byegad
Legendary Member
- Location
- NE England
The views against small wheels are mistaken: when Moulton introduced their first racing cycle which broke records, it had a 17" wheel. Most cycles with a 20" wheel have road tyres, not the BMX type, and these usually measure just 18". So, the Brompton tyre of 16" is barely smaller! My Brommies have managed up to 100+ miles in under 10 hours; maximum speed reached several times is 39 mph. I have used them on hard off road surfaces and the only difficulty has been in soft ground. Many recumbent cycles are now using these smaller wheels, too.
The Moulton small wheel road bikes were very quickly banned by the UCI. They are that fast!