At last year’s Manitoba Ag Days show in Brandon, Evolution Wheel of Winnipeg debuted its all-steel wheel replacement for skid-steer loaders. The idea was to offer a wheel that provided improved traction and removed the risk of tire damage from hazards. This year, the company introduced another wheel option for producers who want those benefits but aren’t willing to go with an all-steel alternative to standard pneumatic tires.
Evolution Wheel’s new EWRS Series non-pneumatic tires provide some important features the all steel versions don’t, most notably a smoother ride. According to company owner Derek Hird, the EWRS wheels offer tread flex similar to that of a standard tire. And they maintain the other advantages of rubber tires as well.
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The rubber tread area around the tire circumference is made up of individual rubber segments that bolt to a steel wheel. Any segment can be replaced with just a 3/4-inch wrench if it gets damaged, without removing the wheel from the machine. The rubber tread offers a deep and wide tread lug pattern to provide for good traction in wet conditions. The voids under the tread surface permit flexing that allows the tire to react similarly to a standard pneumatic tire, giving the operator that smooth ride.
Hird says the rubber compound used in the EWRS Series tread segments is a new, proprietary compound that permits flexing but resists cracking and wear while still having enough strength to carry relatively heavy loads.
The EWRS Series tires are available in sizes that can replace 10 and 12×16.5 and 14×17.5 standard skid-steer tires.
