Crazy Bob tyre life..6135 miles and still going

[NeilP]

Just thought I'd post these pics up.

When I first built my bike I went through countless different tyres...we are talking, ripping side walls out within a week.

5304 in 26 inch with 20 to 24 s Lipo originally peaking at 14kW now less than half that..I de tuned it ...for my life and the bike parts life

I weigh about 180lbs, the battery pack is 24 lbs, plus controller, wires, hub motor, panniers and bike weight...not a lightweight combo.

So these Crazy Bob's..

Well, I put these CB's on at 3517 miles.
Swapped tyres front to rear at 5940 miles and they were still on the bike at 8453 miles when that battery pack died. Now done another 1200 miles on the new battery pack....so 6135 miles

Pretty much all paved tarmac road use, with some occasional gravel track off road..but minimal..maybe half a mile per day.

Puncture resistance generally good, well never had lots of flats...but did use a tyre guard strip and also Stans No tube sealant.


Generally run at about 30-40 psi.

Grippy enough on paved roads, but not stunning..I have ridden better tyres, and you do have to be careful on corners and when breaking in the wet. They are a hard compound, hence their long wear life, so this obviously impacts on their road holding

Their replacements are here...but have gone for a different smaller tyre... 2.0 instead of the CB's at 2.35

Schwalbe Marathon Plus Reflective Tour Bike Tyre





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As new tyres they looked a little bit different

 

[peters]

Yes, these are very durable tires.
On my new 20" bike I will try schwalbe jumpin' jack and hope it will be similar, but better offroad.
http://www.schwalbe.com/en/offroad-reader/jumpin-jack.html

 

[John in CR]

Isn't the compromise of long life tires less traction? Ok for a rear, but I won't put one on the front again.

 

[mvly]

Got at least 4K miles on my Maxxis Hookworm. Front never wears out so I run Big apple for comfort and grip. I think the hookworm can handle 1-2K more miles of riding before I have to replace them.

So is Crazy Bob Tires better than Maxxis Hookworm in terms of longevity because that is what I am after.

 

[Ohbse]

Got at least 4K miles on my Maxxis Hookworm. Front never wears out so I run Big apple for comfort and grip. I think the hookworm can handle 1-2K more miles of riding before I have to replace them.

So is Crazy Bob Tires better than Maxxis Hookworm in terms of longevity because that is what I am after.

You got 4k miles out of a $38 tyre, might even get to 6k miles... that's over 150 mile/$. If you run two hookworms you could rotate them front/rear and probably get 10k miles from the pair. Personally I think thats pretty hard to beat. I would much rather be running a grippier tyre for more thrills/safety margin than penny pinching, given that riding my ebike already saves me $3k-$4k per year in travel costs.

Why trade off probably $8 worth of tyre life for something that's going to grip less and ride worse?

Reality is that covering this sort of distance, your tyre is much more likely to be ruined by a foreign object than the tread completely wearing out.

That being said, I am impressed with the distance the crazy bob has covered. Looks like it could keep going for a while too.

 

[miuan]

The Maxxis uses a softer compound rubber hence better allround tyre suited for high performance bikes. Crazy Bob is my tyre of choice for lower power and endurance. Both nice and fat, lots of pressure levels to play with. Stan's notubes makes them so much more safer.

 

[veloman]

I have a 26 x 2.0 Specialized Hemisphere. Feels like a fairly soft compound. I've used it on the front of my ebike, and probably 6-7k miles and still have about half tread left. I've never felt as if I didn't have enough cornering traction. Bought it from a bike swap meet for $5 lightly used. I've had one flat with it.

Doesn't it feel good to get your money's worth?

Rear - I would use a more durable tire like a Schwalbe Marathon Plus. The pic below shows a screw that went through it, yet it DID NOT puncture.

 

[mvly]

Got at least 4K miles on my Maxxis Hookworm. Front never wears out so I run Big apple for comfort and grip. I think the hookworm can handle 1-2K more miles of riding before I have to replace them.

So is Crazy Bob Tires better than Maxxis Hookworm in terms of longevity because that is what I am after.

You got 4k miles out of a $38 tyre, might even get to 6k miles... that's over 150 mile/$. If you run two hookworms you could rotate them front/rear and probably get 10k miles from the pair. Personally I think thats pretty hard to beat. I would much rather be running a grippier tyre for more thrills/safety margin than penny pinching, given that riding my ebike already saves me $3k-$4k per year in travel costs.

Why trade off probably $8 worth of tyre life for something that's going to grip less and ride worse?

Reality is that covering this sort of distance, your tyre is much more likely to be ruined by a foreign object than the tread completely wearing out.

That being said, I am impressed with the distance the crazy bob has covered. Looks like it could keep going for a while too.

Noarmally I would agree. But my goal is not penny pinching. It is a hassle removing the rear wheel to install the new tire. Everytime, i have to be careful to remove things on the bike and of course the thread on the axles wears out. Moreover every time I replace the tires I have to make the mod to make it puncture proof. This is a time consuming process.

So my reason for finding the more durable and long lasting tires is so I don't have to change them. I would like to go for a year without swapping if possible. 1 year of rising for me would be around 10K miles.

 

[NeilP]

Isn't the compromise of long life tires less traction? Ok for a rear, but I won't put one on the front again.

Yep it appears so, these are not great for road surface grip. I'd probably not buy them again. But I 'd always use the same tyre front and rear, not for any performance reason, just that I don't like the idea of mismatched tyres.


I'd rather have better traction on the rear to be honest. I use regen braking and that is what always skids first...as would be expected as weight transfers forward .
So yes in theory better traction on the front, as that is where the most braking should be coming from...but regen always causes loads of rear braking.

 

[NeilP]

I only went for them initially because I could not get Big Apples locally and after the first few thousand miles on my bike changing tyres every few hundred miles ...due sidewalls ripping on 'normal' tyres.

Puncture resistance and road handling is more important to me than max mileage. I have the same issue with the time it takes to change the rear tyre, at least an hour to take it off, and put back, plus the workshop tools and a mate to help balance the bike and align the wheel ..not trap the wires, get the chain and derailleur al lined up.

I have gone for Schwalbe again. Marathon plus this time.

Only 2.0 though..would have liked 2.2 at least for a softer ride.

 

[NeilP]

like the sound of this

http://www.schwalbe.com/en/unplattbar.html

 

[cwah]

wouldn't marathon plus have more life? my big apple only have 3K miles life

 

[NeilP]

I've got the Marathon Plus now, but will never know.
I stripped and scrappecd my e-bike the other day. My e-bike days have ended.
Big clamp down on them, so only 15 mph PAS only. So no point in having one now.
Back to the 4.2 litre turbo LandCruiser or the Harley

 

[Ykick]

Damn NeilP, that’s frocked up! Sorry to hear about the increase in eBike enforcement while cell phones and cars/trucks continue to be way more dangerous than practically any power level of eBike.

 

[cwah]

I've got the Marathon Plus now, but will never know.
I stripped and scrappecd my e-bike the other day. My e-bike days have ended.
Big clamp down on them, so only 15 mph PAS only. So no point in having one now.
Back to the 4.2 litre turbo LandCruiser or the Harley

What? Why? I don't understand??? Is there a clamp down by police on ebike?

I ride daily with my bike in london and never had problem with police regarding its legality

 

[sansander.ebike]

My BigBen 28" after 4500km... inclusive turn donuts

 

[NeilP]

I've got the Marathon Plus now, but will never know.
I stripped and scrappecd my e-bike the other day. My e-bike days have ended.
Big clamp down on them, so only 15 mph PAS only. So no point in having one now.
Back to the 4.2 litre turbo LandCruiser or the Harley

What? Why? I don't understand??? Is there a clamp down by police on ebike?

I ride daily with my bike in london and never had problem with police regarding its legality

I am in Jersey though, not UK, where they have just recently changed the laws. They are now probably the same as UK, but since it is recent change ( last month) it has become a big thing. Plus the fact I had heard they had bern after me for the past few years anyway. I was pulled over, and ... long story...but fu. Ck it, I've given up.

 

[cwah]

ahh shit! it may affect me?

What are the new law? And why is it different now? Have you been stopped after the law have passed? maybe police have new rules?

Currently with my bike I haven't been stopped yet, it is however quite obvious it's electric:

Maybe it's time to go a bit more stealthy?

 

[NeilP]

Our new rules are same, I believe, as yours, now 15 mph PAS with max 4mph on throttle

No matter how stealthy the build, doing 35 mph behind a truck , uphill, even when pedalling , does rather indicate more than just leg power is being used!

On the flat mine was good for 50 mph plus when run at 100 volts, though in my everyday config of 20s , to 82 volts, max was about 42 on flat and 10 kw. At 100volt I was peaking at 15-17 kW

I could keep riding it if I fitted indicators, dipping headlights, then insurance, helmet etc and rode it as a motorbike. But if I am going to do that, I may as well just ride the Harley.

 

[cwah]

At high speed is it better to have a gaz motorcycle?

I was thinking maybe to get at some stage something like the Vectrix bike:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Model-60-E-Rider-Electric-Moped-Scooter-In-Stock-72V-60MPH-/272047162928?hash=item3f57464630:g:nBwAAOSw9N1V0Xv2

Benefit would be:
- Completely silent
- Low maintenance with only the tyre to change every 10K miles as brakes would be sorted by regen.
- Cheap to run

But very expensive I suppose to make?