Been humming and hawing (for a change 
) over tyres and tubes for the Trek conversion (26" MTB).
First - inner tubes
Going to be riding around areas where lane hedges regularly trimmed by the Council leaving blackthorn, hawthorn debris etc. all over the paths which take days to wash away so puncture protection is very important.
Rear eBike rim has a schrader valve hole and I've bought a Protek Max self-healing inner tube for it. So all good.
Front rim is a Bontracer race rim with a Presta valve hole and is tubeless-ready. It has a VERY tight-fitting rubber sealing ring which you have to lever out with a screwdriver to even access the spoke holes. I've broken 3 Presta valves taking tyres off these rims (especially 2.1-2.4 knobbly ones which can be very tight) ... the valves are just too long and fragile to get out of the tyre without the tip breaking off. So ... reluctant to use expensive tubes with those vales on. Longer term it makes sense to change to schrader.
Options are to get a new rim with Schrader hole and build a new front wheel that's easier to work with or to make the existing hole bigger. The rubber sealing ring inside the rim has a moulded rubber section over the Presta hole so not sure how sensible it is to try to make the valve hole bigger
If I were to convert the front hub to accept Schrader I presume I'd have to drill a bigger hole through the rubber sealing ring and also the metal rim. Any advice on doing this ? I now have a Black & Decker power drill so should be able to use it if I know the right drill bits.
Second - Tyres
I'd like to be able to take this bike off-road as well as riding it on road/gravel and on pretty poorly surfaced tarmac lanes. It's a much more versatile bike for exploring than the Agattu is. Puncture protection is very important and ability to deal with potholes / grip on wet ground also very important.
Have used Marathon Plus Tour tyres on my other bike and they have been great but not subjected it to the sort of conditions I'm planning for this one. These tyres don't seem to come in any versions that are 'hardier' off road for grip on wet ground, mud, rocky paths etc. (which is a real shame).
Guess what I'm looking for is Marathon Plus-type protection on grippier tyres for the off-road use, without these being so knobbly that they're not sensible when I'm riding on road / paved lanes. Regular tyre changes can be a drag (although I've had 3 different sets on my Agattu since October but that was for changing stock tyres to MPs and then to Conti Winters not on account of punctures - both were hard and time-consuming to fit).
The choice of MTB tyres is bewildering and there's no clear "front runner" like there is for MPs. Can anyone with more experience of MTB tyres help me settle on the best compromise ? There are some cracking sales on right now for a few more days so be good to try to take advantage.
Thx.
) over tyres and tubes for the Trek conversion (26" MTB). First - inner tubes
Going to be riding around areas where lane hedges regularly trimmed by the Council leaving blackthorn, hawthorn debris etc. all over the paths which take days to wash away so puncture protection is very important.
Rear eBike rim has a schrader valve hole and I've bought a Protek Max self-healing inner tube for it. So all good.
Front rim is a Bontracer race rim with a Presta valve hole and is tubeless-ready. It has a VERY tight-fitting rubber sealing ring which you have to lever out with a screwdriver to even access the spoke holes. I've broken 3 Presta valves taking tyres off these rims (especially 2.1-2.4 knobbly ones which can be very tight) ... the valves are just too long and fragile to get out of the tyre without the tip breaking off. So ... reluctant to use expensive tubes with those vales on. Longer term it makes sense to change to schrader.
Options are to get a new rim with Schrader hole and build a new front wheel that's easier to work with or to make the existing hole bigger. The rubber sealing ring inside the rim has a moulded rubber section over the Presta hole so not sure how sensible it is to try to make the valve hole bigger
If I were to convert the front hub to accept Schrader I presume I'd have to drill a bigger hole through the rubber sealing ring and also the metal rim. Any advice on doing this ? I now have a Black & Decker power drill so should be able to use it if I know the right drill bits.
Second - Tyres
I'd like to be able to take this bike off-road as well as riding it on road/gravel and on pretty poorly surfaced tarmac lanes. It's a much more versatile bike for exploring than the Agattu is. Puncture protection is very important and ability to deal with potholes / grip on wet ground also very important.
Have used Marathon Plus Tour tyres on my other bike and they have been great but not subjected it to the sort of conditions I'm planning for this one. These tyres don't seem to come in any versions that are 'hardier' off road for grip on wet ground, mud, rocky paths etc. (which is a real shame).
Guess what I'm looking for is Marathon Plus-type protection on grippier tyres for the off-road use, without these being so knobbly that they're not sensible when I'm riding on road / paved lanes. Regular tyre changes can be a drag (although I've had 3 different sets on my Agattu since October but that was for changing stock tyres to MPs and then to Conti Winters not on account of punctures - both were hard and time-consuming to fit).
The choice of MTB tyres is bewildering and there's no clear "front runner" like there is for MPs. Can anyone with more experience of MTB tyres help me settle on the best compromise ? There are some cracking sales on right now for a few more days so be good to try to take advantage.
Thx.
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