Kingsong S18 Tire Discussion

[EUCRexy]

Random info for you guys looking for the K262 in the 2.75-14. It seems Kenda has them in stock in one of their warehouses in the US. If yall have a motorcycle dealership nearby that deals in Kenda, they should be able to special order it for you. If not, let me know.

[enaon]

On 12/6/2020 at 6:14 AM, Mac said:

Last week I installed the Pirelli Angel Scooter tire. I’ve tried others and was about to give up when I found this tire.

thank you very much for this comment, this tire makes the s18 work as it should, the suspension now feels solid. 

I felt from day one that the original tire being able to bend because it was soft was introducing unwanted behavior, now I am sure. Three s18 users tested the Pirelli today, all agree that it takes the s18 to another level of stability when turning and using the suspension, no wobbles on high speed/

the s18 needs a proper tire and the pirelli angel fits just fine. 

 

https://streamable.com/lxvt1k

 

 

Edited March 26, 2021 by enaon

[MurseMGV]

On 3/26/2021 at 11:04 AM, enaon said:

thank you very much for this comment, this tire makes the s18 work as it should, the suspension now feels solid. 

I felt from day one that the original tire being able to bend because it was soft was introducing unwanted behavior, now I am sure. Three s18 users tested the Pirelli today, all agree that it takes the s18 to another level of stability when turning and using the suspension, no wobbles on high speed/

the s18 needs a proper tire and the pirelli angel fits just fine. 

 

https://streamable.com/lxvt1k

 

 

Have you ridden at all off-road or in slick conditions with it?

[FinRider]

On 3/26/2021 at 8:04 PM, enaon said:

thank you very much for this comment, this tire makes the s18 work as it should, the suspension now feels solid. 

I felt from day one that the original tire being able to bend because it was soft was introducing unwanted behavior, now I am sure. Three s18 users tested the Pirelli today, all agree that it takes the s18 to another level of stability when turning and using the suspension, no wobbles on high speed/

the s18 needs a proper tire and the pirelli angel fits just fine. 

 

https://streamable.com/lxvt1k

 

 

Looks great. I had my first ride this weekend on my H-666 and it is ALOT better than the stock tire.

[MurseMGV]

29 minutes ago, FinRider said:

Looks great. I had my first ride this weekend on my H-666 and it is ALOT better than the stock tire.

That H-666 looks really good. That is the one that is discontinued, though, right?

The 18 x 2.5 is still available. Would it be worth trying or do you think the narrower width would not be great?

Edited March 29, 2021 by MurseMGV

[FinRider]

51 minutes ago, MurseMGV said:

That H-666 looks really good. That is the one that is discontinued, though, right?

The 18 x 2.5 is still available. Would it be worth trying or do you think the narrower width would not be great?

Yeah, they discontinued it. I have a source where i can get the 18x3.. but it is friggin €100... well worth it though

[null]

On 3/29/2021 at 9:10 PM, MurseMGV said:

That H-666 looks really good. That is the one that is discontinued, though, right?

The 18 x 2.5 is still available. Would it be worth trying or do you think the narrower width would not be great?

The 18x2.5 version is still around indeed, but it doesn’t have the qualities on a EUC that the 18x3 version have.
The profile is pointy / narrow and the EUC have à tendency to flip to one side.
(I did a review of it in the "tires" sub. Some other guy from French forum didn't like it either.)

Edited April 10, 2021 by null

[enaon]

3 hours ago, MurseMGV said:

Have you ridden at all off-road or in slick conditions with it?

I haven't done any off roading, other than driving in Athens that is, it almost qualifies

In the wet/slick it feels secure, reassuring. It is on another level when comparing to the euc tires with no internal structure.  

Edited March 29, 2021 by enaon

[NastyFartPants]

On 2/14/2021 at 7:52 PM, NastyFartPants said:

 

 

 

Firstly, I am a new inexperienced rider, only 400km, this is my first wheel and I’m old (58) so act on my views accordingly!

I like this tyre.

The Heidanau K66 80/80-14 has a smaller diameter than the stock Chao Yang H-5102, with the result being that the wheel speed displayed is approximately 7% faster than the GPS speed, however, this is easily compensated for in the EUC World App.
 

 

I found that tyre pressure is important, whereas I rode at 35psi on the stock tyre (I weigh 80kg) that pressure felt too twitchy for me, so I ride this at 30psi.

It's a tubeless tyre which I run with the original tube!

I ride mostly on trails and I much prefer this tyre, it feels nimbler and grippier, but I don’t notice it being anymore stable at high speed on the road,  I still get wobbles at the same speed as the stock tyre.  Of course I know this is due to my lack of experience, not the tyres.
 

 

 

 

 

I am aware that the latest batch of S18’s come with an EAKIA  tyre which could potentially be even better!

Finally, even though I really like this tyre I also have a IRC SN26 Urban Snow 80/90-14 which I will attempt to fit in the near future.  So stay tuned!
 

IRC SN26 Urban Snow 80/90-14

I have a bit of a love hate relationship with this tyre.

The IRC SN26 Urban Snow 80/90-14 has a smaller diameter than the stock Chao Yang H-5102 and a larger diameter than the Heidanau K66 80/80-14, and although It fitted my S18 without modification there was a slight chuff chuff sound initially on sharp changes of direction but that soon went.

I set the "wheel speed correction" to –4 on the EUC World App.

I made a template of the stock tyre to compare the profiles however even though they looked almost identical the tyres handled completely differently.

 

 

 

This tyre has good straight-line stability, but what you gain on the straight is lost when cornering.

This tyre drops unnervingly fast into turns and lacks corner stability, at slow speed winding through cones etc it drops into turns too quickly and this tyre feels unstable going around bends.

But I do like it off road and on tracks where it has a nice combination of grip, agility and straight-line stability.

The 35psi I liked on the stock H-5102 tyre and the 30 psi I liked on the Heidanau K66 were way too twitchy for me on this tyre. In order to have any confidence in this tyre I’ve had to drop the pressure to 20 psi.

 

 

 

Even though it’s a motorcycle tyre and is more ridged than the stock tyre as the carcass is much stiffer, I’m still uncomfortable with 20 psi as I feel is too low and makes me concerned that I’ll damage the rim!

 

 

 

I’m not sure that this a tyre many riders will like, I suspect young adaptable riders and experienced skilful riders may like it, for me it’s probably a case of old dogs new tricks. I am going to persevere with it a bit longer and try to gradually up the pressure, although I won’t be going back to my stock Chao Yang H-5102.

I am curious to see what a good rider makes of it though, but if like me you lack experience then it’s probably best to steer clear of this tyre meantime!

[mrelwood]

Nice to see that the SN-26 fits the S18 without mods! It’s a great alternative for winter riding.

 What you describe in the turning behavior of the SN-26 is unfortunately quite an universal trait of a knobby tire. For the tire to turn in a way we are accustomed to with factory installed EUC tires, I believe the center of the tire must be more dense than the edge. If you look at any factory install tire (Sherman excluded with it’s knobby), they all have a solid center section and a knurled edge.

I think I’ll try more tires again this season, as I’m still in the hunt for a 18x3.0 sized tire with a better combination of off-road grip and carving behavior on pavement.

[Unventor]

On 4/6/2021 at 11:01 AM, NastyFartPants said:

IRC SN26 Urban Snow 80/90-14

I have a bit of a love hate relationship with this tyre.

The IRC SN26 Urban Snow 80/90-14 has a smaller diameter than the stock Chao Yang H-5102 and a larger diameter than the Heidanau K66 80/80-14, and although It fitted my S18 without modification there was a slight chuff chuff sound initially on sharp changes of direction but that soon went.

I set the "wheel speed correction" to –4 on the EUC World App.

I made a template of the stock tyre to compare the profiles however even though they looked almost identical the tyres handled completely differently.

 

 

 

This tyre has good straight-line stability, but what you gain on the straight is lost when cornering.

This tyre drops unnervingly fast into turns and lacks corner stability, at slow speed winding through cones etc it drops into turns too quickly and this tyre feels unstable going around bends.

But I do like it off road and on tracks where it has a nice combination of grip, agility and straight-line stability.

The 35psi I liked on the stock H-5102 tyre and the 30 psi I liked on the Heidanau K66 were way too twitchy for me on this tyre. In order to have any confidence in this tyre I’ve had to drop the pressure to 20 psi.

 

 

 

Even though it’s a motorcycle tyre and is more ridged than the stock tyre as the carcass is much stiffer, I’m still uncomfortable with 20 psi as I feel is too low and makes me concerned that I’ll damage the rim!

 

 

 

I’m not sure that this a tyre many riders will like, I suspect young adaptable riders and experienced skilful riders may like it, for me it’s probably a case of old dogs new tricks. I am going to persevere with it a bit longer and try to gradually up the pressure, although I won’t be going back to my stock Chao Yang H-5102.

I am curious to see what a good rider makes of it though, but if like me you lack experience then it’s probably best to steer clear of this tyre meantime!

I think what you write about turning is very accurate indeed. I use this on my V11.  I can't make tight shoulder twist turns with it. And in the beginning it annoyed me a lot. But the tire change of the V11 turn out to be a "feature" that kept me riding this more that if it had been easier to swap back to summer tire. 

Over time I got used to it. I even seated the tire in wrong direction. I think it might be slighter more easy to turn in correct riding direction. 

I got back to riding my KS16X with a solid core on the center line of this tire. And I really like taking maneuverability but there is a trade off to on this. In wet it is much more slippery. So I have a very hard time deciding on this. I really want the best if both worlds. So I am still looking for a better over all tire. I do hope The Tire God of EUCs @mrelwoodcome up with a great solution. 😉

[Unventor]

On 3/26/2021 at 7:04 PM, enaon said:

thank you very much for this comment, this tire makes the s18 work as it should, the suspension now feels solid. 

I felt from day one that the original tire being able to bend because it was soft was introducing unwanted behavior, now I am sure. Three s18 users tested the Pirelli today, all agree that it takes the s18 to another level of stability when turning and using the suspension, no wobbles on high speed/

the s18 needs a proper tire and the pirelli angel fits just fine. 

 

https://streamable.com/lxvt1k

 

 

Hmmm this might work out too for me on the V11. It just look a tiny bit too much street style.

[AlexIsTheBest]

I’ve also installed the Pirelli angel. However, I now have slight tire on fender rubbing and also some rubbing when the suspension is compressed. I haven’t touched my S18 in months so I don’t recall how to fix this. I had to put aluminum beer can spacers on my axle so the suspension wouldn’t bind. I’m searching through the forum because I remember seeing a post addressing the steps to eliminate both types of rubbing, can anyone refresh my memory?

[fbhb]

12 hours ago, AlexIsTheBest said:

I’m searching through the forum because I remember seeing a post addressing the steps to eliminate both types of rubbing, can anyone refresh my memory?

My overhaul post was a very long read, but the information you need is in there regarding both wheel and tire alignment.  I was able to get one of the widest regular treaded tires available (CST 6004) to fit (almost 2.9inches on the Vernier) without any binding or rubbing whatsoever!

 

[AlexIsTheBest]

On 4/14/2021 at 10:29 PM, fbhb said:

My overhaul post was a very long read, but the information you need is in there regarding both wheel and tire alignment.  I was able to get one of the widest regular treaded tires available (CST 6004) to fit (almost 2.9inches on the Vernier) without any binding or rubbing whatsoever!

 

Thanks I totally forgot about your post! Turns out I was over complicating things a bit. I got everything aligned and my new angel tire feels awesome! Thanks for that write up! 

[FinRider]

On 4/19/2021 at 4:16 AM, AlexIsTheBest said:

Thanks I totally forgot about your post! Turns out I was over complicating things a bit. I got everything aligned and my new angel tire feels awesome! Thanks for that write up! 

Has anyone taken the Pirelli tire offroad already? It looks to be a great street tire, but how does it compare to the CY H-5102 or the Eakia/Jiluer J-1836?

My S18 came with the CY H-5102. It is good on pavement and hard dirt trails but very dangerous on wet surfaces... wet mud is a nightmare for this tire.

The Eakia/Jiluer has the centerline rib on it... I have no experience with a tire like this, so I am curious to know how it behaves in different conditions.

I managed to source a H-666 last year and this tire is AWESOME. Yesterday I tried to go riding on my favorite dirt trail only to find that large stretches of the trail was still covered in ice... The H-666 performed great even on the icy surface, something I would never even have contemplated with the H-5102. A friend of mine is buying a S18 in a week or two and we are trying to figure out if the Eakia/Jiluer is "good enough" or if we need to source a new tire for him. The Pirelli would be an option, but I need to know if it can handle trail riding (not talking crazy offroad, more like gravel roads etc with occasional wet muddy patches). Any insight would be highly appreciated.

[enaon]

27 minutes ago, FinRider said:

if the Eakia/Jiluer is "good enough" or if we need to source a new tire for him

I would place the eakia on the same level or even lower that the 5102, it felt slippery, unsecure on wet and mud. The pirelli is on another level on tarmac, but I am not so sure for loose ground. It is very stiff, rocks will not be able to bend it that well, they will be felt, thrown away etc. I will try to do some light off-roading to see if what I assume is correct.

 

you can see the difference from the 5102 here

https://streamable.com/lxvt1k

Edited April 21, 2021 by enaon

[Zwheeler]

27 minutes ago, FinRider said:

The Pirelli would be an option, but I need to know if it can handle trail riding (not talking crazy offroad, more like gravel roads etc with occasional wet muddy patches). Any insight would be highly appreciated.

I installed the Pirelli Angel, and I think that it is just a tad too stiff. It feels OK, on tarmac, but is uncomfy to drive on gravel. It feels all the loose rocks and grooves. Quite disturbing (at least for me)

Not too many km:s on that tire, however, and I am still playing with tire pressures

-Z-

[enaon]

I agree, it needs the suspension to have little to no friction forces, be as smooth and responsive as possible to really enjoy it. But in any case, I believe  a tire with a street cut and an internal structure, will not be as nice offroad as a strong bicycle tire like the 5102/eakia is. 

Edited April 21, 2021 by enaon

[Zwheeler]

On 4/21/2021 at 2:04 PM, FinRider said:

I managed to source a H-666 last year and this tire is AWESOME. 

Seems like eunicycles.eu sells that tire in Europe. I just placed an order. Should be here in a week. Let's see then how that feels

EDIT: No, they do not. That was the H-5102. My mistake

EDIT2: Actually, they sell both  Eakia J-1836 and CST C-1488 on size 18x3.0. Ordered the CST

-Z-

Edited April 26, 2021 by Zwheeler

[Kagenin]

I've put an IRC TR-1 in 2.75-14 on my S18.  I imported it off Amazon Japan (shipping cost a tiny bit more than the tire itself).

I don't have any pics or vids of it yet, but there's a couple youtubers sporting them right now.

First is this guy in Japan.  He has a good vid (with English subs) where he talks about how he likes it.  

Second is a fellow NorCal kid.  

It's fun for off-roading, the grip in gravel and pine needle duff is definitely improved, but I dunno if I'm in love with it. Carving deeply on smooth surfaces, things feel sketchy, like when you transfer from the inner tread to the outer tread, there's that gap where it feels like it might slide out on you before the outer tread connects.

I might put more air in it, see if I like it more.  The Japanese dude runs it at 35psi, I'm running at 30.  Gotta keep experimenting, I guess.

Edited April 24, 2021 by Kagenin

[enaon]

On 3/29/2021 at 9:55 PM, MurseMGV said:

Have you ridden at all off-road

I have now tested it in a near by park that I had taken the 5102 before, it has a lot of gravel and pine needles, the 5102 was doing fine, other that making the s18 behave like a SUV. The pirelli was better to my surprise, maybe it is me as well, at 30psi it was just fine, I only did a calm pass, but it felt reasuring. 

 

https://streamable.com/46hbbf

[Zwheeler]

34 minutes ago, enaon said:

I have now tested it in a near by park that I had taken the 5102 before, it has a lot of gravel and pine needles, the 5102 was doing fine, other that making the s18 behave like a SUV. The pirelli was better to my surprise, maybe it is me as well, at 30psi it was just fine, I only did a calm pass, but it felt reasuring. 

Well, I just replaced the Pirelli Angel with the original H-5102 and did a test drive in a park, too. Actually, the park paths were quite similar to the ones on your video:

34 minutes ago, enaon said:

https://streamable.com/46hbbf

I have to admit that I liked the H-5102 better. Smoother, easier, I just kinda felt more relaxed. But please note that I'm old and fat. If I am about to drive on gravel I rather choose a SUV than a Ferrari .

But I keep the Pirelli anyway. You never know, I may some day feel young again and want to drive fast on streets and tarmac... 

-Z-

[JimmyB]

Hi folks,

my first post here...I've just bought an S18 (yep, just before the S20 announcement, I know, I know!!) and am looking to fit a Pirelli Angel tyre on it to replace the  stock Eakia one, after hearing good things about how the Pirelli handles on tarmac.

The Pirelli Angel spec is 80/80 - 14 M/C 43S TL Reinf, front wheel - I've tried fitting it using the stock inner tube, but given that the tyre's a fair bit wider than the rim, there's about 4mm either side of the rim between the rim and the tyre wall where the inner tube is exposed. There's also major rubbing on the fender.

I'd be really grateful if anyone on here running the Angel tyre could please confirm:

are you running this tyre with the stock inner tube, and did you need to do the fender cutaway mod to install this tyre without rubbing?

Thanks to everyone on here for generously sharing so much helpful info!

Jimmy

 

[enaon]

12 minutes ago, JimmyB said:

are you running this tyre with the stock inner tube, and did you need to do the fender cutaway mod to install this tyre without rubbing?

 

yes stock tube, no need to cut anything, it will will fit just fine when you pump it up. 

 

ps. you will hear the plastic needles of the sides  touching the fender, but its a nice sound, and you can always trim them off if you want.

Edited August 13, 2021 by enaon