I Ditched The GX Stock Johnny Watts Tires...

[Muso]

My Delite came with Johnny Watts knobblies, which I didn't really want. But those are what come with the GX option, so it was either toss out a pair of perfectly serviceable tires and put on smooth ones, or get some use out of the JWs for a while.

95% of my riding is on streets. This is about as "technical single-track MTB" as I get lol. Non-knobbly tires work fine on this kind of trail. Unless you're trying to smash it, I suppose.

I wanted the standard tires that the GT Delite comes with, but I didn't want to waste a pair of brand-new tires swapping them when I got my bike. So I rode the JWs for a bit over 1,200 miles / 1,931 Km and decided that was a reasonable run for them.

I got one flat with the JWs last October - some nasty goat head thorns got through the back tire - but I made it home and patched the tube.

So now that I got some use out of the JWs, I don't feel guilty about chucking them. I flipped my bike over, took them off, and put on a pair of Continental Contact Urbans. And gave my bike a good cleaning.

Stefan Mikes is gonna hate me for this lol, but: Way Better. Waaaaayyyyy Better! The ride is much smoother and noticeably quieter. They're more solid while cornering (more rubber on the road, and no squiggly knobs). And I took them on a dirt trail and through a grassy park and they were fine. These are so much better to ride than the JWs, particularly on the really bad steep streets I ride most often (Hollywood Hills streets are really bad).

For mud / MTB riding, maybe not. I don't do that though. Easy dirt and gravel trails are as extreme offroad as I get. These will be better in the rain, too - more rubber on the road = better traction.

I should have done this right from the start! But I am sort of glad I waited - it's almost like having a new bike now.

I've only put maybe 40 miles / 64Km on them so far, so I have no idea how puncture-resistant they are. From what I see in various reviews, they're pretty good, and I'll find out for myself. The ride is so much quieter and smoother and the handling so much better that I almost don't care. The JWs are not particularly renowned for puncture resistance anyway, so if these are on par with them or even a bit worse I'll be very happy.

Definitely an upgrade!

-James

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Stefan Mikes is gonna hate me for this lol, but: Way Better. Waaaaayyyyy Better! The ride is much smoother and noticeably quieter.

That's probably why so many people buy SUV cars and never leave sealed roads

 

[Ben J]

Thanks for the writeup. My bike came with even more knobbly (basically downhill MTB) tires and I switched to JW and basically said all the same things you said above. I'll have to try an even road-ier tire next and see what it's like.

 

[Muso]

That's probably why so many people buy SUV cars and never leave sealed roads

Now Stefan, you wouldn't actually take the Mercedes G 63 of bicycles off road, would you??

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Now Stefan, you wouldn't actually take the Mercedes G 63 of bicycles off road, would you??

I wouldn't buy it in the first place as the paint on a new Mercedes Benz is flaking off

 

[AvalancheRun]

That's probably why so many people buy SUV cars and never leave sealed roads

Luxury sedan over luxury SUV any day. One is fit for purpose, the other is good for cosplay.

Bike above all!

But to be fair, the Mercedes S-Class of bikes would have a full suspension and look a lot like the Delite.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

he Mercedes S-Class of bikes

Some of us prefer more sporty cars of e-bikes

 

[Muso]

Luxury sedan over luxury SUV any day. One is fit for purpose, the other is good for cosplay.

Bike above all!

But to be fair, the Mercedes S-Class of bikes would have a full suspension and look a lot like the Delite.

I'm liking the S Class of Bikes a lot! lol

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I'm liking the S Class of Bikes a lot! lol

I could have asked why you bought the GX option if you only needed to ride in the city

JWs are usually the choice for people who bought an e-MTB and then realised they never wanted riding technical singletracks (like me)

 

[gromike]

I bought these two the other day. They are lightly used and long neglected. Knowledgeable people run away from twenty year-old full suspension mountain bikes, and you can get them for next to nothing, which I believe is what I've done . Now I'm saving up my leftover dimes and pennies to buy some decent road tires.

Their penultimate fate is to get fitted with a rear, torque-sensing-regen-braking, direct-drive hubmotor!

I don't think Stefan will approve of that either.

 

[Muso]

I could have asked why you bought the GX option if you only needed to ride in the city

JWs are usually the choice for people who bought an e-MTB and then realised they never wanted riding technical singletracks (like me)

You should see the ugly streets in the Hollywood Hills. Big ruts, cracked and raised concrete, potholes, badly patched and re-patched areas... and steep. It's like technical single track mountain urban biking lol. That's my daily ride because there is very little car traffic up there, so I wanted the better shocks on the GX. The Delite GX/Fox Float is perfect for it!

 

[PCeBiker]

Their penultimate fate is to get fitted with a rear, torque-sensing-regen-braking, direct-drive hubmotor!

You Have to put one of these on it.

I don't think Stefan will approve of that either.

Stephan HATES Throttles !!!

That's a Throttle AND a Brake in One Nifty Dial.

That should Really Piss Him Off !!!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

To think you can install a throttle on a Bosch E-Bike, one must be uninformed to the utmost level

 

[Stefan Mikes]

You should see the ugly streets in the Hollywood Hills. Big ruts, cracked and raised concrete, potholes, badly patched and re-patched areas... and steep. It's like technical single track mountain urban biking lol. That's my daily ride because there is very little car traffic up there, so I wanted the better shocks on the GX. The Delite GX/Fox Float is perfect for it!

Then you need all-rounder tyres for better traction

 

[Jay Kay]

As a previous Merc AMG SUV owner, I am keeping my nobbies on my Superdelite Mountain for looks and just in case

I ride way less single track these days, and I’ll possibly get a Homage for my next bike as a replacement…but currently the noise certainly lets walkers know on a shared path I am coming from behind before I use my bell (I think they think a Land Rover is coming lol). I am also used to the drag, and with dual batteries, on a long ride I just up the assist and the batteries do the rest.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Just saying here...

Back in the day I had a wonderful Trek 970 mountain bike. This was a non-suspension mountain bike with modest (under two inch, actually like 50mm in normal people units) tires. I rode this bike everywhere for many years. That included down long flights of concrete stairs, on "roads" that were more like dry creekbeds full of skull-sized boulders, endless miles of singletrack in the forest, and over head-high drops onto questionable surfaces.

Much later I had an excellent full-sus Santa Cruz bike that honestly wasn't nearly as much fun.

My conclusion is that if you are on a "road" that you could navigate safely with a 4-wheeler ATV, you don't need full suspension and even a suspension fork is a luxury. Also, it is 2024 and we have other appropriate technologies (suspension seatposts and suspension stems) that are better solutions to riding on poor roads in reasonable comfort.

The typical e-biker on here says something like, "I sometimes ride off-road but never extreme stuff". For such a person I'd argue they are wasting their money on any kind of full-suspension bike and even a suspension fork is a very optional. Unless they are trying to signal that they still shred even on an e-bike.

You also aren't going to fix everything that is wrong or inappropriate(**) with a full-sus bike by putting different tires on it. It is still a heavy beast and there are more parts to maintain and fix and break and it will never be as fast or fun or responsive as a bike with no suspension at all.

** When I say "inapropriate" I'm not implying that the Cool Kids will think you are a poser and a dork (they will in any event). What I mean is that you are using the wrong tool for the job, like using a hex key to turn a phillips head screw.

 

[gromike]

To each their own.
I was riding my Trek 7.2 that I installed a Bafang mid-drive on and was going about 20mph when I hit a stretch of uneven pavement. I guess I wasn't paying sufficient attention, but the handlebars were almost ripped from my hands. Never had that sensation in all of my two-wheel experience.
So, I put suspension forks on the bike, and that took care of that issue. Then my butt hurt. When you have no suspension you use your arms and legs as your shock absorbers. After I added the suspension fork I no longer stood on the pedals as much. The solution to that was the addition of a suspension seat post.
I've never ridden a motorcycle without full suspension, and my logic is a motorized bicycle is a motorcycle (with pedals). If your ebike only goes 15mph, it's not such an issue.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

my logic is a motorized bicycle is a motorcycle (with pedals).

You need no pedals You need footrests

 

[gromike]

You need no pedals You need footrests

I ride with minimum assist and pedal like a cow chewing cud, but when I need to fight the beasts I do twist the throttle. I use my ebikes for recreation and transportation. It can be a life or death struggle with the cagers, and I seek to maximize my survival.

 

[PCeBiker]

To each their own.

So, I put suspension forks on the bike,
Then my butt hurt.

The solution to that was the addition of a suspension seat post.




I've never ridden a motorcycle without full suspension, and my logic is a motorized bicycle is a motorcycle (with pedals).

I have 4 layers of suspension under my Lazy Ass,..

A gel seat cover on top of a Selle Royale spring seat, mounted on top of a Suntour Suspension seat post, mounted on a full suspension e-bike, so springs up front too,..

I don't pedal cuz I Don Wanna and I gots a Throttle,..

PS,..
Schwalbe Super Moto-X FTW !!