Paddle tires are mainly used on off-road vehicles, specifically designed for use in

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

and

mud Mud (, or Middle Dutch) is loam, silt or clay mixed with water. Mud is usually formed after rainfall or near water sources. Ancient mud deposits hardened over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone (generally cal ...

. They consist of a smooth tire core which has a series of large rubber cups (or paddles) attached to it. The volume inside of a paddle is much larger than the void of a knobby tire, so it is unlikely to clog up with sand/mud. A street legal mud tire is a more or less normal tire, but with extra large gaps or "voids" between each tread block (called "lugs") to allow centrifugal force to "self-clean" or fling the mud out of the gap. Smaller gaps trap the mud in between the tire lugs, which turns the tire into something resembling a " slick" with no tread at all, which will have no traction in mud. A paddle tire is an even more extreme version of this, optimized for mud or sand. The paddle provides superior traction in the sand, in part because the paddles dig into the sand and push off from the buried sand, not just the surface, and in mud, the gigantic "voids" give no place for mud to stick. They work something like a

paddle wheel A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened end (the ''blade'') used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered watercraft by p ...

on a paddle-steamer. Street legal mud tires are a compromise between large voids and a smooth rolling shape for on-road use. The more "extreme" a mud tire (such as a " Super Swamper") is, the harsher and louder it is on a hard surface. A " tractor tire" on a farm

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...

is a somewhat milder version of a paddle tire, only the voids are smaller to allow for limited use on hard surfaces, and the "lugs" are angled to give lateral traction. A paddle tire is so optimized for mud that the shape is of no use on anything other than a soft surface, since the vibration and lack of control of the tire would otherwise render a vehicle almost unusable. One other way the paddle tire is a specialized application only is that it gives only forward/rearward traction. This means that it is used on a wheel that drives a vehicle to push it forward, but gives little "lateral" (side-to-side) traction. For that reason, the tires of the vehicle that steer it are generally more "normal" tires, since a paddle tire on a steering wheel will just slide sideways rather than pulling the vehicle with it. So, many 4WD vehicles will use paddle tires only on the rear, even though the front wheels are powered as well. On a 2WD or a motorbike, the rear wheel is the only drive wheel, and so putting a paddle tire on the front wheels is useless or worse, since steering performance will be negatively impacted. Paddle tires are available for

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

bike A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. B ...

all-terrain vehicle An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike or quad (if it has four wheels), as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, has a seat ...

s, sandrails, and 4 wheel drives. Because the paddles are rigid and stick up several inches, they are not suitable for use on roads or hard terrain, and are not road legal in most places. Often on rear-wheel drive quads and dirt bikes, specific front sand tires are used in conjunction with rear paddle tires. These front tires are usually called "razorbacks" or simply "ribbed" front tires. The tire carcass overall is smooth with the exception of one to three longitudinal ribs around the circumference of the tire. These ribs are usually about an inch high. This design promotes flotation in the sand due to the smooth part of the tire but also, using the rib to dig into the sand, it provides extra turning force.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paddle Tires Tires

See also

References