The Perfect Tyre

On the rear wheel we would experiment with

a standard ‘knobbly’ tyre but also try out a

sand tyre. I had heard of these being fitted to

bikes used on beaches or in the desert, where

a normal tyre wouldn’t really cut the mustard.

The sand tyre doesn’t have grooves cut into it

like an ordinary tyre but has a dozen ‘paddles’

sticking out of the tread area. These push the

loose sand behind the wheel to drive the bike

forward and would hopefully push water

behind as well, just like the paddle wheel on

Left: A sand tyre, normally used for racing on beaches
or desert dunes, was what we thought would work
best as a rear ‘paddle’ wheel.

Above: The Suzuki
had a normal chain
drive – simple, robust
and reliable.

Below: Knobbly off-
road tyres gave us a
proper surprise when
we tested them.

new tricks for a magic bike   155