Big Bens tyres

[IR772]

My dark night riding will be on roads and stone tracks, so I decided to change my Rapid Robs for a road tyre, Big Bens. My bike is a Haibike sDuro 29" hard tail.

Rapid Robs have taken me everywhere off road and will go back on with the lighter nights, I think they are a good off road tyre.

Big Bens were recommended to me by nextdaytyres, they said they would ride well for me and look good on the bike, good firm to deal with.

Swapping the tyres was straight forward, they are enormous though, I have read that real cyclists do not use tyre leavers so did it with out them, one valve came out with the cap and covered me in slime.

Once I had stopped the derailleur from trying to cut my fingers off, all went well, quick release bolts and brakes lined up.

Tried them first with 50 psi in, hard fast tyres, so fast that my new maximum speed on the bike is now 34.2 MPH which for me and a heavy eMTB is very fast, NOT TO BE REPEATED.

Then reduced the pressure to 30 psi and this is the sweet spot.

Had them for a week used them on roads and off road, see the pics.

Quiet, fast running tyre that does give a smoother ride at 30 psi, sharper steering the lack of road noise allows me to hear the chain ticking and the NCX seat post working.

I really like them, for roads, stone tracks, grass and dry dirt they are great, if it's muddy you are in trouble, there is a reason Rapid Robs have that grip pattern.

If you have an MTB mine is a 29" (which is 28" which is also 700c) and you want to use it on the road and make things a bit more comfortable and quieter then the Big Bens will fit the menu and look right on your bike.

So thumbs up from me.

Before and after
The Kit
Inflated
Giving them a try, they look in proportion to the bike
Tread pattern and view towards Weobley, where the One show came from.

 

[anotherkiwi]

I have mine pumped up hard because I only ride on the road. I think I will put a matching set on the trailer too but less PSI for more suspension effect.

 

[IR772]

And your top speed?

Luckily for me I had used the bathroom before I went out.

 

[Gringo]

the lack of road noise allows me to hear the chain ticking and the NCX seat post working.

If you can hear the seatpost you need to get the grease out

I run big apples, Similar tyres to your bens, I found high pressures didn't mean higher speeds.
I'm comfortable running 30 & 45 psi front & rear.

 

[Alan Quay]

If you can hear the seatpost you need to get the grease out

I run big apples, Similar tyres to your bens, I found high pressures didn't mean higher speeds.
I'm comfortable running 30 & 45 psi front & rear.

Big apples and Fat Franks here. I run them at 50 psi on the road bikes, and 30 on the cruiser.

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

 

[anotherkiwi]

And your top speed?

Luckily for me I had used the bathroom before I went out.

I have a slow bike (won't freewheel over 55 kph downhill because of bad aerodynamics) but when I was running unrestricted 45 kph was quite easy to obtain with the motor in 5th and 6th gears.

 

[Tigergreen]

My dark night riding will be on roads and stone tracks, so I decided to change my Rapid Robs for a road tyre, Big Bens. My bike is a Haibike sDuro 29" hard tail.

Rapid Robs have taken me everywhere off road and will go back on with the lighter nights, I think they are a good off road tyre.

Big Bens were recommended to me by nextdaytyres, they said they would ride well for me and look good on the bike, good firm to deal with.

Swapping the tyres was straight forward, they are enormous though, I have read that real cyclists do not use tyre leavers so did it with out them, one valve came out with the cap and covered me in slime.

Once I had stopped the derailleur from trying to cut my fingers off, all went well, quick release bolts and brakes lined up.

Tried them first with 50 psi in, hard fast tyres, so fast that my new maximum speed on the bike is now 34.2 MPH which for me and a heavy eMTB is very fast, NOT TO BE REPEATED.

Then reduced the pressure to 30 psi and this is the sweet spot.

Had them for a week used them on roads and off road, see the pics.

Quiet, fast running tyre that does give a smoother ride at 30 psi, sharper steering the lack of road noise allows me to hear the chain ticking and the NCX seat post working.

I really like them, for roads, stone tracks, grass and dry dirt they are great, if it's muddy you are in trouble, there is a reason Rapid Robs have that grip pattern.

If you have an MTB mine is a 29" (which is 28" which is also 700c) and you want to use it on the road and make things a bit more comfortable and quieter then the Big Bens will fit the menu and look right on your bike.

So thumbs up from me.

View attachment 15901View attachment 15906Before and after
View attachment 15902 View attachment 15903 The Kit
View attachment 15909 Inflated
View attachment 15904 View attachment 15905 Giving them a try, they look in proportion to the bike
View attachment 15908 Tread pattern and view towards Weobley, where the One show came from.

How do you find the grip on the road - especially under braking compared to your original tyres?
I have very recently bought an XDURO Hardseven.
I love it but I do find the rear wheel locks up very easily under heavy braking on tarmac - which I find a little disconcerting.
My tyres are Racing Ralphs - so have a similar tread pattern to your Rapid Robs.
Hence I have been considering getting a more suitable tyre for the road in the hope that the rear would be less prone to locking up.
If the Big Bens offer this then they sound ideal.
Would I have to fit narrower inner tubes? (The Racing Ralphs are 2.25" width compared to the 2" of the Big Bens )
The Big Ben in my size is on offer online for a really good price too, at the moment.
Athleteshop has them for just over a tenner each ('though they are the Kevlar guard which I think offers less puncture protection than the Racing guard.)

Thanks in anticipation,
Andy.

 

[anotherkiwi]

Tube size is related to the rim width so 2" and 2.25 use the same sized tube. http://www.schwalbe.com/en/schlaeuche.html

I had a braking incident on my first ride which I put down to wet road, new tyres. Since then have not had any problems but I am using rim brakes of course - soon to be installing an Avid Digit 7 on the rear, my original cheap brakes have become too noisy.

Don't worry about puncture protection on the road, the risk of glass and non identified sharp metal objects is not to be ignored however. The Big Bens do pick up tiny sharp stones which I have been able to pick out on casual tyre inspection every now and then. The rubber is very sticky and the tread pattern seems to encourage them to stay in between the tread. No thumb tacks yet, I rode my puncture resistant Michelins with a thumb tack and a small screw in until I found them after sod knows how many km...

 

[IR772]

How do you find the grip on the road - especially under braking compared to your original tyres?
I have very recently bought an XDURO Hardseven.
I love it but I do find the rear wheel locks up very easily under heavy braking on tarmac - which I find a little disconcerting.
My tyres are Racing Ralphs - so have a similar tread pattern to your Rapid Robs.
Hence I have been considering getting a more suitable tyre for the road in the hope that the rear would be less prone to locking up.
If the Big Bens offer this then they sound ideal.
Would I have to fit narrower inner tubes? (The Racing Ralphs are 2.25" width compared to the 2" of the Big Bens )
The Big Ben in my size is on offer online for a really good price too, at the moment.
Athleteshop has them for just over a tenner each ('though they are the Kevlar guard which I think offers less puncture protection than the Racing guard.)

Thanks in anticipation,
Andy.

As our bikes are really same same.

You will get much better road manners altogether, better braking, quicker turning and quieter riding also a faster tyre down hill. My Robs under inspection had flat spots from each time I had done some emergency braking and were knocked about a lot more than I thought.

I kept the size the same, I took some advice on changing as I did not want to alter the look of the bike but still wanted good road tyres.

From the photos I am really pleased with the tyre size in real life they look made for the bike.

I reused my original tubes and kept the new ones for spares as they are the same size.

Mine were £26 ish each but are 29", so that is a great price at £10.

Easy job to swap tyres on a Saturday morning with a cup of tea.

If its only going to cost £20 you are on a winner, mountain bike style with road manners.

I would use tyre sealant as well, worth £8.

 

[D8ve]

How do you find the grip on the road - especially under braking compared to your original tyres?
I have very recently bought an XDURO Hardseven.
I love it but I do find the rear wheel locks up very easily under heavy braking on tarmac - which I find a little disconcerting.
My .....
Andy.

It's good your rear is locking up . It shows your front brake is working well. The braking forces are low to the ground and point backwards. Your momentum is high up and forwards. That results in a rotational force about the front wheel. Your back wheel starts to lift up and loses grip.
This is basic but little known stuff. You use max front brake to stop and little to no back brake.
All from the school of motorcycling.
Note skidding the rear wheel round in downhill races is something else.

 

[Tigergreen]

It's good your rear is locking up . It shows your front brake is working well. The braking forces are low to the ground and point backwards. Your momentum is high up and forwards. That results in a rotational force about the front wheel. Your back wheel starts to lift up and loses grip.
This is basic but little known stuff. You use max front brake to stop and little to no back brake.
All from the school of motorcycling.
Note skidding the rear wheel round in downhill races is something else.

Hmm..I'd have to say a wheel locking up is never good when braking on the road!
I too rode motorbikes for years in my younger days and braking technique was to always lightly apply the rear brake a fraction before applying the front brake firmly.
On a motorbike the front brakes are much more powerful than the rear (large twin front discs on front and a smaller single disc or drum on the rear)
So, under heavy braking, the powerful front brakes will cope with the weight transference over the front wheel while the lighter rear brake should help prevent the rear locking up.
However, on my push bike, the front and rear brakes are the same size (180mm hydraulic discs) and so even though I'm only applying the rear brake very lightly before applying the front, then it stands to reason the rear will be prone to locking up as weight transfers to the front wheel.
The knobbly off road tyres will exacerbate this due to the lack of rubber actually in contact with the road.
By fitting a tyre with a tread pattern which gives a far greater rubber contact area with the road (and hence creating more friction) then I would deem it reasonable to presume that the rear wheel will be less prone to locking up?

 

[D8ve]

It's the weight transfer. Yes locking isn't effective control. But it dose show how good the front brakes are. Hence the advice here of front disks and anything for the rear.

 

[chris_n]

How do you find the grip on the road - especially under braking compared to your original tyres?
I have very recently bought an XDURO Hardseven.
I love it but I do find the rear wheel locks up very easily under heavy braking on tarmac - which I find a little disconcerting.
My tyres are Racing Ralphs - so have a similar tread pattern to your Rapid Robs.
Hence I have been considering getting a more suitable tyre for the road in the hope that the rear would be less prone to locking up.
If the Big Bens offer this then they sound ideal.
Would I have to fit narrower inner tubes? (The Racing Ralphs are 2.25" width compared to the 2" of the Big Bens )
The Big Ben in my size is on offer online for a really good price too, at the moment.
Athleteshop has them for just over a tenner each ('though they are the Kevlar guard which I think offers less puncture protection than the Racing guard.)

Thanks in anticipation,
Andy.

The stock Schwalbe tyres whether they are Rapid Rob or Racing Ralph fitted as oem to Haibike are not good tyres. They are a harder compound generally wire bead tyres from the Schwalbe middle range. They bear no resemblance to the higher end tyres of the same names. You can tie yourself in knots looking at all of the variants on the Schwalbe website. I have fitted Maxxis Minnion DHF to my Hardseven and it is night and day off road compared to the oem Rapid Robs.