New tyres?

Mr Benevolent

I'm looking to change tyres, not because they're worn out, but because the bike doesn't really feel stable with the 700C 23 tyres I have. They're good (nearly new) Continentals, but they're not designed to take the impact of a heavy electric bike going off kerbs etc, and they tend to tramline.

I have an urban commute of about 20km round trip and I just feel a little uneasy with these tyres. I bought them before the bike was converted, and they were grand on it as a normal hybrid, but the bike is so much heavier now that I'm afraid the rims will get damaged.

I'm currently looking at Schwalbe Big Apples or Fat Franks, has anyone used these of do you have any other recommendations? I'm looking for low pressure, wide, high profile tyres.

Lumen

Putting aside concerns about why you're going on and off kerbs on a powered vehicle, the tyres you've suggested are absolutely huge. Are your rims suitable?

I'd probably go with something like a plain vanilla Schwalbe Marathon.

Mycroft H

Rims that take 23c tyres normally might take up to 32mm tryes at a push. But no wider.

Holyboy

Id go with Lumen on this the tyres you mentioned are not E bike friendly where as the Marathon and Marathon plus are!

seamus

I'll always rave about my continental sport contacts, but given that you can afford some rolling resistance, then +1 for the Marathons.

Mr Benevolent

BX 19 wrote: »

Rims that take 23c tyres normally might take up to 32mm tryes at a push. But no wider.

The bike was originally on 32c tyres and it can go up to 35c so hopefully that's ok.

Holyboy

Confab wrote: »

The bike was originally on 32c tyres and it can go up to 35c so hopefully that's ok.

Then your 23c tyres are WAY too narrow for the rims, are you not getting pinch flats all the time?

Mr Benevolent

Holyboy wrote: »

Then your 23c tyres are WAY too narrow for the rims, are you not getting pinch flats all the time?

Nope, tyres seem fine. Very slow puncture in the front, lasts more than a week between pumps.

Mycroft H

Confab wrote: »

Nope, tyres seem fine. Very slow puncture in the front, lasts more than a week between pumps.

Are you sure it's a 23c tyre? They're ultra skinny racer tyres, I've 25c tyres and there skinny enough.

Mr Benevolent

seamus wrote: »

I'll always rave about my continental sport contacts, but given that you can afford some rolling resistance, then +1 for the Marathons.

The rolling resistance of wider tyres is significantly lower.

Are you sure it's a 23c tyre? They're ultra skinny racer tyres, I've 25c tyres and there skinny enough.

Good point, I'll check that.

seamus

"Significantly" is debateable as it depends on a lot of factors.

In any case, I was referring to the fact that the marathons have a tread on them, rather than the width

Lumen

Confab wrote: »

The rolling resistance of wider tyres is significantly lower.

It's an e-bike, do you care about rolling resistance?

Anyway, there are various bits of technology that normal road cyclists "know" to be slow, such as:

- Fat tyres
- Dynamo hubs
- Hub gears

If you dig around internet forums and websites relating to these technologies, you will find countless pieces of analysis (mostly paid for or undertaken by the manufacturers or retailers of these products) seeking to prove that a particular technology doesn't really slow you down very much. Sure, what's a few watts?

However, I own a bike with _all_ of these technologies and I can tell you for a fact that it is MASSIVELY slower than my race bikes, even though it has drop handlebars and a very similar aerodynamic position. I've used this bike for commuting and training with a power meter, so this is not just subjective.

Small things add up to a lot, and (somewhat counter-intuitively) these non-aerodynamic factors seem to make a much larger difference at higher speeds, particularly over 25kph.