RiBMo tires are amazing

[jkbrigman]

In case I wasn't completely clear about it. Slime + thick tubes or tire liners pretty much destroys the performance and feel of the tires.
...
Every tire worker, bike or car, loathes slime. I don't blame them. But you should only charge more for customers that bring in slime, and DONT tell you. You don't have to get it all over you, if you know it's there. Just have a slime tire station, with a nice tub of water that you place the wheel in to dismount the tire.

+1 to everything dogman has said.

I use Stan's. I consider it a maintenance item and will discard/replace the tubes at 8 months or so.

Having some form of "puncture remediation liquid" in the tube is important on an ebike. I've only had one flat in 1000 miles, but Stan's performed perfectly as it was designed to: it plugged the hole plenty well enough for me to get home. The next morning, I found the puncture and was able to deal with it directly. The important point was that Stan's saved me from being stranded, which made it worth every penny of the $15 bottle.

I felt great pain at reading Chalo's account of getting that crap all over him. I would never, ever dream of "baptising my bike mechanic" in tire sealant. Tires and tubes, I can deal with. I give the much more complicated stuff to my bike mechanic, who I have great respect for.

 

[zaphod911]

To get back on point, i am curios to know how the RiBMos compare to Maxxis' Hookworm. Can anyone offer thoughts? I thought my foldable hookworms were the holy grail of city biking, but now it seems i will have to try something new.

 

[Chalo]

To get back on point, i am curios to know how the RiBMos compare to Maxxis' Hookworm. Can anyone offer thoughts? I thought my foldable hookworms were the holy grail of city biking, but now it seems i will have to try something new.

RiBMos are way smaller at 2.0" nominal-- less than 2/3 the tire volume of Hookworms. They are also much faster and cushier-riding, with the steering feel of a narrower tire on center. Hookworm feels like a motorcycle tire in comparison.

Hookworms are puncture resistant by means of their thick, tough tread and casing made of conventional materials. RiBMos seem to be even more puncture and wear resistant by way of different casing materials and tread compound. To be frank, although RiBMos have demonstrated phenomenal wear life in pedal bike and electric bicycle applications, I have no experience with them in high power e-bike applications.

 

[-dg]

RiBMos are way smaller at 2.0" nominal-- less than 2/3 the tire volume of Hookworms. They are also much faster and cushier-riding, with the steering feel of a narrower tire on center. Hookworm feels like a motorcycle tire in comparison.

This gets at something I'm wondering about, handling and feel. I'm building up an early 90's Trek 950 with a rear BPM. It is intended as an errand runner/commuter. Speed will be in the low 20s mph, mostly on poorly maintained pavement, often with various loads. Rims are Alex DM-24. I'm on the heavy side. I've narrowed the tire choice down to the 2.4" CST Cyclops and the 2.0" RiBMo. Which is going to be more enjoyable to ride? I like the idea of the extra volume (air suspension!), but I'm concerned about sluggish handling with the fatter tire. Can anyone compare the handling and ride quality of these two tires?

 

[Chalo]

I would only use the 2.4" Cyclops over the 2.0" RiBMo if I wanted to run tire pressures below 30psi for cushioning, or if I was carrying a very heavy gross weight, like more than 200 lbs. per wheel. At the same pressure, the RiBMo will feel much softer, but the Cyclops should be good down to 20-25psi depending on the width of the rim. Both tires wear quite slowly at appropriate pressures; I don't think I've ever seen either one worn to the cords. The RiBMo bends into a turn with less steering force than the Cyclops, so it makes the bike feel nimbler. RiBMo is more puncture resistant in my experience, and costs twice as much as Cyclops.

The first RiBMo tires I ever sold, I got for a woman who was heading out on a cross-country tour. I recommended them based on their reputation, and she rode over 1500 miles on intercity highways without a flat. She came back raving about them, because her tour mates did not have such luck. After another year or so and a couple more thousand miles, she finally got a puncture and chose to replace the tires. They didn't look significantly worn to me at that time, though.

I got her the more expensive Kevlar beaded ones by mistake at first, and I kept those for myself. They are on a bike I ride often but not daily, and they still seem like new after about three years. Those are 700x32; the 26x2.0 kind feel more substantial and heavier, but still very sporty for an MTB tire.

 

[oatnet]

Panaracer makes good products, thanks for the tip I might try a set of their tires.

I have been using Panaracer's Kevlar Liner on all of my ebikes, and I have NEVER had a flat after 7 years and tens of thousands of miles in the hobby. Of course, the exxonpro liner in Maxxis Hookworms, and 2.5mm wall thickness of the Kenda downhill tubes I use might have helped too. If you are already invested in the tires you have, and want similar protection you can just add the liners to your setup:

http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=11244

-JD

.

 

[BiGH]

I tried what my local bike shop recommended:
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/ftb/road-tires/trainingall-season-road-tires/all-condition-armadillo

I run the All condition Armadillo Elite on my road bike - amazing tyre, no flats but freaking expensive.

Ran the Nimbus Armadillo on my old mountain bike - similarly no flats. and did run these on the ebike, but found I got a lot of broken spokes so moved to hookworms, but started to get flats again. then ran a Kevlar liner inside the wheel with downhill MTB tubes (1.5mm thick) = heavy wheels but no flats.

however sold that bike.

Now going through the whole tyre selection fun again....

 

[liveforphysics]

Still no flats.

May not sound remarkable to some here, but I was having near-daily flats on the same bike, wheels, route, rider.

They fall into turns so easily, you can ride very curvy paths no handed easily. Very small motions to turn with these.

 

[BiGH]

Still no flats.

May not sound remarkable to some here, but I was having near-daily flats on the same bike, wheels, route, rider.

They fall into turns so easily, you can ride very curvy paths no handed easily. Very small motions to turn with these.

which bead did you use? steel or Aramid? (I'm guessing the latter)

 

[liveforphysics]

Kevlar. Its firsts commercial use was tires, and provided the tire doesn't have large thermal loads, I try to only run kevlar tires (except on my insight.)

In a bicycle tire though, it doesn't effect how it rides or performs (with the exception of weight savings) and convince to ship/store/carry.

Neat wikipedia kevlar history:
" Poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide – branded Kevlar – was invented by Polish-American chemist Stephanie Kwolek while working for DuPont,[6] in anticipation of a gasoline shortage. In 1964, her group began searching for a new lightweight strong fiber to use for light but strong tires.[6] The polymers she had been working with at the time, poly-p-Phenylene-terephthalate and polybenzamide,[7] formed liquid crystal while in solution, something unique to those polymers at the time.[6]

The solution was "cloudy, opalescent upon being stirred, and of low viscosity" and usually was thrown away. However, Kwolek persuaded the technician, Charles Smullen, who ran the "spinneret", to test her solution, and was amazed to find that the fiber did not break, unlike nylon. Her supervisor and her laboratory director understood the significance of her accidental discovery and a new field of polymer chemistry quickly arose. By 1971, modern Kevlar was introduced.[6] However, Kwolek was not very involved in developing the applications of Kevlar.[8]"

 

[-dg]

I would only use the 2.4" Cyclops over the 2.0" RiBMo if I wanted to run tire pressures below 30psi for cushioning, or if I was carrying a very heavy gross weight, like more than 200 lbs. per wheel. At the same pressure, the RiBMo will feel much softer, but the Cyclops should be good down to 20-25psi depending on the width of the rim. Both tires wear quite slowly at appropriate pressures; I don't think I've ever seen either one worn to the cords. The RiBMo bends into a turn with less steering force than the Cyclops, so it makes the bike feel nimbler. RiBMo is more puncture resistant in my experience, and costs twice as much as Cyclops.

Perfect. Thanks. RiBMo it is.

Funny thing, I don't care much about flat resistance, although on a hub motor it would be more important. I usually run Panaracer Paselas (not even TG) or my last pair of old stock Avocet slicks and hardly ever flat. When I rode from Berkeley to New York in the 80s I only had two flats and that was with 28mm Specialized Touring IIs. Some years I don't flat all year. I always carry a pump and patches and spare tube, so that might be what prevents flats. Every so often to keep me from getting to cocky I'll have like five flats in one week. But that is rare. My sister rides in the same area and flats all the time, I have no idea what the difference is.

 

[mrzed]

Me and my wife did a loaded pedal bike tour from Vancouver BC to Monterey CA on 26x1.25 Paselas, I only had three flats, all on the same morning. First was a tube change, second was a patch, the third flatted, I took it out, couldn't find the leak, put it back in and then rode another 1000Km on it.

I'm just getting back into pedal riding more after putting my 1989 Cannondale 3.0 road bike back on the road after 8 years in a box. These RiBMo's could be just the ticket.

 

[BiGH]

Me and my wife did a loaded pedal bike tour from Vancouver BC to Monterey CA on 26x1.25 Paselas, I only had three flats, all on the same morning. First was a tube change, second was a patch, the third flatted, I took it out, couldn't find the leak, put it back in and then rode another 1000Km on it.

I'm just getting back into pedal riding more after putting my 1989 Cannondale 3.0 road bike back on the road after 8 years in a box. These RiBMo's could be just the ticket.

I run the specialized armadillo elite on my road bike. Amazing tyre. I've never had a flat.