Hello. I'm from Japan and I'm restoring old cargo bicycles that were used here.
These bicycles use tires like the ones shown in the image, which in Japan are called "BE tires"(BEタイヤ) or "mimi-tsuki tires" (耳付きタイヤ, literally "eared tires," referring to the beaded edge that wraps around the rim side of the tube, similar to bread crust). The size marking on these tires is 26×1 3/8.
New tires of this type are no longer manufactured in Japan. There are products made by CST in China at the request of Japanese trading companies, but they're already expensive and are expected to become increasingly difficult to purchase in the future.
I thought I might try an alternative, so I ordered a similar 26×1 1/2 tire from a Chinese domestic shopping site as a long shot, but as expected, the size didn't match and I couldn't use it. The standard appears to be different. It was too small.
I would like to know the following:
- What are these types of tires called outside of Japan? When I asked AI, it suggested "Beaded edge tires" or "BE tires," but when I actually search for information using those keywords, I find almost nothing. There's nothing in Reddit's archives either.
- Where can I find reference information in English (or other languages) about this type of tire and rim?
- Is the 26×1 3/8 Beaded edge tire a Japan-specific standard? I've confirmed that tires with a similar wrapping design around the rim side of the tube exist in other Asian countries like China, but 26×1 3/8 doesn't seem to exist there. Also, it seems that in the US and Europe, 28 inch is the main size for this type of tire.
- What's the best way to verify compatibility for this type of tire?
There are many cargo bicycle enthusiasts in Japan who use 26×1 3/8 tires, but it's a very insular community and the only response I get is "buy from Japanese companies." Since this is already a nearly extinct standard in Japan, I'm looking for information from other countries.
If anyone has experience with bicycles using this type of tire, please share any information you might have.
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