Best Tires?

[dozentrio]

My rear tire is nearly bald, and it is sliding in a scary fashion when I corner now.

I have heard that Maxxis Hookworms are the way to go. Why do people say this? Are they just big, bulbous road tires? And, supposing they ARE the best, where is the best source to purchase me some? (I'm in Canada, if that makes a difference).

 

[itselectric]

My rear tire is nearly bald, and it is sliding in a scary fashion when I corner now.

I have heard that Maxxis Hookworms are the way to go. Why do people say this? Are they just big, bulbous road tires? And, supposing they ARE the best, where is the best source to purchase me some? (I'm in Canada, if that makes a difference).

dozentrio:

If i remember correctly, Maxxis Hookworms doesn't make 26 x 1.95 or 26 x 1.5, they only make 26 x 2.5. Which means you need a extra wide rim to fit these tire. They are great in 20", not available in 26"

Schwalbe Marathon or Marathon plus tire is one of the best on the market. Both ebike riders and regular riders ask for these tire by name. I have seen many ebike riders use it for over 2 - 3 years, never had flat.
http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires

Ken

 

[StudEbiker]

If i remember correctly, Maxxis Hookworms doesn't make 26 x 1.95 or 26 x 1.5, they only make 26 x 2.5. Which means you need a extra wide rim to fit these tire. They are great in 20", not available in 26"

Ken

Not exactly sure what what you mean here, but Hookworms are available in 16", 20", & 26" for sure, maybe other sizes I'm not aware of. I personally like the Holy Rollers for street & some gravel, but the Hookworm is a great tire too especially if you want to run high pressure.

 

[itselectric]

If i remember correctly, Maxxis Hookworms doesn't make 26 x 1.95 or 26 x 1.5, they only make 26 x 2.5. Which means you need a extra wide rim to fit these tire. They are great in 20", not available in 26"

Ken

Not exactly sure what what you mean here, but Hookworms are available in 16", 20", & 26" for sure, maybe other sizes I'm not aware of. I personally like the Holy Rollers for street & some gravel, but the Hookworm is a great tire too especially if you want to run high pressure.

Hookworms doesn't come in 26 x 1.95 or 26 x 1.5, is exactly what I mean.
It is only available in 26 x 2.5, which mean you will have a hard time to put it on in 26" wheel, and get it fit into the fender. They are good for 16" or 20".

 

[dougnutz]

I switched to the Michelin City tire a few months back. I love them, they are fat but fit in the fender. They stick really well in turns, at least on pavement, and they are puncture resistant.
http://www.amazon.com/Michelin-City-Bicycle-Tire/dp/B001AR49S6

 

[dogman dan]

Best tire for what? traction? low rolling resistance? cushy ride? long tread wear? easy on the wallet?

For me the question is often decided at the wallet for a street bike. I like something at least 2" but 2.3 is nice if the frame is not skinny. I have lots of loose gravel and sand on the streets here, so I don't like a really slick tire, or even a semi slik like the hookworms for a bike that goes all over town.

One of my favorite tread patterns comes on a cheapie tire sold under the Bell label at wallmart. If I don't run over a bottle in the dark, I get at least 2000 miles from them on the motor wheel.

This tire has a similar style tread. It gives a few grains of sand or a few mm of water a place to go, while still having a good rolling resistance. http://www.biketiresdirect.com/product/schwalbe-marathon-plus-26-inch

 

[StudEbiker]

If i remember correctly, Maxxis Hookworms doesn't make 26 x 1.95 or 26 x 1.5, they only make 26 x 2.5. Which means you need a extra wide rim to fit these tire. They are great in 20", not available in 26"

Ken

Not exactly sure what what you mean here, but Hookworms are available in 16", 20", & 26" for sure, maybe other sizes I'm not aware of. I personally like the Holy Rollers for street & some gravel, but the Hookworm is a great tire too especially if you want to run high pressure.

Hookworms doesn't come in 26 x 1.95 or 26 x 1.5, is exactly what I mean.
It is only available in 26 x 2.5, which mean you will have a hard time to put it on in 26" wheel, and get it fit into the fender. They are good for 16" or 20".

It was the part where you said "They are great in 20", but not available in 26"" that confused me.

 

[bionx 1954]

I have 3 Tidalforce E bikes. I have Maxxis 26" Hookworms on one, and Schwalbe Marthon Plus 26"X1.75 on the second, and Marathon Plus 700CX32 on the third.

The Hookworks do give a real cushy ride. They seem to wear faster than the Marathons, but I really do like them , and so far have about 3000KM on them with no flats. On the con side I had to respoke my rear rim (bent rim) , and they are REAL hard to mount to the rim, I had to buy some "professional" Parks tire levers, and need to carry them with me, in case of a flat. Those cheap tire levers will break on the Hookworms.


The Marathon Plus are a bit heavy, but ride well and with 12,000KM on the 26"X1.75 NO FLATS, They still have thread on the tire. Changing the tire is easy and almost can be done with out tire irons.

Both Hookworms and Marathon Plus are excellent tires.

 

[USAEBIKECO]

The best tires are the airless tires by NUTEK and they are made in Colorado.

No more flats.

http://www.nu-teck.com/tirepics_1.htm

 

[maydaverave]

I am a big fan of the kenda k838 tires. Cheap, 65 psi, long lasting, contact patch as big as the 2.5 but its a 1.95 which easily fits on a narrow rim, low rolling resistance, great traction and handling. I put these on all my 26 inch bikes mountain, beach cruiser, e-bike. Fixed my chronic flat problem haven't had one go flat yet on any of my bikes. 8) Oh and they look great.

http://www.amazon.com/Kenda-Bicycle-Blackwall-26-Inch-1-95-Inch/dp/B002DX1DWG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311375831&sr=8-1

If you look at the reviews everbody loves them but complains of the huge box they come in. Its ridiculous if you order several and come home to find a your front porch filled with large boxes. If you check out the picks there are some great picks of the tires and boxes :lol:

 

[chris22104]

Maxxis Hookworm 26 x 2.5" with double thick tubes from Jenson USA (.com.) The only way to go. I've had them on two different ebikes now, and they are phenomenal. I mostly ride on the road (not so much off roading,) but they handle great, and I've never had a flat even at 60 psi for 500 miles (so far...)

 

[el_walto]

I've ran a few sets of tires, including the shwalbe marathon plus. The maxxis hookworms (26x2.5) are way better than the marathon plus. I also ordered them from Jenson USA. I live in Canada BC and they had fast shipping, no duties. They absorb a lot of the small bumps. Make sure your bike frame can fit a 2.5" wide tire before ordering.

 

[itselectric]

I've ran a few sets of tires, including the shwalbe marathon plus. The maxxis hookworms (26x2.5) are way better than the marathon plus. I also ordered them from Jenson USA. I live in Canada BC and they had fast shipping, no duties. They absorb a lot of the small bumps. Make sure your bike frame can fit a 2.5" wide tire before ordering.

Mmm.... It sound like there are few exception, people use hookworms tires at 26 x 2.5.

el_walto:
Can you please provide a bit more detail why you consider hookworms better then marathon plus? If we only talk about absorbing bumps, would you compare hookworms vs shwalbe Big Apple 26 x 2.35?

Ken

 

[dogman dan]

Getting back into my question of best tire for what?

No doubt the hookworms are fantastic for cornering on clean roads, and 2.5 tires feel great on the bumps.

For a good low rolling resisitance, good stick, at least some water channels for a damp day, and a low price, those kenda's above look pretty good. But obviously other tires do better at particular things.

 

[skeetab5780]

i use the specialized rhythm on the front and rear and love em i think there 2.3

what i find unique is not only the entire sidewall tread so less flats, but the rolling surface tread grabs road and packed trails great

 

[Pure]

I have over 2K miles on a set of Bontrager Earl urbans. I mentioned in a previous thread about them having kevlar, but was mistaken. Still, since I upgraded to puncture resistant tubes I have not had one flat. At 2K miles they are still not showing really any signs of wear. These things stick to the road like glue, no matter the conditions, and handle pretty good on hard pack. Not so good on really loose stuff though. I chose these because they were the only tires my LBS had in stock with a26/ 2.125" "road" tread that could handle 80 psi. I do like taking my bike out on single track sometimes so these work perfectly. On the street I can take corners at 30+MPH without a sweat.

Just looked at the bontrager web site and it seems like they may not make this tire anymore. I'm going to miss them if I can't replace them when the time comes.

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

I really like the Schwalbe Big Apples, and I haven't put more than maybe 300 miles on them, but the low rolling resistance, "balloon tire suspension" works great, I ride rigid frame bikes, and I really don't notice the bumps much anymore, great traction on the road, and even slippery mud they did amazingly well!

They are never going to grip like knobby, but when I went on a ride with friends and they wanted to go off on a trail that turned out to be mud in many places, for a tire that doesn't look like it would, it kept me from slipping where even I had a hard time walking with out slipping a little.

If you're wanting the full suspension effect, and I highly recommend it, get the 2.35 wide tires (available from 16 - 29" IIRC) the only people I have seen disappointed with them are once who buy the 1.95 size and then they can't understand why it doesn't act like suspension. :lol:

 

[Metallover]

A lower price alternative to the Hookworms are the CST Cyclops. They are 2.4" wide instead of 2.5" and about half the price. I've had 1 flat with them after over 1000 miles. A few members on here have them including me. I love 'em!

The Hookworms and the Cyclops are made in the same factory if I'm not mistakin'.

 

[briogio]

Although I haven't used them on an electric bike yet...I really like the Tioga city slickers for street/city riding. I think they only go to 2.1" but they've got a big volume and they are triangulated. So when you're going straight you've got a small contact patch, (so less resistance), and when you corner you've got a large one, and you can corner like a motorcycle!

 

[Danos]

The Hookworks do give a real cushy ride. They seem to wear faster than the Marathons, but I really do like them , and so far have about 3000KM on them with no flats. On the con side I had to respoke my rear rim (bent rim) , and they are REAL hard to mount to the rim, I had to buy some "professional" Parks tire levers, and need to carry them with me, in case of a flat. Those cheap tire levers will break on the Hookworms.

I'm having a problem getting my recently bought Shwalbe Marathon 26 x 2.0 to fit to my rear rim, it's a Mac 500w rim from Cell man. I can't get the tyre bead to sit correctly for the entire circumference of the rim. It's almost like the tyre is a little too small or the rim a is a fraction too big.

Is that the problem you had? How did you get that problematic Hookworm to mount on the rim in the end?

 

[emoped]

I have just recieved the Schawalbe Super Moto ... I read the remarks for the guy in Lucerne that has been riding only an ebike for 2.5 years ... He says they are much quieter and better than hookworms and are actually 1/3 the weight. I will have to report later as they are not mounted yet. Still trying to decide about battery and charger ... also back wheel build ... Titanium frame hardtail/Matts r/c drive w 3 turn. Hope to get it rolling soon.

 

[Ykick]

The Hookworks do give a real cushy ride. They seem to wear faster than the Marathons, but I really do like them , and so far have about 3000KM on them with no flats. On the con side I had to respoke my rear rim (bent rim) , and they are REAL hard to mount to the rim, I had to buy some "professional" Parks tire levers, and need to carry them with me, in case of a flat. Those cheap tire levers will break on the Hookworms.

I'm having a problem getting my recently bought Shwalbe Marathon 26 x 2.0 to fit to my rear rim, it's a Mac 500w rim from Cell man. I can't get the tyre bead to sit correctly for the entire circumference of the rim. It's almost like the tyre is a little too small or the rim a is a fraction too big.

Is that the problem you had? How did you get that problematic Hookworm to mount on the rim in the end?

I've experienced tires that were hard to center on rims. Soapy water, keep things horizontal and start with just enough air pressure to expand the tube but still allow you to massage all around the tire on the rim. Usually works for me.