Tread styles for front wheels on 2 wheel drive

[Scotty123]

Our Kubota 2201 came with 3 rib tires which have aged out (40 years). Any reason you can't put a more aggressive tread on the front, similar to what you'd find on a walk behind tiller (ag tread?)

 

[85Hokie]

Scotty ,

On your 2wd machine - you can place almost any size and style tire on that front end.

The only thing you will change is how it steers and rolls on hard and soft surfaces.

What is the primary purpose of your L2201? That may dictate what will work best.

 

[NCL4701]

On a 2WD, with no brakes on the front wheels, there is no utility in the front tires providing forward/reverse traction. The only tractive force they need to provide is horizontal force for steering. That’s the reason for the continuous rib design. In terms of the sideways tractive force required of the front wheels on a 2WD, if you want a truly more aggressive tread, go with a single rib instead of the 3 rib.

All that said, you can put whatever you want on there so long as it fits the rim. If you never need to steer on soft ground it probably doesn’t matter much what you pick. Just know if you go with something like a R1 ag tread designed for forward traction and need to steer in mud or soft dirt you will need to be good supplementing the steering wheel action with brake steering.

 

[Scotty123]

On a 2WD, with no brakes on the front wheels, there is no utility in the front tires providing forward/reverse traction. The only tractive force they need to provide is horizontal force for steering. That’s the reason for the continuous rib design. In terms of the sideways tractive force required of the front wheels on a 2WD, if you want a truly more aggressive tread, go with a single rib instead of the 3 rib.

All that said, you can put whatever you want on there so long as it fits the rim. If you never need to steer on soft ground it probably doesn’t matter much what you pick. Just know if you go with something like a R1 ag tread designed for forward traction and need to steer in mud or soft dirt you will need to be good supplementing the steering wheel action with brake steering.

Going in and out of vineyard rows on a slight slope...thus is appears the standard 3 rib will work over the R1 ag tread...thanks for the info