2.5-3" tires with puncture protection?

[Emma H]

I just bought a fat/plus? bike and am totally lost on which tire to get. I'm a female who rides a lot a night in an urban area so puncture protection is my foremost concern, and I'll be riding almost totally on pavement (some gravel/dirt trails in city parks but only as an optional shortcut).

The rim is 26" x 2". There are 3" tires on it now (and fenders that fit those) but I'm used to a thinner 1.5-2" hybrid tire. Would the Surly ExtraTerrestrial 26" x 2.5" work?

What should I even Google for a 2.5-3" tire? I can't fit a 4" with the fender so "fat" tire seems to produce the wrong results but "plus" returns the Marathon Plus, which I have on my other bike, but not what I mean in this context.

Any advice for Googling and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

You can get some good ideas by using "26 x 3.0 bike tire" to search on Amazon. If you don't like Amazon you could use what you find there to search elsewhere.

I have 26 x 4s on my RadRover and have no problems riding around town. I use Slime for tubes (there's Slime for tubes and for tubeless). There are other brands, like Stan's. I tend to use a little more than recommended. I haven't had a flat in the past thousand miles, ever since I Slimed the tires. Nothing will absolutely prevent a flat of course. Mr. Tuffy liners might help, although I haven't needed them with my Slime.

Some tires have a reflective stripe on the sidewalls, Almost anything that will improve your visibility at night is a good idea.

TT

 

[dAz63]

Yes, use slime in the tyres, best puncture protection you can get, had the front tyre go down on a run two weeks ago, topped it off at a local servo, couldn't see anything that caused the leak, tyre is still holding pressure.

 

[Jimbo08]

I have done a lot of research lately into this topic. Almost easier to search thru manufacturers sites and then find where you can buy the tires. One thing to look for with an ebike tire, especially an s-pedalec, is a tire with burlier sidewalls. A bike that is heavier going into corners at higher speeds puts a lot of stress on the sidewall of a tires.
In Canada new bikes have to come with several areas of reflectivity, such as reflective frame tape (which can actually be reflective black - very cool), and sidewall reflect strip is becoming standard on road-going tires. You might look at Schwalbe Super Moto in a 26 X 2.40. Not a lot of 26" e-bike rated wide tires out there. If you don't care about the e rating, that opens it up a bit. Vee tires might have something too.

 

[Feliz]

As above the Schwalbe Super Moto tires are great, another one with good puncture protection is the Schwalbe Marathon Plus, I use these along with Slime on a couple of my bikes and I've never had a flat using that combo.

 

[Emma H]

Awesome. Thanks, all! Just ordered a pair of the Super Moto-X HS. Found a pair on Amazon, but all of the other options were in Germany. Lol. (I've imported plenty of German/British ebike stuff since the market has more products there...but I'm glad I don't have to wait for customs this time.)

I actually ran Schwalbe's Marathon Plus on the bike I'm switching from--two years/3000 miles without a flat sans slime in glass and chestnut-ridden bike lanes--and was very pleased. I would definitely buy them again, but I think they're too skinny for my rims. But I did love the reflective side walls and comfort of knowing they were built for increased e-bike safety. So I'm glad the Super Moto will have those too.

 

[bob armani]

Hearing a lot of great reviews for both the Marathon Plus and the Super Motos for a good few years now. I think one of the two would be my next purchase if I can find them in 27.5 X 2.8" sizing.

 

[steve mercier]

Hearing a lot of great reviews for both the Marathon Plus and the Super Motos for a good few years now. I think one of the two would be my next purchase if I can find them in 27.5 X 2.8" sizing.

My wife and I heartily endorse these Tannus Armours in whatever size you need and then you can forget the slime. https://tannusamerica.com/products/tannus-armour?variant=31125136343151

 

[steve mercier]

Awesome. Thanks, all! Just ordered a pair of the Super Moto-X HS. Found a pair on Amazon, but all of the other options were in Germany. Lol. (I've imported plenty of German/British ebike stuff since the market has more products there...but I'm glad I don't have to wait for customs this time.)

I actually ran Schwalbe's Marathon Plus on the bike I'm switching from--two years/3000 miles without a flat sans slime in glass and chestnut-ridden bike lanes--and was very pleased. I would definitely buy them again, but I think they're too skinny for my rims. But I did love the reflective side walls and comfort of knowing they were built for increased e-bike safety. So I'm glad the Super Moto will have those too.

A great site for low prices and 2-3 day delivery on Schwalbe and other items is this Irish store Chain Reaction .

 

[bob armani]

My wife and I heartily endorse these Tannus Armours in whatever size you need and then you can forget the slime. https://tannusamerica.com/products/tannus-armour?variant=31125136343151

Very nice! Thanks for posting Steve!

 

[The duke]

Awesome. Thanks, all! Just ordered a pair of the Super Moto-X HS. Found a pair on Amazon, but all of the other options were in Germany. Lol. (I've imported plenty of German/British ebike stuff since the market has more products there...but I'm glad I don't have to wait for customs this time.)

I actually ran Schwalbe's Marathon Plus on the bike I'm switching from--two years/3000 miles without a flat sans slime in glass and chestnut-ridden bike lanes--and was very pleased. I would definitely buy them again, but I think they're too skinny for my rims. But I did love the reflective side walls and comfort of knowing they were built for increased e-bike safety. So I'm glad the Super Moto will have those too.

I've found that mountain bike tires with nobs help a lot for flat prevention. Glass goes into solid rubber nobs where it would have otherwise punctured my tires. I used to worry about rolling resistance, but since I got an ebike, it's not an issue....and I'm done with slicks.

 

[bob armani]

I've found that mountain bike tires with nobs help a lot for flat prevention. Glass goes into solid rubber nobs where it would have otherwise punctured my tires. I used to worry about rolling resistance, but since I got an ebike, it's not an issue....and I'm done with slicks.

Very valid points here. For the entire biking season I rode on nobs and the last thing on my mind was getting a flat. My confidence levels were boosted knowing that I have decreased chances of getting them by quite a bit more. Rolling resistance increase never seems to be an issue for me as well IMO!