As much as I love Schwalbe tires and most especially the Schwalbe Marathon Plus there are other tires available for our tadpole trikes. Among them are Vee tires. Vee Tire Company makes several different tires including FAT tires. They have over 30 years of experience in the tire manufacturing industry. They make tires for automobiles, motorcycles and bicycles. In addition to their website they have a Facebook page. Their email address is: info@veetireco.com I see that they are headquartered in Atlanta, Ga.
Among their offerings are:
MK3
MK3 … Available in an incredible number of different sizes ranging from very narrow to balloon tires. Here is what they say about this tire:
This tire boasts incredible sidewall strength using our honeycomb sidewall
technology. The MK3 is a timeless BMX classic whose performance does not disappoint.
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Speedster
Speedster … Here is what they say about this tire:
The Speedster was designed for rolling speed and minimal drag on hard
pack or paved terrain. The honeycomb center tread provides virtually zero
rolling resistance and unbelievable tread life. The honeycomb feature also
gives you excellent traction in dry or wet conditions. Large diamond shaped
side knobs provide the grip you need in corners, while the tread knobs get
smaller towards the center for the ultimate speed and traction.
Obviously these tires are designed for bicycles (which lean when turning) and not for trikes. That is not to say they can’t be used on a trike as nearly all tires used on trikes were designed for bicycles. The only exception to this I know of is the Schwalbe Tryker tire which was designed specifically for trikes.
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Zilent
Zilent … Here is what they say about this tire:
With innovation adopted from our automotive and motorcycle technology,
Zilent features special compounds for a low rolling resistance while its state of-the-art construction provides high load capacity and added strength for flat resistance. Its innovative tread makes this a quiet tire and offers angled super grip for revolutionary cornering capabilities.
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Baldy
Baldy … Here is what they say about this tire:
The Vee Tire Co. Baldy is designed with a smooth surface for minimal rolling
resistance and water release grooves on the sides. This tire is optimal for all
weather conditions as the water grooves also double as traction for loose terrain.
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Capsule
Capsule … available in 20 X 2.25 Here is what they say about this tire:
Smooth enough to kill the street and just enough bite to ride the dirt. The Capsule was designed for all three surfaces — street, dirt & ramp. 100 psi has never felt so good.
That being said I find confusion … their webpage shows 2.25 while elsewhere I found 2.35 instead of 2.25. One place on their website shows 100 psi while another shows 65 psi.
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I guess I should not be surprised at this as the .pdf webpage I refer to further below does not list the Baldy tire at all. It most definitely is one of their tires that is available in several 406 sizes. Speaking of 406 sizes …
A word of caution … when ordering 20 inch tires make sure they are 406 and not 451. Recumbent wheels are 406 while BMX bicycle wheels are 451. A 451 tire is much larger in diameter and won’t fit on a recumbent wheel which is 406. The picture below shows a 451 inner tube in a 406 tire. As you can see there is too much inner tube to fit inside the tire. My understanding of the sizes is as follows: a fractional size such as 20 X 1 3/8 is a 451 while a decimal size such as 20 X 1.5 is a 406. So as long as the size is shown in decimals it should be a 406.
I have not studied in great detail all the different tires Vee Tire Company offers and therefore I don’t know all the different tires they have which will fit on a tadpole trike. If you are interested in their tires you will have to research it yourself to be certain the tire you have in mind will fit and perform satisfactory. Some of their tires only come in larger diameters and not in 20 inch. As far as I know the ones I have featured above all are available in 20 inch sizes.
VEE tires has a .pdf webpage which lists all their tires and has the size shown (406) for those tires which will work on a recumbent wheel. It is on page 37. Just look under the column ETRTO to locate 406.
By the way, even if the tire is a 406 there could possibly be a problem width-wise if you go too narrow or too wide. If you are not certain check with someone knowledgeable of such things.
BTW, as I stated early on … they also make FAT tires which I believe some are only available in 26 inch and others are available in both 26 and 24 inch. They are available in “snowshoe”, “speedster”, “bulldozer”, “hillbilly” and “Vees” (two different patterns). With the exception of the Speedster all the others are knobby tires with varying tread patterns.
The H-Billy (shown on right below) is the most aggressive knobby among them.
Vees FAT tires
So if you have a hankerin’ to try some other tires on your tadpole trike you might want to look into VEE Tires. As for me, I am sticking with the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires as I still think they are the best tire money can buy. With them I just …
KEEP ON TRIKIN’
A FREE GIFT awaits you!
Tadpole Rider 
Well Steve, I’m a proud owner of a set of four of the Vee Speedster 26″x 3.8″ tires, and I love them… Greatest smoothest ride I have ever had, and I enjoy them very much, I will go on record saying best thing since the invention of ice cream… Lmao…! No really, I am really enjoying the ride I have with them and they have a great high speed rating on them so I have no fears going down overpass declines at high speeds with out the worry of any serious, or catastrophic failure as well… And I would use them on any northern or western down hill rides, any day of the week if had the opportunity… I could only wish I had the hills you guys have up north, and out west… Because I have full confidence in these tires, I have only been riding them for a couple of months now, and because I am a fat tire ride owner, I also have to say I can change out all 4 of my Surly Lou’s on my Catrike Custom Fat Cat Quad 4 from utahtrikes.com in only 13 mins…. Can you believe that..? It is a blessing…! I can go from my off road Surly Lou’s to my Vee Speedster’s in only 13 mins. with out even taking the wheels off my ride, and put on a whole new set of 4 tires with no real special tools or leavers, and put on the other set of tires and only need to pump them back up again… Is that great or what…? And before you become complacent as I would have been till I test road a set of these great tires on a friends regular Fat Tire Mountain Bike, and I felt a world of difference… Yea he had changed his tires as well because he is doing more road riding these days, and gave Vee tires a shot on his bike and he loves them as well…! So we both can’t be wrong, or could we…? But for now we are a couple of happy bikers, treking down the road on what we believe to be a great set of tires….! I hope that this testament to these tires, help someone else out trying to make the decision to change or not as they really are a good tire… I don’t know about any of the others at the moment, but as for the Vee Speedsters their a great tire…! So thanks for giving these tires a small plug any way, and thanks for letting me comment as always….!
Armadillo Zack
I am glad to hear (read) your good report on the Vee FAT tires, Zack. Since I don’t have a FAT tire cycle nor do I ever expect to I don’t have any need of FAT tires. If I did, I would certainly look into these. For the needs I do have the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires are the ticket for me.