Hookworm 24x2.5 tire impression
I've got about 500 miles on these Hookworm tires now, and I've been having a blast riding around on the hills and curvy roads around my area. These are great tires on pavement, but mainly on clean dry pavement. I've been able to take shortcuts across grass or dirt when veering off the bike path to avoid folks, but loose gravel or sand is pretty sketchy. Actually I have zero confidence with them in sand. I think I'll keep them on over the summer, but may switch back to knobbies when it gets closer to winter, since I like riding when the trails are a little muddy.
The rolling resistance is so low, I'm still not fully used to it, lurching with the slightest increase in throttle while cruising along. I think the knobbies mute that. Overall they are great street tires, as long as you respect their limitations. I'd say I'm getting around 10% more range, too, so that's another upside.
The problem on loose surfaces isn't so bad during cornering, since I'm used to having the tires slide a bit on a fast curve from riding motorcycles, but too much throttle and the rear will slide out. Also, taking off on pavement with even a little loose gravel/sand/dirt,I get unexpected fishtailing. Consequently, the rear is suffering more, as far as tread wear goes. Not a lot with so few miles, but the front still has the stippled surface and the tread has no wear, while the rear is smoother, with light tread wear. The tires need clean pavement or concrete to stick well.
I haven't tried any performance testing yet, but I want to get some good data before switching back to my knobbies. I'm pretty sure improvement will show up on my roll on testing times due to the lower rolling resistance. Anyway, I went out today after charging my battery, and waited for a stretch on the trail to clear. It wasn't too busy, but I still had to wait about 15 minutes before it was all clear, due to all of the dog walkers. I did one 0-40 run, which was disappointing. The bike bogged down off the line, and I was wondering "what the heck". I forgot to run under my off-road preset (with bypass throttle mode), and my CA throttle up ramp is set to a super slow 1.7v/sec., so it took almost 2 seconds after twisting throttle for the signal to ramp up to full throttle. Current peaked at 76A, and I had the current limit set to 80A, so it definitely wasn't pulling like it should off the line.
The botched run was very close to how the knobbies perform on my "unlimited" preset (set to bypass throttle, no current limit) instead of my "offroad" preset (throttle adjusted, 80A limit), so now I really want to do an apples to apples comparison, maybe this weekend.
EDIT 06-15-24
Second (official) run, unlimited preset. 3 speed switch set to 2 (no field weakening). Current hit 92.11A max, with 6.2V of volts of sag (ugh).
My breaker tripped on the first try this morning, so I used some electrical tape to tie the breaker switch to the on position, and it actually held!
The bike still bogged a bit, but not like on the first run. I was leaning way over the bars, so my chest was just over them, and the front lifted about an inch or so, providing a decent start off the line. This time it hit 92.11A, so bypass throttle gave full throttle right from the start. I'm satisfied with the results, the slicks make a noticeable difference.
Comparing the two videos, the advantage is clear at the location that each run hits 40. In the botched run, it hits right as it reaches the bench on the left. Per Google Maps that's right around 30 yards.
I also tried one top speed run once I made it down to the bay. The battery was right around 80V. I was leaning forward with my eyes glued to the road, so just shut it down when I ran out of guts. I kept thinking this is stupid without at least a full faced helmet on. I guess if I were watching the speed I might have held on a bit more, but checking the top speed afterwards showed 52.7 mph. It was still accelerating, but not quickly. I did have field weakening on during the test (3 speed switch set to high).
EDIT 06-21-24 Great weather for riding the last couple of days. Cool and sunny, so a sweatshirt and windbreaker are perfect when pedaling. I'm probably going to add Flatout to the front and rear tubes. It works, but not for my last flat, where the screw went through both sides. Right now I'm a little nervous riding more than 15 miles from home. I just don't know how good the Hookworms are against flats. I haven't ridden out to Treasure Island in a while, but I know there's a lot of visible construction. I think they're putting more than a billion dollars into the high/medium rise condos with views of SF and the Golden Gate. That'll be a bit more than 15 miles, plus all the riding around there (more opportunities for flats), then back. 80% of the riding will be on multiuse paths, so not a high risk, but not sure how the roads will be near any recent construction.
I also want to ride over the bridge to Marin and do a loop around the Tiburon area. That will be more than 20 miles, plus the riding around, then heading back. Except for what I can see on Google Maps, I'm not familiar with the condition of the roadways around there.
I'm definitely getting 10% better range with the Hookworms, and I have them on the low pressure side. With the knobbies, I'd charge to 83V and after 20 miles of mixed riding, I'd be at 80V. Not heavy on the throttle, but not light, and pedaling on and off. Now, I'm pretty consistently at 22 miles.
EDIT 06-30-24 I'm starting to miss my knobby tires. This weather is perfect for trail riding, and I've been wanting to check out the
Mystery Walls located somewhere along the foothill park above where I live, but I can't with these slicks. Ugh. It's funny that my wife and I rode all of the trails there, but usually were barreling down the hills barely paying attention to anything but the trail, but now while riding my ebike, I tend to ride more slowly and checking out the scenery. And there's a lot of interesting things to see, too. The panoramic views from the Nike Missile Radar site are great, even though all that's left are a few big concrete slabs (
This Abandoned Nike Missile Site Is Now Full of Stone Cats)
and I finally found the Belgum Sanitarium ruins last year, which ended up being a few stone walls and stairs, lol (
Belgum Sanitarium - Wikipedia)
I'm expecting a little more than that if I can locate the Mystery Walls, and the details/directions I've been finding online are vague, so it may take some exploring. (
East Bay Walls - Wikipedia).
Still, these Hookworms are fun. I realized the other day that I was running them with really low pressure, with the back being around 25psi. I pumped them up to 50psi and now they're even more twitchy without careful throttle control.
I rode along the bay today and the weather was perfect. I took several breaks just to enjoy the sun and the views. I noticed I could see my test climbing hill, or at least the top (800ft), steeper section about 4 miles away. The trails are on the other side of the ridge (I think the highpoint of the trails is about 1200ft).
EDIT 07-04-24 Weather for the 4th of July is sunny and warm, almost too warm. I rode around and checked out some of the events the towns have. Some were too crowded even walk my bike through. I had to keep moving anyway, otherwise I'd start roasting. Came home after 3 hours or so, and my wife had the AC on
.
I didn't take any pics. but saw these cleaning out my hard drive. 2022, so oldies lol. It was before I put the Cloud 9 on, and before reinforcing my rack. A few from riding over to Oakland, and Berkeley.
I wonder if I could put that seat back on. I've been pedaling more lately, so it would probably be better for that. But I may have gotten too used to the Cloud 9...Oh ya, and the knobbies.
