I have noticed that the Maxxis Hookworm tire has been a favorite among eBikers. But what about now today? It seems like they only make them in single ply now where as in the past they were made in double and quadruple ply. Are the Hookworms still a good choice for eBikes now even though they are only single ply? Thanks,
Maxxis Hookworm still best eBike tire?
- Thread starter Bone
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They're a good tire but it depends on what your best is.
Puncture proofness? hands down, kenda drumlin for it's thickness, it even beats marathon plus in my challenging environment, and the rolling penalty isn't too bad.
If you don't require puncture proofness, then a hookworm should be a faster roller.
But i find with ebikes, as the speeds go up, so does the puncture prone-ness, so i like the heavier kendas on ebikes and lighter BMX type tires on pedal bikes.
Puncture proofness? hands down, kenda drumlin for it's thickness, it even beats marathon plus in my challenging environment, and the rolling penalty isn't too bad.
If you don't require puncture proofness, then a hookworm should be a faster roller.
But i find with ebikes, as the speeds go up, so does the puncture prone-ness, so i like the heavier kendas on ebikes and lighter BMX type tires on pedal bikes.
Thanks. That is the first time I have ever heard of a Kenda Drumlin. I do have a pack of Mr. Tuffy tire liners and was going to go with HD thorn resistant tubes. I like the looks of the hookworm better. Wondering if it would be about as good as the Drumlin with the tire liners?
It would be probably 80% as good with the liners, but go the same speed since the liners add rolling resistance.
They are 1mm thicker than the best schwalbe i've tested, and have harder rubber, so it's harder for things to get in.
I live in goathead hell, and i imagine you don't, so you're probably fine with the hookworms.
What goatheads look like:
They are 1mm thicker than the best schwalbe i've tested, and have harder rubber, so it's harder for things to get in.
I live in goathead hell, and i imagine you don't, so you're probably fine with the hookworms.
What goatheads look like:
Because you forgot to provide a scale for those, I thought I'd jump in and help. It's important to understand the size of the problem being faced.
offGridDownUnder
10 kW
Aww, those are so cute!
I wave the Schwalbe flag. Marathon and Marathon Plus tires have been amazing for me. I'm a country cruiser. I like 40-60 mile rides and all of that are on the shoulder of a highway running over not only trash, glass, and debris but the stainless steel thread shards from failed truck and car tires. I used to fight flats weekly on some tires (Kenda gum walls) but since I've switched to Schwalbe tires I have had zero flat tires (knock-on-wood). That's about 10,000 miles and 4 worn out rear tires. I'm glad I've not run into the goatheads mentioned above, by I do ride through sandburrs (below) quite a bit but they never seem to pose a problem for tires, just feet.
scianiac
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I got a set of Hookworms, have yet to fit them yet, might just wear out the old DH tires that are on it now first. I went with them mostly for the wider 2.5 option although I was aiming to get a set of Schwalbe pick-up 2.6s but those are basically impossible to get in the US it seems. There is probably a balance of weight, width and puncture resistance and maybe I'll regret going for width but I also don't have any natural potential punctures and haven't had any issues with man made puncturers yet. The Pick-ups though seem to be both wide and heavy if you can find them.
Schwalbe also now makes the new Marathon E-Plus for ebikers. Here is the difference between it and just the plain general plus..........I wave the Schwalbe flag. Marathon and Marathon Plus tires have been amazing for me. I'm a country cruiser. I like 40-60 mile rides and all of that are on the shoulder of a highway running over not only trash, glass, and debris but the stainless steel thread shards from failed truck and car tires. I used to fight flats weekly on some tires (Kenda gum walls) but since I've switched to Schwalbe tires I have had zero flat tires (knock-on-wood). That's about 10,000 miles and 4 worn out rear tires. I'm glad I've not run into the goatheads mentioned above, by I do ride through sandburrs (below) quite a bit but they never seem to pose a problem for tires, just feet.
"The main difference between the Schwalbe Marathon Plus and Marathon E-Plus tires is that the E-Plus is specifically designed for electric bikes, while the Plus is designed for general use. The E-Plus has a more robust construction, including two layers of RaceGuard fabric under a SmartGuard layer, to better withstand the higher loads and speeds of e-bikes. The E-Plus also uses the ADDIX-E compound, which offers better grip and durability, and it's certified for e-bikes up to 50 km/h."
Chalo
100 TW
It's called Kenda Kwick Drumlin, and there are three variations. KS (3mm breaker belt), KS+ (5mm breaker belt), and Cargo (2 ply casing plus 3mm breaker belt).
Those are less than worthless. They cause at least as many unrepairable punctures as they prevent normal repairable ones. Just don't. They're to squeeze a few bucks out of folks who don't understand things.
Those are about 3X as thick as a regular tube, which provides negligible protection. If your typical hazards are very short thorns or tiny glass chips, maybe thick tubes would help. But anything longer than the tube and tire casing are thick, won't be slowed down at all by a thick tube. It's effortless to poke through.
Any version of the Kwick Drumlin would be miles better protected than Hookworm plus any nonsense you stuff in it for protection. It's not even close.
Hookworm is a great tire for traction, handling, tread wear, and sidewall protection. But it's not an armored tire, and nothing you can add to it will make it one.
If you base your tire buying decisions on how the tires look, first, God help you. But second, have a look at WTB Thick Slick Flat Guard and Cruz Flat Guard if you don't like the look of Kenda Kwick Drumlin.
I remember my marathon plus having very so/so ride quality and traction.
That and never finding a tire with more than 7mm of rubber, plus extremely squishy rubber ( which compresses under load easily and becomes 4mm or less )
Even the Schwalbe pickup is on the wimpy side due the super flexy rubber and low maximum PSI.
Maybe this super flexy rubber would be ideal for a 150lbs rider, but that's not most of us ebikers, you know
The Kenda Drumlin Cargos have 2-3x harder rubber. If you try to compress it by hand, it doesn't have much give.
The Kenda Drumlin ( regular ) has 2x harder rubber also.
Shoving a metal pin into either requires a lot of physical force, whereas with the schwalbe marathon pro, it slips right in due to the wimpiness of the rubber.
This might be why, despite seeing up to 11mm goathead spikes in the field, my current 8mm tire has never been punctured by one in 300 miles. On regular bike tires, i'm flatting every 5 miles.
I see better handling and slightly better rolling resistance with the Kendas.
They don't feel like "puncture proof tires", they just feel like thicker and harder bike tires.
When you have a big hub motor, a heavy rider, and high speeds, the harder rubber also makes more sense because the forces on the tire are much more greater than they would be at pedal speeds.
But your area might not be as demanding as mine.
That and never finding a tire with more than 7mm of rubber, plus extremely squishy rubber ( which compresses under load easily and becomes 4mm or less )
Even the Schwalbe pickup is on the wimpy side due the super flexy rubber and low maximum PSI.
Maybe this super flexy rubber would be ideal for a 150lbs rider, but that's not most of us ebikers, you know
The Kenda Drumlin Cargos have 2-3x harder rubber. If you try to compress it by hand, it doesn't have much give.
The Kenda Drumlin ( regular ) has 2x harder rubber also.
Shoving a metal pin into either requires a lot of physical force, whereas with the schwalbe marathon pro, it slips right in due to the wimpiness of the rubber.
This might be why, despite seeing up to 11mm goathead spikes in the field, my current 8mm tire has never been punctured by one in 300 miles. On regular bike tires, i'm flatting every 5 miles.
I see better handling and slightly better rolling resistance with the Kendas.
They don't feel like "puncture proof tires", they just feel like thicker and harder bike tires.
When you have a big hub motor, a heavy rider, and high speeds, the harder rubber also makes more sense because the forces on the tire are much more greater than they would be at pedal speeds.
But your area might not be as demanding as mine.
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Yeah.. those wore a crescent shaped puncture into one of my tires, twice..
I had more punctures on them than going without protection.
Big rolling resistance penalty too.
On the money.
I had hookworms and from a puncture protection level, they've got maybe 1mm extra rubber than an average bicycle tire.
Nowhere near a marathon plus or a good kenda tire.
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That should be equivalent or slightly better than the hookworm.
2.5" tires would be helpful for comfort, and if you run them at higher than normal PSI, you will paradoxically see lower rolling resistance and better comfort.
2.5" tires would be helpful for comfort, and if you run them at higher than normal PSI, you will paradoxically see lower rolling resistance and better comfort.
electric_nz
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- Jan 7, 2019
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I had a good run with schwalbe big apples, good grip in the wet, low rolling resistance, no punctures. They have been better for me than the super moto x which seem to be slightly too large and difficult to seat on the bead, had to soap them and pump to nearly 100 psi!
The Specialized Hemispheres I got are only 1.95 inches wide so I ended up ordering a pair of Kenda Kwick Drumlin Cargo 26 x 2.4 tires. There is a seller on eBay that is selling them for $80.00 or best offer for 2 tires and $9.00 shipping for both. I offered him $60.00 for 2 tires plus the $9.00 shipping for both and he accepted.
Chalo
100 TW
That's a good deal for those.
Note that Kenda sells them directly from their website, and I haven't had to pay shipping when I got them that way.
That's an awesome deal.
Let me know how it goes!
If you are going up 0.55 inches, you might consider going to 5mm longer cranks if your legs can tolerate it, then put the seat down a bit to help compensate for the extra seat position increase that comes with raising the bike.
Let me know how it goes!
If you are going up 0.55 inches, you might consider going to 5mm longer cranks if your legs can tolerate it, then put the seat down a bit to help compensate for the extra seat position increase that comes with raising the bike.
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