ks16 2.5 mod KS16 2.5" (tire) modification. My experiences

[Shad0z]

do you think it would be possible to put a 2.5 tire on my tesla?

[Marty Backe]

8 hours ago, Shad0z said:

do you think it would be possible to put a 2.5 tire on my tesla?

Yes, @Ando Melkonyan likes to do this to his wheels. 

 

 

Edited April 21, 2018 by Marty Backe

[Shad0z]

4 hours ago, Marty Backe said:

Yes, @Ando Melkonyan likes to do this to his wheels. 

 

 

i need to do that 100%!

i just need a good tire and tube now  

[Shad0z]

now i ordered a 16x2.50" Kenda tire

now its just time to wait  

[Shad0z]

how did you even manage to convert it to tubeless 

[Shad0z]

so i got my kenda 16x 2.50 tire...

it doesnt fit  

EDIT: i talked with a guy who did it and his response:

"i had to move the control board up a few milimeters. and i grinded the shell. its well worth the sacrificed shell"

the parts that i can grind to make it fit would... make it extremely water vunerable. but he probably did something else i dont understood. my 2.50 tire isnt there to lie on the ground  

 

Edited May 11, 2018 by Shad0z

[US69]

@Shad0z

The wheel does not only get wider, it also gets a bit bigger (perhaps look for KS16S mods on FB).

Solution if only the height is a problem:

You have to set the wheel "down one screw hole"....so dont use the 6 screws holding the pedal arms, just use 4 screws to secure the wheel.

Like this it is also done on a KS16S. Perhaps you still need to mod the shell a bit...but for the height of the tire it helps!

 

Edit:

I forgot that its not possible to set the pedals lower on a Tesla...would only be possible on a ACM...but on a Tesla the LED ring makes that impossible.Sorry then!

Edited May 11, 2018 by US69

[Shad0z]

18 minutes ago, US69 said:

@Shad0z

 

Edit:

I forgot that its not possible to set the pedals lower on a Tesla...would only be possible on a ACM...but on a Tesla the LED ring makes that impossible.Sorry then!

? 

[Smoother]

@Shad0z .  Now is when you have to dig deep.  You need to examine where the interferences are, and figure out what modifications you have to make to make this tire fit.  Or you could put the factory tire back on and sell the tire to someone with a Lhotz or someone wishing to 2.5" mod a KS16.

On a related note, as @KS Poland has sent me back my upgraded axle for the 14c  (very nice too BTW) I now have to put it back together.  Problem is, since I took it apart last year (?) I have also put a 2.5" tire on it, so shell modifications are in order here as well.  I know from trial fitting the new tire in the shell, some shell has to be cut away, and new holes have to be drilled and tapped in the pedal hangers to move the shell up slightly, to clear the top of the tire.  There's always something!  Putting the factory tire back on is an option too, but its almost as big a PITA as modifying the wheel, so I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't.  Did I mention I'm very lazy?

Edited May 15, 2018 by Smoother

[The Fat Unicyclist]

Hey @Smoother - how's the "tour" going?

[Smoother]

13 minutes ago, The Fat Unicyclist said:

Hey @Smoother - how's the "tour" going?

It's a relatively static tour right now.  It seemed senseless to leave England just as the summer was starting, so I'm camped just off the A27 between Eastbourne and Brighton.  In-between continuing the modifications to my RV and usual daily chores I do get to ride Eastbourne and Brighton regularly.  And I had a nice ride between Bexhill on Sea and Hastings, the other week.  One day last week I did Beachy Head from one end to the other; all grass and mud paths.  I do seem to wheel alarming close to the edge sometimes (bad Smoother) but, when you know the next 6 feet is smooth, why wouldn't you?  The rescue squad was out, and people in helmets were going over the side.  I'm not sure if there had been a jumper, or if they were just practicing.  I did look over the side several times to see, but I could not see the bottom.  Funny enough, the entire rescue sqad stopped what they were doing and watch me, as I rode past.  I guess they've never seen an EUC in the plastic. I did climb some seriously steep grass slopes, which shocked some Japanese tourists I passed.  And no, my "Big Foot" pedals did not catch on anything.

I stopped for a rest and to take in the sights, very close to the edge.  After about 20 minutes I got up and walked away to take a photo of the place.  It was then that I noticed that the cliff top I had been sitting on was SERIOUSLY undercut.  These are chalk cliffs so not exactly "set in stone" .  The bottom is strewn with chalk falls as the cliffs erode and recede over time.  Needless to say I collected "Big foot" and wheeled away from there toute de suite. .  I've got some photos somewhere.  Phone ran out of storage, so not as many as I would like.

What's nice about EUC's is you can park the car where the parking is cheaper, or free, then wheel to the high priced destination, very nice! Just remember where the car is parked.

[Shad0z]

1 hour ago, Smoother said:

@Shad0z .  Now is when you have to dig deep.  You need to examine where the interferences are, and figure out what modifications you have to make to make this tire fit.  Or you could put the factory tire back on and sell the tire to someone with a Lhotz or someone wishing to 2.5" mod a KS16.

On a related note, as @KS Poland has sent me back my upgraded axle for the 14c  (very nice too BTW) I now have to put it back together.  Problem is, since I took it apart last year (?) I have also put a 2.5" tire on it, so shell modifications are in order here as well.  I know from trial fitting the new tire in the shell, some shell has to be cut away, and new holes have to be drilled and tapped in the pedal hangers to move the shell up slightly, to clear the top of the tire.  There's always something!  Putting the factory tire back on is an option too, but its almost as big a PITA as modifying the wheel, so I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't.  Did I mention I'm very lazy?

i talked with another guy who put a 2.5 tire on his tesla. and as i anticipated. he grinded away all the way around the peice of platic that seperates the tire from the motherboard and the rest of the shell. and then he filled it with spray foam. so you sacrifice the whole shell. its not going to be pretty on the inside. but on the outside it looks like nothing has changed

its not a hard mod. its just that you grind away so much of the shell. and there is no going back. i have 2 days left to return my tire that didnt fit. or i can consider doing this mod...

i need some very good reasons for shifting to a 2.5 tire.

convince me 

[Smoother]

If you have to make Swiss cheese out of your shell, I wouldn't do it.  You were happy with the factory ride; leave well alone. I wasn't happy with my ride (wobble) and I didn't have to calve my shell up six ways to Sunday; so for me it was an easier decision.

[mrelwood]

My brother got himself a 16S, so I got to try it with the 2.125" factory tire. The 2.5" Chao Yang H-5102 I have on mine currently, at speed behaves like a narrower tire, so cornering is more natural. I even thought it was close to a 2.125". Boy did I remember wrong. The original doesn't take any road imperfections gracefully, and is downright bad on difficult surfaces. Cornering on sandy asphalt must be made at near walking speed. The only possible reason 2.5" isn't the standard for a 16" wheel is that the manufacturer hasn't tried it yet. For me it's a no-brainer. A good 2.5" tire makes the ride a lot more stable at any speed, and especially those surprise obstacles, diagonal water channels on dirt roads etc, turn from OMG to OK.

YMMV of course. 

[Shad0z]

36 minutes ago, mrelwood said:

My brother got himself a 16S, so I got to try it with the 2.125" factory tire. The 2.5" Chao Yang H-5102 I have on mine currently, at speed behaves like a narrower tire, so cornering is more natural. I even thought it was close to a 2.125". Boy did I remember wrong. The original doesn't take any road imperfections gracefully, and is downright bad on difficult surfaces. Cornering on sandy asphalt must be made at near walking speed. The only possible reason 2.5" isn't the standard for a 16" wheel is that the manufacturer hasn't tried it yet. For me it's a no-brainer. A good 2.5" tire makes the ride a lot more stable at any speed, and especially those surprise obstacles, diagonal water channels on dirt roads etc, turn from OMG to OK.

YMMV of course. 

i tried a msuper with a wide tire and it somrhow seemed that i could turn easily at speed but my tesla with a narrow tire just seemed like i had to brake to turn properly. Like if i didnt do that i would fall. Good to hear that it gives big improvements! Well.  Now i just need to grind my shell and fill it with spray foam. Then install the tire ?

[Smoother]

On 5/17/2018 at 3:34 PM, mrelwood said:

My brother got himself a 16S, so I got to try it with the 2.125" factory tire. The 2.5" Chao Yang H-5102 I have on mine currently, at speed behaves like a narrower tire, so cornering is more natural. I even thought it was close to a 2.125". Boy did I remember wrong. The original doesn't take any road imperfections gracefully, and is downright bad on difficult surfaces. Cornering on sandy asphalt must be made at near walking speed. The only possible reason 2.5" isn't the standard for a 16" wheel is that the manufacturer hasn't tried it yet. For me it's a no-brainer. A good 2.5" tire makes the ride a lot more stable at any speed, and especially those surprise obstacles, diagonal water channels on dirt roads etc, turn from OMG to OK.

YMMV of course. 

It's been so long since I changed my tire that I cannot remember how the factory Kenda rode.  It would be nice to try one side by side as you did.  @IPS Malta sent me a different Chao Yang 2.5 to try but I can't bring myself to rip the wheel apart to swap them out.  I'm very comfortable on my current 2.5 (model 5192) although high speed wobbles are still there on uneven surfaces (almost every surface around here).  Occasionally, I forget how to ride it, and it feels awkward, but once I retrain my legs, its all (mostly) good. And despite being on the slicker side of the spectrum, it handles all surfaces well.  A few weeks ago, I rode from sea level to the top of BeachyHead (large chalk cliff covered with grass).  Despite the grass and the steep climb, I managed to ride almost all of it with no wheel slippage.  There was only one section I had to walk, and that was too steep for any tire, or wheel for that matter.

ps.  going down a steep hill on a rough surface, "might" cause you to come off, and "might" cause your wheel to tumble at high speed out of control, bouncing as high as head height, and it "might" almost hit a tourist walking down the same hill in front of you, and it "might"  disappear into thick weeds, brambles, and stinging nettles dozens of meters down the hill, and you "might" spend a few minutes looking for it, and there "might" be some slight damage too it.  But that's all hypothetical .

I think I'm going to dig out my leash.

[Shad0z]

1 hour ago, Smoother said:

It's been so long since I changed my tire that I cannot remember how the factory Kenda rode.  It would be nice to try one side by side as you did.  @IPS Malta sent me a different Chao Yang 2.5 to try but I can't bring myself to rip the wheel apart to swap them out.  I'm very comfortable on my current 2.5 (model 5192) although high speed wobbles are still there on uneven surfaces (almost every surface around here).  Occasionally, I forget how to ride it, and it feels awkward, but once I retrain my legs, its all (mostly) good. And despite being on the slicker side of the spectrum, it handles all surfaces well.  A few weeks ago, I rode from sea level to the top of BeachyHead (large chalk cliff covered with grass).  Despite the grass and the steep climb, I managed to ride almost all of it with no wheel slippage.  There was only one section I had to walk, and that was too steep for any tire, or wheel for that matter.

ps.  going down a steep hill on a rough surface, "might" cause you to come off, and "might" cause your wheel to tumble at high speed out of control, bouncing as high as head height, and it "might" almost hit a tourist walking down the same hill in front of you, and it "might"  disappear into thick weeds, brambles, and stinging nettles dozens of meters down the hill, and you "might" spend a few minutes looking for it, and there "might" be some slight damage too it.  But that's all hypothetical .

I think I'm going to dig out my leash.

im really considiring making my shell into swiss cheese to make that tire fit  

[kasenutty]

Well, it's already a pretty crappy shell, so why not?

[Shad0z]

1 hour ago, kasenutty said:

Well, it's already a pretty crappy shell, so why not?

i mean. it works? and its not too bad

and also im waiting for a guy to answer. he basically needed to grind a lot of it away and fill it with spray foam. i definetly want to see what he did before i try. he told me now 4 weeks ago he would send photos soon but he never answered...

 

[kasenutty]

I'm just making fun of your EUC because it isn't mine. It's how friends show love in the USSA. 

[Shad0z]

8 minutes ago, kasenutty said:

I'm just making fun of your EUC because it isn't mine. It's how friends show love in the USSA. 

well im a dead serious person, i dont take jokes lightly. ever. as you have noticed. 

[kasenutty]

This is why you are the most fun to joke with

[mrelwood]

6 hours ago, Shad0z said:

he basically needed to grind a lot of it away and fill it with spray foam.

I have made the mod, and I don’t understand the use of a foam. Why and where exactly did he use it? The inner and outer shells are still in contact after making room for the 2.5”, so nothing is exposed.

[mrelwood]

I forgot I have photos on the mod.

This is how much I saw’d away:

The motor cable hole must be extended, so the shell can sit 2cm higher on the higher row of bolts:

I made 2cm spacers to fill the exposed hole, to support the shell and to make sure it sits straight:

The end result:

[Shad0z]

11 hours ago, mrelwood said:

I have made the mod, and I don’t understand the use of a foam. Why and where exactly did he use it? The inner and outer shells are still in contact after making room for the 2.5”, so nothing is exposed.

not as simple on the tesla...

you basically need to grind away all this i marked with red. the photo is taken with the 2.5 tire installed. and i basically need to grind out all this plastic that is up against the tire and fill with something else so water doesnt go directly to the control board. or yeah. in the rest of the shell. but the challenge though is making it the same on both sides so there is no gap when both shell parts are put together