Your Favorite Ebike Tire

[neptronix]

The specialized armadillo nimbus tire was my first flatproof tire. Can't fault it other than it had poor rolling resistance. It stood up to a lot of nasty stuff.

 

[The Stig]

The only truly flat free tire is a foam tire. Air tires will still get pinch flats if you don't pump up your rear (load bearing) tire monthly or more regularly. I switched to a foam tube in the back of my FS bikes and I like it. Now I want to try a foam tire like these:

Airfreetires.com makes these and the off road moto world has been running similar tires for a while

 

[LSBW]

16" Pirelli ML 75

 

[Chalo]

The only truly flat free tire is a foam tire. Air tires will still get pinch flats if you don't pump up your tires monthly or more regularly. I switched to a foam tube in the back of my FS bikes and I like it.

Pneumatic tires are suspension for your wheels. Foam tires are just bumpers.

Foam tires offer a terrible ride (though mechanical suspension may mask that shortcoming), compromised traction, accelerated tread wear, and increased rolling resistance.

As if that weren't enough, they also make the rim carry loads on just the segment over the contact patch. That causes flat spotting, cracking, broken and loose spokes, and fretting of the hub flanges.

If replacing pneumatic tires with a flat-free alternative were just that easy, everybody would have done it a long time ago. Urethane foam rubbers have been available since the mid-1950s; this stuff has been tried many times and found lacking for most applications.

For forklifts that run slowly on smooth concrete floors, it's not a bad idea.

 

[The Stig]

Foam tires offer a terrible ride (though mechanical suspension may mask that shortcoming), compromised traction, accelerated tread wear, and increased rolling resistance.

As if that weren't enough, they also make the rim carry loads on just the segment over the contact patch. That causes flat spotting, cracking, broken and loose spokes, and fretting of the hub flanges.

All of these things are not an issue with motorized bike with a well built, double wall rim with <=12ga spokes. Especially with rear suspension. A good suspension seat would probably make it comfy enough. I would choose that over getting pinch flats in a city with pot holes everywhere and curbs to jump and roots sticking out on the trails. Plus when noobs borrow my bikes they don't always know how to avoid pinch flats. I can't afford to be late to a lot of things i go to and it kills the biking experience when I have guests, who on average will be skeptical at first about biking.

I've inspected my wheel. I've hit some real bad bumps in the road and all spokes are fine and rim and hub flange(i think spokes are 12ga). My bell-no-mor-flats tube offers some suspension for the wheel, with the foam tube mounted I could bounce the wheel off the floor no problem. It would bounce 80-90% as high as an air tire would bounce.

I assume you've tested various types of foam tire thoroughly on push bikes.

 

[chisixer6]

I have maxxis Hookworms on most of my ebikes

 

[Chalo]

Foam tires offer a terrible ride (though mechanical suspension may mask that shortcoming), compromised traction, accelerated tread wear, and increased rolling resistance.

As if that weren't enough, they also make the rim carry loads on just the segment over the contact patch. That causes flat spotting, cracking, broken and loose spokes, and fretting of the hub flanges.

All of these things are not an issue with motorized bike with a well built, double wall rim with <=12ga spokes.

Spokes don't provide any protection at all against flat spotting the rim, and thick spokes increase the likelihood of cracking because they lack elasticity.

These issues with foam tires do apply to motorized, suspended vehicles, which is why you don't see foam tires on cars and motorcycles. Nor even on mopeds where heat buildup isn't an issue. Where do you see them? Wheelbarrows and push carts.

My bell-no-mor-flats tube offers some suspension for the wheel, with the foam tube mounted I could bounce the wheel off the floor no problem. It would bounce 80-90% as high as an air tire would bounce.

The problem isn't that airless tires aren't sufficiently squishy, it's that a foam sausage can't support the rim around its entire circumference like an inflated tire does. It only engages the rim where it's being pushed on, so it concentrates stresses.

I assume you've tested various types of foam tire thoroughly on push bikes.

I've tried enough of them to know I won't ride any more if I can help it. But mostly I've had to clean up the messes they make of other people's wheels.

If Walmart sells something for bicycles that bicycle service shops don't, you should take the hint. It isn't because we earn five bucks when we fix a flat. It's because they don't work.

 

[Kirk]

I run Schwalbe Big Apple+ or Big Ben tires on my etrike. Nary a flat in 8000 miles, comfy riding too.

 

[spinningmagnets]

"Tires, balloon urban type" 5 pages
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=455

 

[pithy]

I used to use a Big Apple on the back of my cargo bike, but I've been happier after switching to the Marathon Dureme Tandem:
http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/marathon_dureme_tandem
It doesn't give as much cushion as the Big Apple, but when I have a lot of weight on the bike, the stiffer Tandem tire feels a lot more stable, imho.

[Edit: Schwalbe now doesn't make the Marathon Dureme Tandem in 26x2.0" size any more. ]

 

[jateureka]

+1 on the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres. VERY puncture resistant, used by many postal services.

One thing to note is the tyre is wider than a standard tyre of the same size. In a 24 x 1.75 this tyre is more like a 24 x 2.0 Schwalbe Big Apple. In a 26 x 1.75 it is more like a 1.95 width tyre.

The Schwalbe Marathon Plus also comes in a Tour version, which has a slightly knobier/deeper tread and a MTB version knobby. Both are more limited in range of sizes available and the 26 x 1.75 is more like the normal width of other tyres.

I've also tried:
a) the Schwalbe Big Apple - OK for the price, but the Marathon Plus is better in terms of puncture resistance, has a stiffer/thicker side wall and has a deeper longer lasting tread.

b) Schwalbe Marathon (as opposed to the Plus) - also lasted well but is slightly narrower than other tyres and I found it much harder to fit on a rim - broke 2 plastic tyre levers an had to carfully use alloy ones to get it on without damaging the tube.

Some great info here by ES member http://www.electricbike.com/tires/

 

[Eclu Lardbut]

Fat Frank on the rear, tubeless diy.
Some piece of cheap crap on the front, but it came with the electric wheel, so I'm wearing it out on principle.

 

[MadRhino]

For fast ebikes, and those who are more concerned with adherence than wear:

Maxxis Hookworm 2.5, best for street only with fair conditions
Duro Berm Master 3.0, best for street bad conditions and occasional moderate off road
Kenda Nevegal Stick-E 2.7 or Michelin DH32 soft compound, best for mixed hard off road and street all conditions

For snow and ice, Nokian tires are superior by very far

 

[Kingfish]

Here we are again with another tire thread. This should be linked to the other two concurrent threads:

Need advice on tires
Are some brands of tires better than others

Also -

TYRES !!! ~ Which do you use ?
Best tires for ebike mtb's road use 24inch

Once again, I'll register my present favorite: 2-ply 2.5-inch wide Hookworm in 24 and 26 inch for rear and front - respectively. They have been wearing like iron. With the exception of last winter when I ran studs/knobbies - all of my 2WD miles are on the same set of Hookworms. These tires grip very well in all but icy/snowy/loose dirt conditions where a knobby would reign supreme. They were not good on dirt roads, but that was pretty rare on my journey to California and back in 2011. I've had only two flats: One was a nasty 1/4-inch lag bolt that went straight through to the rim (August 2011), and the other was a small nail that came in through the sidewall (September 2011). Believe it or not, that one nasty hole hasn't stopped me from using the tire I will miss them when they wear out - whenever that is.

For this last winter, I looked really close at the Nokian, and they are a dang good product. :wink: But I ended up settling on the widest I could find which ended up being the Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro 2.35-26 on the front and the Panaracer Fire FR 2.40-24 on the rear. We didn't see hardly a puff of snow this winter so I can't tell you much about that part other than to say they did well enough on cold wet & dry pavement. The grippy rubber slowed my top speed down and combined with the cold - lost about 20% range, though it's not a complaint so much as an observation.

Since 2-ply Hookworms are no longer available I'm on the hunt for a replacement and looking closely at Moped/light motorcycle for a long term solution.

Safe travels, KF

 

[The Stig]

In Ice/snow/loose dirt Fatbike tires are supreme! I have yet to find a 24" one though. Not sure what the max size you could run in a DH frame built for 26" tires... 26x3.7, 4.0 Maybe.

http://fat-bike.com/2012/08/new-45-nrths-dillinger-escalator-tires/




To go for Max fatness I'm going with a custom DH frame, and Fitting 26x4.8 Surly Bud & Lou tires.

Lou(rear) and Bud(Front) are 5th and 6th to the right respectively:

 

[oatnet]

My ride is suburban streets and beach paths.

I've been running Maxxis Hookworms (with a built-in exxonpro liner), Kenda downhill tubes (2.25mm thick), and Panaracer soft kevlar liners on every ebike I've built since 2007, logged tens of thousands of miles, still haven't had a flat. My last ebike used moped rims which I used Michelen Gazelles moped tires on, nice feel and speed rated to 93mph.

Panaracer liner

Kenda

-JD

 

[MadRhino]

,,,Not sure what the max size you could run in a DH frame built for 26" tires, 26x3.7, 4.0 Maybe.

Most modern DH frames can't even clear a 26 X 3.00, but some of them still do. Previous to 2008, most DH racing frames were made for 3.00

Fat tires that are used on fatbikes are not safe to ride fast, but they are doing very good on snow and loose terrain and they are surprisingly light weight for their huge size.

 

[The Stig]

The 27tpi versions are heavier and maybe safe to ride hard and fast?

What do you mean by fast anyway? I should know the limits of my bike... Do you have evidence?



Perhaps a 26x3.7" tire could be squeezed into a 29er DH frame.

 

[wojtek]

i got 16'' Maxxis Hookworms few weeks back on my KMX trike and after few rides they completely lost their central thread!

and i am not even using front brakes , 99% of the time the strongest regen brake on the rear wheel is enough.

OK it has been hot temperature lately, doing speed around 40-50kmh, max 60 kmh but without crazy cornering..

Not sure if the quality went down or this can be explained by the reasons above.

 

[MadRhino]

i got 16'' Maxxis Hookworms few weeks back on my KMX trike and after few rides they completely lost their central thread!

Normal. Don't worry, Hookworms are slick tires and the fine lizard skin surface isn't meant to last, neither is it giving any better grip.

 

[Chalo]

i got 16'' Maxxis Hookworms few weeks back on my KMX trike and after few rides they completely lost their central thread!

Trikes do that because they don't lean, and they scrub their tires in turns. Don't overinflate those suckers. They are rated for 7.5 bar, but they'll ride, perform, and wear much better at close to 4 bar.

 

[wojtek]

http://www.reifen.com/de/TyreSize/DetailTyre/Moto/2.75-0-D16/0/False/False/none/2-3-4-16-%2820X2-75%29-46J-TT-K-55-RF/15037749

thanks!

this looks quite similar to Hookworm... Anyone tried it yet?

 

[D-Man]

My Michelin pilot's seem to roll better then my previous tire. Although squeaky rubber. Got a thousand miles on them. Running 40 psi.