Replacement tires for e-bikes w/20” x 3” tires. Other than OEM ( which may be the best replacement) what are you running for general hike/bike trails, crushed granite, paved, packed dirt ( some) general usage. Looking For opinions on brands, wear, price, how they handle, etc. thanks for your replies.
20” x 3” E-bike tires
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kevinmccune
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get a street tread for general use and for off road if you dont mind the noise get a knobby.do remember this a properly inflated wider tire is not necessarily softer riding,even a rudimentary suspension will be easier on the posterior.
When I re-homed my XP 3.0 I gave the new owner my extra knobby tire. I kinda like the street tread on the Xpedition. I've taken the Xpedition on dirt paths, thru mud, across grass fields and never felt unsafe. I was saving the extra front knobby for the front because I thought I might loose the front on slippery surfaces but I just slow down a bit and slog across sketchy surfaces and the street tread does fine.
My wife and I will explore anything that looks interesting while on the Xpedition. Our attitude is if it fits we'll explore it!
My wife and I will explore anything that looks interesting while on the Xpedition. Our attitude is if it fits we'll explore it!
The Sava MC2 moped tire - 2.50-16 is about 3" wide on a 2" wide rim(inside width) and similar diameter to the xpedition OEM tire. It's heavy at 1.87kg, but is rated 42J, 330lb@62mph.
The Sava 2.75-16 will fit on the Xpedition, but it is pretty close on diameter. The one I bought was 2.16kg.
The Sava 2.25-16 is almost 3" wide, but the diameter is noticably smaller, maybe an inch less. The two I bought are 1.42kg and 1.53kg. The markings on those two differ from the catalog in that the weight capacity printed on the tire is 240lbs but the catalog lists it as 290lb.
The xpedition OEM tires weighed 1.27kg.
All the Sava tires say Mitas on the sides.
Shinko SR 714 tire are much heavier, and accentuate the nonroundness of the xpedition rims that I never noticed with the lighter weight OEM tire.
sava MC2 moped tire - 2.50-16
sava mc2 racing tire! a great street tire with amazing handling and cornering. can be used to upgrade the stock 2.25in wide tomos tire to a slightly wider more stable 2.5in! replacement for tomos oem part # 229079
www.treatland.tv
The Sava 2.25-16 is almost 3" wide, but the diameter is noticably smaller, maybe an inch less. The two I bought are 1.42kg and 1.53kg. The markings on those two differ from the catalog in that the weight capacity printed on the tire is 240lbs but the catalog lists it as 290lb.
The xpedition OEM tires weighed 1.27kg.
All the Sava tires say Mitas on the sides.
Shinko SR 714 tire are much heavier, and accentuate the nonroundness of the xpedition rims that I never noticed with the lighter weight OEM tire.
I don't think the Shinkos were nonround. The xpedition wheels definitely were/are. I did some adjustments to the wheel so now its not one large lump, its two smaller ones. I switched to a lighter tire at the same time so it improved a lot.
The Shinkos seemed very grippy, they made a subtle sound like velcro coming apart. They were very heavy and the range went way down. The 80/80-16 weighed 2.49kg and the 2.25-16 weighed 1.77kg. The Savas are quiet, grippy enough so far, and not too heavy in the smaller size.
The Shinkos were much more difficult to install and remove. I had to use plastic moped tire levers on them.
The Savas were easy to install, no tools needed, similar to the xpedition OEM tires.
All of the moped tires were a little large on the bead diameter. I had to hold them centered on the rim while inflating them to get them centered.
The Shinkos seemed very grippy, they made a subtle sound like velcro coming apart. They were very heavy and the range went way down. The 80/80-16 weighed 2.49kg and the 2.25-16 weighed 1.77kg. The Savas are quiet, grippy enough so far, and not too heavy in the smaller size.
The Shinkos were much more difficult to install and remove. I had to use plastic moped tire levers on them.
The Savas were easy to install, no tools needed, similar to the xpedition OEM tires.
All of the moped tires were a little large on the bead diameter. I had to hold them centered on the rim while inflating them to get them centered.
spokewrench
Active Member
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- USA
I offered to give my Radrunner away because I hated the Kenda 20 x 3.3 tires. When I bought it, that was the only tire suited to the needlessly wide rims.
It wasn't the Kenda tire on the RadRunner that I hated as I thought they rode okay. I hated the useless "flat protection" as all it contained was a Laffy Taffy strip for protection. I got so many flats on those Kenda tires! I ended up doing Mr. Tuffy liners overlapping!
spokewrench
Active Member
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- USA
The Kenda were marked 30 TPI. FAQs from Schwalbe and another reputable manufacturer (I don't recall who) say 60 is now the minimum for a quality tire. They make a carcass by laying out the cords, covering them with rubber, and vulcanizing. 30 TPI used to be great for puncture resistance because the cords were thicker and stronger and it took a thicker layer of rubber to cover them. The problem was that flexing this thick carcass caused high rolling resistance. I guess it would be especially bad with a fat tire on a 20" wheel.
They say nowadays 60 TPI (or EPI) is the minimum for quality. The thinner cords allow a thinner carcass to reduce rolling resistance, while the tighter cord spacing can keep objects from tearing through the rubber.
In the demo, the Radpower founder said he was using 18 PSI with a passenger on the back, overloading the bike by 40 pounds. It was disappointing to receive my Radrunner and find that Radpower warns that anything but 30 PSI is unsafe. A bicycle tire that's safe at only one pressure doesn't seem like a quality tire. I think Kenda used thin cords for a thin carcass but used only half the modern standard to cut corners, resulting in rubber that's both thin and poorly reinforced.
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m@Robertson
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- USA
I use these in a cargo application and they are heavy-duty, with a super strong casing (30 tpi) but fast-rolling. They are very good on everything and the best at nothing. Think of them as an XC capable tire so good for doubletrack dirt and gravel roads, or flat pavement. Wet or dry.
The tread is a shrunk-down version of one of the many flavors of Chaoyang Big Daddy tire that is sold under the Arisun, Panasonic and Origin8 labels, among others.
![810G-ztCVUL._AC_SL1500_[1].jpg](https://forums.electricbikereview.com/attachments/810g-ztcvul-_ac_sl1500_-1-jpg.182152/ "810G-ztCVUL._AC_SL1500_[1].jpg")
I am actually quite a fan of this tire. I have been using Big Daddys or one of their clones for many years. You can get as much as 6000 miles out of one in the 26x4.8 size. You can find the same tread in 26x4 and 20x4 but those are all full size. Look at this one side by side with the others and it looks like a big tire that got hit by a shrink ray given the smaller knobs.
The tread is a shrunk-down version of one of the many flavors of Chaoyang Big Daddy tire that is sold under the Arisun, Panasonic and Origin8 labels, among others.
I am actually quite a fan of this tire. I have been using Big Daddys or one of their clones for many years. You can get as much as 6000 miles out of one in the 26x4.8 size. You can find the same tread in 26x4 and 20x4 but those are all full size. Look at this one side by side with the others and it looks like a big tire that got hit by a shrink ray given the smaller knobs.
m@Robertson
Well-Known Member
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- USA
If you are going to go down a little in size, the Kenda Slant Six in 20x2.6 is a little smaller with smaller and fewer knobs. Its what I am using now. Solid grip. If I were to guess, its not going to last too long. Maybe 6 months although I ride a lot.
A Schwalbe Pickup in 20x2.6 is going to be the Iron Lady of the bunch. Double-thick casing is going to make it damn near flatproof, and you can expect it to last for years. Cargo rated so you can beat on it and be fat (you not the bike) and it will have the capacity to hold up. Smooth but articulated tread will be good on pavement but not good on any dirt. I've tried Pickups on paths and light dirt and they suck. Bad. Fine on pavement.
I got really REALLY good results with a Maxxis Minion DHF 20x2.40. A little smaller at 2.40 but the grip on pavement and all manner of not-pavement was spectacular. Noiseless too, although tire hum has always been my friend to keep zombie pedestrians from shambling aimlessly in front of me. the Minion wore out pretty quick at around 10 months. If I wasn't trying to go bigger on the tires up to the limits of my nonfat frame and forks, I would use a Minion forever.
A Schwalbe Pickup in 20x2.6 is going to be the Iron Lady of the bunch. Double-thick casing is going to make it damn near flatproof, and you can expect it to last for years. Cargo rated so you can beat on it and be fat (you not the bike) and it will have the capacity to hold up. Smooth but articulated tread will be good on pavement but not good on any dirt. I've tried Pickups on paths and light dirt and they suck. Bad. Fine on pavement.
I got really REALLY good results with a Maxxis Minion DHF 20x2.40. A little smaller at 2.40 but the grip on pavement and all manner of not-pavement was spectacular. Noiseless too, although tire hum has always been my friend to keep zombie pedestrians from shambling aimlessly in front of me. the Minion wore out pretty quick at around 10 months. If I wasn't trying to go bigger on the tires up to the limits of my nonfat frame and forks, I would use a Minion forever.
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