Jerald Sulky Slick Cart Tires that everyone loves.

http://www.jeraldsulky.com/ProductDetai ... ctCode=26J

26J-2.jpg
 
CCR said:
the pie crust would be :) NICE :) to have, but a cart slick remake would have to beat their price already
Click to expand...

Yeah...$24 is a pretty nice price for a slick like this.

What's really ironic is when you're on their site and you want to purchase one you have to click the "Add to cart" button. :lol: :lol:

It's probably the only site where that button is literal.
 
Rat Rod said:
What would be really cool would be a bike tire version of these...

White-Walls.JPG



The guy I'm talking to makes these.
I'm not arguing, but I'm not a white wall kinda guy. I'm a white letter kinda guy. I'm after a smooth sidewall so I can paint them up.


The horse buggy tire is dangerously close to what I, personally, am after. Really close.

Maybe a meatier version with slightly more rounded shoulders?

Center spine tread or actual flat slick? Flat slicks would handle like Dolly Parton in a training bra. - Which may not be a bad thing at all. :)
Click to expand...
 
OH YA! Pie crust whitewall, I would kill for a 26x2.125. I think any bigger would be problematic being such a square tire. I have actually been contemplating painting whitewalls on my Sulky slik but not sure what kind of paint to use.
 
Rat Rod said:
What would be really cool would be a bike tire version of these...

White-Walls.JPG
Click to expand...


Exactly! If done right .... keeping this in stock would be almost impossible! The tire lends a look that would fit most any build.
 
Chainsaw said:
I think you might be onto a great idea/product.
I'd leave the sidewall blank and offer stencils so the buyer can customize the tire to fit his/her needs. There are alot of people who don't or won't buy something that is promoting a specific thing. Buying a product that promotes it's manufacturer is one thing but having to by a product to promote a club or group limits the product. You also might wanna consider a whitewall slick. Would look great on any bike and kinda give a nostalgic look. Keep the tire's dimensions practical. Nothing looks worse than a tire/rim combo that resembles Dolly Parton in a training bra. Offering various sizes would be best but could get costly.
Click to expand...

That sounds logical... ...But I don't know if I'd agree.

Lettering:
Leaving the sidewall blank would be the best idea ONLY IF the outcome with the stencils are going to be convincingly real. I personally am not eager to try painting if the tire is going to be expensive. I've never painted a tire (or letters on a tire white) white, and don't even know it is possible in a way that it looks 'factory' and stays white perminently. If the text (or the specific thing it promotes) on the tire is cool enough people are more than willing to pay for, and 'wear' it and promote. There's lot's of people proudly wearing a Nike-logo on their shirt, or Hoosier/GoodYear on a dragslick ,or black Lowrider lettering on the 20* white sidewalls, or a mooneyes decal on the fender (even if it hasn't have a single mooneyes-product bolted on...). Believe you me: Lot's of people 'love' to promote... The important thing is to come up with the 'right' text. I kinda like 'BadYear' because of the old Monster/Hotrod modelkits. Or maybe something cheesy like 'Thompy Mickson' or 'Good Gear' or Foot Gear', or something simple like 'Dragslick', or 'Cheater', or BlackWall, or 'Fat Tire', or... Maybe you should do a small competition amongst the members here to get to the right text.

Size:
Hotrodding equals exageration and very little compromizing regarding comfort and handling. When your building a hotrod/ratrod you'll definately want that 'Dolly-Parton-in-a-trainingbra-look'! Especially if we're talking 'dragslicks'. ...But ofcourse big'n'little, ...and not Dolly's bigger'n'bigger... :wink:

Lonewolf is trying to create something different and a normal sized blackwall tire would look very ...well... 'normal'... And there's lots of normal tires on the market already. Looking at the horse-cartwheel tires Ratrod posted that are 'normal' sized and blackwalled, also are CHEAP. You'ld only need a stencil for the lettering of your choice... 8) Take notice: If thàt is possible this one will be hard to beat! (for my cruisertype-builds actually, this tire is perfect...)

So... I really don't know what is best for a new tire product... Lonewolf should think long and hard about this before giving the green light! I only hope this thread will get a lot more feedback, then maybe in the future we'll have a unique and a succesfull new bicycletire.
 
I would be curious to know what your minimum quantities are going to be. (I mean the total minimum quantity you will need to buy to get them at all)

I looked into getting custom-color tires made, because I noticed some many people building retro-style motorized bikes couldn't find anything that was quite right.
I contacted one place and they said their minimum order was a 20-foot container--which was 6000 tires--at $6.50 apiece just for a custom color, using a generic-looking tread mold they already had.
If I wanted a custom tread design, that would cost me around $8K just for them to make the mold--and they would own that mold, I wouldn't own it.

The $39,000 was not the end price, that was just the tires on the container, delivered to their nearest port in China. The freight charges and import duties would still need to be paid, and I never did bother to find out what they might add up to.

-------------

Also I was warned (by another US individual) that there is a pretty high risk with buying containers of anything from China. Crime gangs run the ports (much like unions run US ports, only more so) and they will open containers, steal the contents, and then fill them with garbage, rocks or old railroad ties and send them on their way. The factory you ordered from will be no help, and the police there will only say there's nothing they can do. The only way to get around this is to have a Chinese shipping agent there who knows who to pay out the "unofficial shipping fees" to make sure this stuff doesn't happen.
~
 

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