I'm running a hub motor on my rear wheel. After getting a puncture recently on the rear wheel - where else - that was the final straw. This is a rear wheel that was already running on a Marathon Plus tyre and it already had a Tannus Armour insert... I still got a puncture. It looked like some sort of roofing nail, the ones that are about 12mm with a wide flat top.
The next step was to buy a Tannus Aither Razor Blade solid tyre for the rear wheel (26" x 1.75").
Fitting that tyre to my rim was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I managed to squeeze the tyre on, but found that it was impossible to get the tabs to clip in. I think I managed to clip one tab in using all my strength, afterwards I felt like I had been trying to push a train!
I bought the Tannus "P-Tool" pliers thinking they would make clipping the tabs in easier - nope. That tool is absolutely useless, it just flexes and doesn't have anything like the leverage on it, it needs. I went back to the drawing board and started tucking in the edge of the tyre, getting one tab at a time closer to the rim, then instead of pushing down on the tab, I sort of pressed the original "S-Tool" (supplied with each tyre) into the tab horizontally and, applying a lot of pressure, sort of angled the tool up while pressing down really hard on the center of the tab... ah ha! They started becoming easier to snap into place and after a monumental amount of effort, the tyre was completely on.
What's the harshness like?
After seeing so many people complaining about spokes breaking, increased rolling resistance, no grip in the wet and a harsher ride, I didn't expect the tyre to be any good, but it was actually perfectly fine, on this very short 10 minute test ride.
Part of the reason the ride isn't harsh is, I have got a Suntour NCX seatpost on. With that on, I can honestly say I couldn't tell really any difference between my old Marathon Plus (60 PSI) and this Tannus solid tyre, rated at 80 PSI.
The rolling resistance?
I don't care about this because I have a motor on, I mean I'll sacrifice some battery range, go a bit slower and just put in the same effort I always do. Did I go slower? Yes... with only one of these tyres on (albeit the rear where most of the weight is) my average speed that's normally 14.9 MPH became 13.2 MPH. This wasn't a test over anything like enough of a distance, but it tells me there is some drag to these tyres, that wasn't there with the Marathon Plus. I make that almost a 13% reduction in speed. Maybe some of that is down to me riding a bit more carefully since it was the very first time out on the tyre. Also it's not going to be as accurate testing this as it would be over a good length ride like 15+ miles. I only went 2.4 miles on this ride. There is more rolling resistance but I don't care about it and knew this before I put the tyre on!
Spokes breaking?
Time will tell. Since I have a suspension seatpost on + I'm using 1.75" wide tyres + 36 spokes @ 2.5mm each then doesn't all of that help to protect my rims?
The Tannus are sold as 1.75" wide, but this one I am using is actually 1.6" wide or rather, instead of being 44.5mm wide, it's 40.5mm wide. I thought it looked a bit thinner than the Marathon Plus I still have on the front, that really is 1.75" wide.
A lot of people say they had spokes breaking when using the Tannus Aither tyres, but (apart from a Brompton) I couldn't find one single person detailing what tyre they were using when they had spokes breaking... so it's useless information to me. For all I know, these folks were running 700c wheels with 23mm tyres on "racing" rear wheels with 24 spokes. I have a feeling that is probably the case, or they were running this solid tyre on a wheel with loose NDS spokes, which if you never check, is likely on any factory built wheel that's been used for hundreds of miles already (and never checked).
Grip?
Bizarre! I was riding in the dry and while the tyre wasn't slipping, it felt strange, like it's not quite tracking properly or rather, the road surface is making it deviate from where it's rolling. A very strange feeling and it's hard to explain it, but I can live with it. I already knew before putting it on, people had said this about it.
Will I keep this tyre on?
Absolutely! I see no reason not to. The ride isn't bumpy, the drag can be handled by the motor, how grippy it is in the wet... I have yet to find out and as far as spokes breaking, I think I am on a setup where I should be OK regarding that.
The only downside I can think of is, this tyre just feels weird, it feels lifeless. Still, I'm going to leave it on and see how I do with it. I almost forgot the most important part - it's not possible to get a puncture lol.
The next step was to buy a Tannus Aither Razor Blade solid tyre for the rear wheel (26" x 1.75").
Fitting that tyre to my rim was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I managed to squeeze the tyre on, but found that it was impossible to get the tabs to clip in. I think I managed to clip one tab in using all my strength, afterwards I felt like I had been trying to push a train!
I bought the Tannus "P-Tool" pliers thinking they would make clipping the tabs in easier - nope. That tool is absolutely useless, it just flexes and doesn't have anything like the leverage on it, it needs. I went back to the drawing board and started tucking in the edge of the tyre, getting one tab at a time closer to the rim, then instead of pushing down on the tab, I sort of pressed the original "S-Tool" (supplied with each tyre) into the tab horizontally and, applying a lot of pressure, sort of angled the tool up while pressing down really hard on the center of the tab... ah ha! They started becoming easier to snap into place and after a monumental amount of effort, the tyre was completely on.
What's the harshness like?
After seeing so many people complaining about spokes breaking, increased rolling resistance, no grip in the wet and a harsher ride, I didn't expect the tyre to be any good, but it was actually perfectly fine, on this very short 10 minute test ride.
Part of the reason the ride isn't harsh is, I have got a Suntour NCX seatpost on. With that on, I can honestly say I couldn't tell really any difference between my old Marathon Plus (60 PSI) and this Tannus solid tyre, rated at 80 PSI.
The rolling resistance?
I don't care about this because I have a motor on, I mean I'll sacrifice some battery range, go a bit slower and just put in the same effort I always do. Did I go slower? Yes... with only one of these tyres on (albeit the rear where most of the weight is) my average speed that's normally 14.9 MPH became 13.2 MPH. This wasn't a test over anything like enough of a distance, but it tells me there is some drag to these tyres, that wasn't there with the Marathon Plus. I make that almost a 13% reduction in speed. Maybe some of that is down to me riding a bit more carefully since it was the very first time out on the tyre. Also it's not going to be as accurate testing this as it would be over a good length ride like 15+ miles. I only went 2.4 miles on this ride. There is more rolling resistance but I don't care about it and knew this before I put the tyre on!
Spokes breaking?
Time will tell. Since I have a suspension seatpost on + I'm using 1.75" wide tyres + 36 spokes @ 2.5mm each then doesn't all of that help to protect my rims?
The Tannus are sold as 1.75" wide, but this one I am using is actually 1.6" wide or rather, instead of being 44.5mm wide, it's 40.5mm wide. I thought it looked a bit thinner than the Marathon Plus I still have on the front, that really is 1.75" wide.
A lot of people say they had spokes breaking when using the Tannus Aither tyres, but (apart from a Brompton) I couldn't find one single person detailing what tyre they were using when they had spokes breaking... so it's useless information to me. For all I know, these folks were running 700c wheels with 23mm tyres on "racing" rear wheels with 24 spokes. I have a feeling that is probably the case, or they were running this solid tyre on a wheel with loose NDS spokes, which if you never check, is likely on any factory built wheel that's been used for hundreds of miles already (and never checked).
Grip?
Bizarre! I was riding in the dry and while the tyre wasn't slipping, it felt strange, like it's not quite tracking properly or rather, the road surface is making it deviate from where it's rolling. A very strange feeling and it's hard to explain it, but I can live with it. I already knew before putting it on, people had said this about it.
Will I keep this tyre on?
Absolutely! I see no reason not to. The ride isn't bumpy, the drag can be handled by the motor, how grippy it is in the wet... I have yet to find out and as far as spokes breaking, I think I am on a setup where I should be OK regarding that.
The only downside I can think of is, this tyre just feels weird, it feels lifeless. Still, I'm going to leave it on and see how I do with it. I almost forgot the most important part - it's not possible to get a puncture lol.
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