Need help on new tyres

Pluto88888

Finding my (electric) wheels
Sep 13, 2014
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RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
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Bewildering choice, and it depends on the type of riding you are doing.

A Schwalbe Marathon Mondial is a good general tyre, puncture protected, fine on road, cinder track and very light off road.

It - or anything from the Marathon range - will last a lot longer than the 1,000 miles you've had from your current tyres.

http://www.schwalbe.com/en/tour-reader/marathon-mondial.html
 

Alan Quay

Esteemed Pedelecer
Dec 4, 2012
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Tyres are a very subjective matter. Personally, I'm a fan of Schwalbe tyres. If most of your riding is on the road, then Big Apples are hard to beat. Or Fat Frank's. They are both very hard wearing & puncture resistant (2000 + miles, no punctures for me).

Others here regularly recommend the Marathon Plus. I have no personal experience with them though.

What I do know: If your on the road then ditch the knobblies.
 

Croxden

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2013
2,134
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Marathon de luxe, 6000+ miles hardly any wear showing.
 
D

Deleted member 4366

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Schwalbe do the new Energizer tyres specially for ebikes. They last for ever, are puncture resistant and very strong, but grip is not so good. You can have tyr3s that last a longvtime or have good grip,;but you can't have both.
 

oldtom

Esteemed Pedelecer
Have no clue what tyres I should be purchasing I don't mind on the price at all just something last me another 1000miles I be happy)
That's a good call by d8veh as I still have them on 28" rims attached to a 2007 Panasonic drive. I have been places I really ought not to have gone on that bike but the tyres stood up to everything I have ridden over. I have no idea about mileage on that bike but the Energisers still have plenty of tread.

I will say this though; having fitted MPs to my current main ride, I reckon they are superb, combining decent traction on most surfaces with low rolling resistance, (relatively speaking). I shall ignore the needs of those who ride EAPCs so fast on tarmac that they outstrip roadies and aim this remark at the typical electric bike owner/rider:

If you dislike having to mend punctures miles from anywhere and want good wear from your tyres while providing top-notch protection, then MPs are about as good as it gets. Yes, there are other tyres with different characteristics which may be better in some conditions but I'll go out on a limb and state that MPs are perfect for 95% of electric bikers.

I no longer have a sports bike but if I did, I certainly wouldn't put MPs on it; with several EAPCS in my stable though, I really can't think of anything better.

Tom
 

D8ve

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 30, 2013
2,142
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Bristol
Marathon plus on my bike. Road and perhaps gentle cinder trail
 

jwm

Pedelecer
Feb 11, 2014
139
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Hampshire
I've find the grip on Marathon Plus a bit of an issue when riding in the the city, had a couple of spills with pull outs etc from drivers. Though I find the greenguard tread doesn't seem to attract glass working into the treads and cutting through the tyre... I've had a lot of these with the pluses. I am just trying Conti Touring pluses, I did run them some time ago and found that grip was good as was puncture protection, though the trade off is wear. However I have done 1000 plus miles on these. I'm quite pleased considering the additional weight of the ebike.

John
 

RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
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Sidewall cracks can be a problem, so it is worth getting something specced as suitable for ebikes.

Grip is not a strong point of Marathons, so the Conti linked by d8 might be worth a try.
 

jwm

Pedelecer
Feb 11, 2014
139
41
Hampshire
The gatorskins I had on a race bike cracked within months, though the touring plus seem to be ok... well so far.


John
 

footpump

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 19, 2014
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I am using specialised armadillo no puntures as yet road cycle paths/canal
but they definately require more effort than the original kendas to propel the bike no pas.
I noticed the same when I had one on my merida mb.

I think this also effects the range I get from my battery slightly
 

Pluto88888

Finding my (electric) wheels
Sep 13, 2014
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Update Guys been using the schwalbe marathon plus for two weeks wow the best £25 ever spent the Quality on these tyres are Amazing.
Definitely a must on ebikes if you travel alot.
 

oldtom

Esteemed Pedelecer
Update Guys been using the schwalbe marathon plus for two weeks wow the best £25 ever spent the Quality on these tyres are Amazing.
Definitely a must on ebikes if you travel alot.
Correct! They have improved the product slightly since its inception and for road use with woodland tracks, towpaths and the like, they are about as good as it gets for EAPC tyres.

No tyre is completely impregnable but as far as I can see, MPs provide riders with the best chance of avoiding punctures out of all the suitable tyres available.

There are other tyres which defend against punctures reasonably well, some being cheaper to buy, but in all honesty, why skimp on a few quid every what?......2, 3 or more years, mileage dependent. They are worth the extra for the peace of mind they provide and the balance between grip and tread longevity is pretty well optimised.

I won't use anything else on my EAPCs now.

Tom
 
D

Deleted member 4366

Guest
You shouldn't get too carried away. Nobody would argue that their puncture resistance is exceptional and that they last forever; however, the main function of a tyre is to keep you in contact with the road. That is not their strong point. They slip far too easily on loose and wet surfaces.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,817
30,381
You shouldn't get too carried away. Nobody would argue that their puncture resistance is exceptional and that they last forever; however, the main function of a tyre is to keep you in contact with the road. That is not their strong point. They slip far too easily on loose and wet surfaces.
And even Schwalbe acknowledge that, stating that for more grip their Energiser range is better, albeit with sightly less penetration resistance, their underlayer 3mm rather than the 5mm of MPs.

Despite that, even the Energiser isn't the best for grip either, once again optimised for long life.

As any F1 or Moto GP fan knows, there is an unavoidable compromise between grip and life, soft tread rubber with shorter life giving more grip, hard tread rubber for long life and less grip.
.
 
D

Deleted member 4366

Guest
That's true. It's always a dilemma on a motorbike to get the correct compromise between grip and life, where life has to meanings. For me the balance was always towards grip, but I guess I'll be running my MP/Energizer combo for a few more thousand miles because I'm a miser, but they'll definitely be replaced with something with more grip if I live that long.
 
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bikerun

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jun 22, 2014
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I find that the continental touring plus tyres I have fitted to my electric bike are quite grippy,certainly more so then the marathon pluses fitted to my non electric bike,I have done over 2500 miles so far on them,the front has still plenty of tread but the back is starting to look a little low,but it's a rear hub,rear battery bike and heavy especially with panniers,I always run them at max pressure(60psi.