A tyre to take your scooter through the busy city streets.
Most people think that scooter tyres are just a smaller variant of motorcycle tyres. But there is a fundamental difference between two-wheeler tyres for bikes and scooters. These tyres fall under different categories, with different use cases and component composition. Scooters, for instance, are made for zippy rides through city traffic while allowing you to carry weight and are a popular choice among food delivery service providers. Individual owners use gearless scooters for quick commute and household chores due to their swift handling and a lot of cubby holes for storage.
Picking the right scooter tyre can increase your mobility and reduce the running cost of your scooter, which is a godsent if you are a fleet owner or manage on-house deliveries for your local business.
Scooter tyre size and fitting
Stock equipment installed by manufacturers is often calibrated for a balance between price and performance. While you must adhere to the size specifications set by the scooter brand, you can customise your choice based on rubber quality, tread design and warranty of new scooter tyres. By sticking to tyre specifications mentioned by the OE, you will get closer to specified performance figures. A good scooter tyre helps you maintain good stability, acceleration and braking performance on the road.
You can identify stock scooter tyre specification from the sidewall of a tyre. Here is a quick guide for reading the markings on tyres.
So, if the code mentioned on your scooter tyre’s sidewall says 90/100-10 53J, here’s’ what it means:
- 90 is the width of tyre in millimetres from one sidewall to the other;
- 100 is aspect ratio of the tyre i.e. the ratio of the cross-section to its width;
- 10 is the diameter of the wheel in inches;
- 53 is the tyres load index, that is, the tyres maximum carrying capacity. In this case, 53 indicates the tyre has a total carrying capacity of 206kgs;
- J is the speed rating which denotes the maximum speed of your tyre. J would mean that your scooter tyre can go up to a maximum speed of 100.
If you are unable to identify the coding from the sidewalls, refer to the owner’s manual. All necessary information about your scooter will be mentioned in there.
Bias or Radial Tyre Type
The second decision that impacts performance and ride comfort of your scooter tyres will be the choice of tyre technology – bias ply or radial tyres.
In bias-ply tyres, the carcass of the tyre has layers of fabric wrapped over each other in a criss-cross formation. This provides a base-layer which has ample cushioning, making bias-ply tyres more comfortable for riding on rough city roads. The cushioning also helps in maintaining control and stability when you are riding with heavy loads. Drawbacks of bias-ply include loss of tyre shape and stability at higher speed and lower fuel-economy due to their higher rolling resistance.
On the other hand, Radial tyres have a carcass made from cord plies, which go straight across the tread with belts of steel, polyester and various other fibres criss-crossed atop the cord plies. Radial tyres are stiffer which allows better high-speed performance and have a longer tyre tread life. Radial tyres also allow precise handling and their lower rolling resistance offers better fuel economy.
Stock equipment installed by manufacturers is often calibrated for a balance between price and performance. While you must adhere to the size specifications set by the scooter brand, you can customise your choice based on rubber quality, tread design and warranty of new scooter tyres. By sticking to tyre specifications mentioned by the OE, you will get closer to specified performance figures. A good scooter tyre helps you maintain good stability, acceleration and braking performance on the road.
Apollo Scooter Tyres
Apollo is one of the best tyre brands in India, known for making high-performance two-wheeler and four-wheeler tyres. The Actizip and Actigrip range of scooter tyres are quite popular among OE manufacturers and individual buyers. The tyres are available in both tube-type and tubeless variants and offer excellent mileage and fuel-economy. Apollo Tyre Shops are fully equipped to provide assistance with tyre replacement according to the make and model of your scooter, offering specialist advise for buying new scooter tyres.
