Tyre width

[handbaked]

Hi

I am just starting to build up an electric bike and was wondering what tyre width you guys are using. Especially interested in London commuters using e-bikes or those who have as bad a road surface as us!

I use 23mm wide Road tyres on my current hybrid push bike bit. I have recently moved and some of the roads are horrendous and tyres this narrow really don't cut it.

My e-bike is going to be a mtb design. It currently has serious 2.25" knobbly tyres which are too wide and far too inefficient.

I am looking at the schwalbe City jet but can't decide whether to get 1.5" or 1.9".

Any advice or makes/models/widths would be appreciated.

Cheers. Tom

 

[flecc]

I'd say go for the 1.9, I've found 1.5 and below on London's poor roads too narrow for comfort and safety.

I use Schwalbe Marathon Plus for their high puncture resistance, but they are rather stiff and not as free rolling as the City Jets.
.

 

[Sherman]

How about Schwalbe Kojak? Im running 700x35 on my cyclocross. Slick, fast and comfortable.

 

[Kenny]

I've set up my Marin Bolinas Ridge MTB for road use. I went for these 2.0 wide tires for their light weight.

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/schwalbe-marathon-deluxe-tyre/aid:643283

These tyres are supposed to be nearly as puncture resistant as Marathon Plus but I don't think there's any substitute for the puncture resistance of the thick rubber Marathons.

Something you might want to consider is your pedal /road clearance will be slightly less with smaller tyres.
I broke a nice pair of Magnesium pedals before I got wise to the lower ride height that changing to rigid forks and road tyres brings.
(I had smaller 1.75 wide tyres fitted when I scuffed the pedal on a bend - I find the 2.0 are better)

 

[RobF]

Something from Schwalbe that is 'ebike ready' makes sense if you are replacing the tyres anyway.

Most tyres seem able to handle ebikes OK, but an ebike ready one will save you buying something that is too light by mistake.

http://www.schwalbe.com/gb/newsreader/e-bike-tyres-brand-new-durano-e-361.html

 

[handbaked]

The alternatives mentioned look good but the trouble is they are 2-3 times as expensive. Does anyone have experience of the city jet 1.9" or 1.5"? Will they be suitable for e bike use?

 

[RobF]

The alternatives mentioned look good but the trouble is they are 2-3 times as expensive. Does anyone have experience of the city jet 1.9" or 1.5"? Will they be suitable for e bike use?

Assuming you are doing a standard 250W motor conversion, the City Jets ought to do the job.

The sidewalls might wear prematurely, so it would be worth keeping an eye on them.

Most likely sign of problems will be tiny cracks in the sidewall where it meets the rim.

To be fair, most people who do conversions don't even look once at the tyres, let alone twice, so one can over analyse it.

 

[handbaked]

Yes 250w. I will try the city jets and see how I get on. I think I may try 1.9"....

 

[RobF]

Yes 250w. I will try the city jets and see how I get on. I think I may try 1.9"....

No worries, as you've been advised 1.9" is probably a better choice for London roads.

There will be nothing in the rolling resistance provided you use the correct pressures.

Perversely, wider tyres can roll better than narrow ones:

http://www.schwalbe.com/gb/rollwiderstand/fb_locale/en_GB.html

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I used to use the 1.95 City Jets. They roll really well because of the very pointy profile. Grip is not fantastic because of the small contact patch, and they also wear out very quickly. I never had any problems with the side-walls.

The best tyres I tried were Continental Top Contact. They had amazing grip and rolled quite well, but the side-walls on the back one cracked nearly straight away, and not long after that the tube was bulging through. The front one seemed to last much better, so it appears to be a problem related to load (500w hub motor plus 100kg). They now do a stronger version specially for electric bikes, which should be much better.

I now have Schwalbe Energizer back and Marathon Plus front, which are not too bad, apart from their lack of grip.

An interesting tyre worth a try is the Kenda Small Block 8, which rolls much better than you'd think. Its fitted to a lot of OEM ebikes.

I usually use 1.95 width as a nice comprompromise between resistance, grip and comfort. The MPs are 1.75.

 

[handbaked]

I think I will start with city jets as they are so much cheaper and then go from there. Thanks for the input everyone.

Im looking at building my hub motor into a mavic XC disc rim. Its light but strong. Is there anything I need to be aware of when choosing the rim for a ebike build? Other than the number of spokes...

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Avoid ones with eyelets for the spokes. They don't allow the thicker spokes to go at the correct angle.

 

[handbaked]

I was looking at these. .. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/mavic-xc717-disc-mtb-rim-2014/rp-prod71055

What do you reckon?

 

[handbaked]

Though they seem to have eyelets, but to be honest almost every one I'm looking at does. ..

 

[Deleted member 4366]

If you use 13g spokes, they're tight in the eyelets, so get held at right angles. With 14g spokes you can get one cross.

Unless you really need to save weight, I'd avoid expensive rims. I mainly use these ones, which are quite deep, so nice and strong.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=111181184811&alt=web

Link edited.

 

[handbaked]

I guess you mean these (your link did not seem to work) https://bmsbattery.com/ebike-parts/112-double-wall-aluminum-alloy-rim-parts.html?search_query=rim&results=104

I really wanted them in all black. Also know that the likes of mavic rims are very strong and save a little bit of weight. I guess you have given these rims a bit of a thrashing....ever any problems with wheel going out of true etc? Any idea how much ot weighs?

Cheers.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I'm not sure went wrong with the link. It's these Ebay ones. That's weird. I haven't even looked at that switch. The blue label comes off, but you still have silver sides like the BMSB ones.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=111181184811&alt=web

 

[RobF]

Not much point in worrying about wheel (or tyre) weight on an ebike.

Getting stuff that will do the job is the only important factor.

 

[handbaked]

Thanks. I dont need a front rim though which means its more expensive than the likes of the mavics im looking at guess I need to find one without eyelets though.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You'll probably br OK with 14g spokes and one cross. What motor is it?