I've used the Goodyear 26 inch tires on a few planes, including one 185. They are fine, considering what they are. I think sometimes we take something that was designed for a specific use and try to adapt it to a very different application.
The Goodyear blimp tires (that's what the 26 inch tires were developed for), as noted above, have stiff side walls, and are designed to be operated at relatively "normal" aircraft tire pressures....ie: 35 psi or so.
I've run these tires at 18 to 20 psi, and that's about as low in pressure as I'd be comfortable with, long term. We had a Cub with these tires on it, and I was going to fly it. Checked tire pressures, and they didn't even read on a gauge. Tires were essentially flat, yet to look at them, they looked "normal". Again, very stiff sidewalls.
So, is there a niche for these tires? They wear like iron, and on a heavier plane like a 185, that's a plus. Run them at a "reasonable" tire pressure, check pressures frequently, and they'll work fine.
Probably the feature that is most attractive about them, other than their wear characteristics, is the smooth surfaces. So, they don't throw AS MANY rocks at the tail of your airplane. Not none....every tire on the planet will throw some rocks at times.
The biggest disadvantage I see with these tires are two fold:
1. There are no approvals for them, so field approval is all you've got and we all know about those.
2. They are expensive. At around $700 a tire, plus a good quality tube at $150 plus, you're getting up there in price.
I've seen the Dessers on a few planes and they LOOK pretty small to me, but that's subjective.
I refuse to use Desser tires or especially tubes. Tubes often leak, and in my experience the wear characteristics are far worse than Goodyears. I'll stick with Goodyears, or Bushwheels....
I agree with Stewart that the Airframes 10 x 10 wheel with 8.50 x 10 tires might be a really nice setup for frequent asphalt, and occasional off airport or back country use.
Bring something over $3000. Still cheaper than Bushwheels, but.....
MTV