The standard tyre for the Segway i2 SE is a non-marking marvel of tyre technology. It offers great grip outdoors, yet the clever tread patten tracks very little mud indoors. This lightweight 'Extended Range' tyre has been carefully engineered to be the perfect balance between comfort and compliance over a wide variety of surfaces. In fact, Segway's tests proved that on slippery surfaces the i2 SE tyre has 30% more grip compared with the first-generation Segway HT tyre.
If you ride almost exclusively outdoors then you may encounter environments where more grip would be desirable. For example, slippery autumn leaves or greasy winter conditions such as frost and snow, or when you regularly encounter wet and muddy areas along outdoor routes that you want to be able cross safely at higher speed.
Another environment where extra grip is useful is the golf course. While most golfers are best served by the x2 SE Turf model that features large, balloon tyres for all-weather fairway gliding, the i2 SE fitted with a golf bag carrier can glide effortlessly across well-drained courses. But if the weather is wetter or frostier then more grip is necessary.
In the past Segway New Zealand has offered the IRC 'Urban Master' snow tyre as the traction upgrade option for i2SE owners. We've always liked the IRC tyre, but covid-conditions have made them impossible to source and bring to New Zealand. So we've found a great alternative. Our new Enhanced Traction Tyre option is also a snow tyre, and is already in widespread use by Segway Tour operators across Australia (where there isn't any snow). You'll really notice the extra grip when transversing grass and mounting or dismounting curbs. The tread pattern is very similar to the custom pattern specially developed by PT-Pro in Germany for use by tour operators and Segway Polo players in Europe.
Our Enhanced Traction tyres are available now for $195+GST each.
These tyres have a directional pattern, so mount them on the rims as matching pairs. This is so they look "correct" - even though in practice functionality won't be affected if mounted in reverse. This is because the Segway PT is a low-speed machine, and the directional tread orientation really isn't that critical at low speeds (in fact, we did our own experiments with reversed tread suggesting this orientation provides noticeably improved traction on soft sand).
