Longest lasting tire recommendation

[Neverlost]

I just put Hycline tires on my 4x20 hub fat bike. They looked great but my very experienced mechanic said they were crap. What are the best tires for a fat hub ( with low rolling resistance)?

 

[Mr. Coffee]

For the conditions described by the OP, most any of the Schwalbe E-bike rated tires with a good puncture protection option should give you a good number of miles. Riding on good pavement (not chip seal!) in moderate temperatures probably matters as much as the specific choice of tire or puncture protection grade you'd choose.

Tire lifespan also depends a great deal on the weight of the bike and rider. Since all e-bikes are pretty stout that is one more reason to always select E-bike rated tires.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

For the conditions described by the OP, most any of the Schwalbe E-bike rated tires with a good puncture protection option should give you a good number of miles. Riding on good pavement (not chip seal!) in moderate temperatures probably matters as much as the specific choice of tire or puncture protection grade you'd choose.

Tire lifespan also depends a great deal on the weight of the bike and rider. Since all e-bikes are pretty stout that is one more reason to always select E-bike rated tires.

While I have nothing against this opinion (it is correct), I think the tyre longevity is not the most important parameter. For me, a good tyre should be supple, could run under possibly low inflation pressure (two different tyres of the same size might have the lower pressure limit as different as 2.0 or 3.5 bar!), and be easily taken off and then pulled onto the wheel rim. For the above reason, I currently prefer foldable, "tubeless ready" tyres (even if I am not necessarily running them tubeless). Tyres do wear as anything else. A typical long-life tyre is usually stiff, heavy, and hard to manipulate in the case of wheel puncture.

 

[jabberwocky]

While I have nothing against this opinion (it is correct), I think the tyre longevity is not the most important parameter. For me, a good tyre should be supple, could run under possibly low inflation pressure (two different tyres of the same size might have the lower pressure limit as different as 2.0 or 3.5 bar!), and be easily taken off and then pulled onto the wheel rim. For the above reason, I currently prefer foldable, "tubeless ready" tyres (even if I am not necessarily running them tubeless). Tyres do wear as anything else. A typical long-life tyre is usually stiff, heavy, and hard to manipulate in the case of wheel puncture.

In general I fully agree. I ran Marathon Supremes on my Soma for many years, and while they were very durable, I kinda hated them because of how slowly they rolled and how dead they felt. A good tire with a high quality casing just feels a lot better to ride.

The Panaracers I linked earlier (Pasela TG) were the best compromise I found back in my commuting days. Fairly durable (more so than pure road tires) but still felt very nice to ride. I think people sleep on Panaracer but they have some of the best casing construction in the industry. Not the worlds most durable tire, but occupied a sweet spot on the price-durability-rolling resistance-road feel chart.

Ebikes obviously upend this somewhat because with the motor doing some of the work (or most of the work, or all of the work) tire feel and rolling resistance isn't as important. And if you have a hub motor setup where removing the wheel is a giant pain in the butt, it might be a worthwhile compromise. Up to each rider. I will say even running relatively lightweight tires, since going tubeless with sealant I've not had a flat in several years on any of my road bikes/gravel bikes. I had one on my trike a year or two ago, but that thing runs schwalbe road tires with tubes. Tubeless rules. Just remember to add some sealant every few months.

 

[fooferdoggie]

upend this somewhat because with the motor doing some of the work (or most of the work, or all of the work) tire feel and rolling resistance isn't as important.

well it is and is not. you wont notice it as much but unless you have fat tires it is noticeable. comfort is a big one but also acceleration even on our tandem going from marathons to tubeless the bike had so much more get up and go, changing tires on my trek from the default to tubeless gave me 3 miles and hour faster with the same effort and about 8 miles more in range on my commute.

 

[PedalUma]

The longest lasting tire is Schwalbe Pickup. They are rated for 350 pounds each. My friend rides her cargo bike daily, has never had a flat, and the tires still look new after three years.

 

[scottsdalecommuter]

i've been shocked how long and how well my kenda's that came stock on my aventon pace 500 v1 have worn. i like the post about buying just one new tire and moving front to back and chucking the rear. i may end up doing that because the front looks brand new after almost 3K miles. the back still looks good but showing a little wear.

those roadmasters are built like tanks! i took one down a rough mountain trail one time just for fun and apart from the chain popping off a couple times, the front shocks bottoming out alot, and not being able to put my rear in the seat so rode standing, it was a great ride and lots of fun!

 

[jabberwocky]

i like the post about buying just one new tire and moving front to back and chucking the rear. i may end up doing that because the front looks brand new after almost 3K miles. the back still looks good but showing a little wear.

I've always done this because flats or loss of traction on the front are much more of an issue than the back. If you're riding fast and the rear tire suddenly loses traction or air pressure, its generally recoverable. If the front does you're very likely crashing.

I either replace both at once even if one tire is still ok, or I replace the more worn one and put the new one on the front. I've never rotated a worn tire to the front.

 

[PedalUma]

replace the more worn one

I do that or I will rotate a half-worn rear tire with the front, usually when I need to do something unrelated and have a bike in the stand anyway such a installing a new chain. I just discovered some great chains at a great price. They come with a portable chain break, a chain hook and six quick links and a pin for $13.50. This one went on yesterday. It is the quality of a $30 8-sp chain.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

...and be easily taken off and then pulled onto the wheel rim.

Yes, beefy e-bike tires, especially when on well-built wheels, can be very tight and it can be a challenge to remove the tire or re-seat the bead of the tire unless you are in a shop with a beefy floor pump or compressor. A portable pump or portable compressor often won't have enough oomph to set the bead.

 

[bobwatts]

Hi Gang!

I have read all the response(s), and they are sincerely appreciated. I have been checking out the Schwalbe Pick-Up Performance E-Cargo as well as others, and that appears to be the way to go.
Tread pattern looks a little aggressive, but that may not be all bad. I really hate it when I ride up on someone and startle them because the bike is absolutely silent. A lot of bikes who live around me make quite a bit of noise coming down the road due to tread pattern, and I'm thinking now that might not be a bad thing. (I just scared the hell out of a lady I know when I rode up behind her and said "Good morning". It was certainly not my intention to scare her)
Tires appear to be around $50 on Amazon, which I'm OK with if they last longer than what I am using. As I mentioned before, I'm not concerned about weight, difficulty installing, etc., just don't want to have to do this very often.
I will note that when I first started using this (really cheap) bike I had tires pressures of at least 35PSI, and it was a horrible ride. I also think that contributed to the accelerated tire wear on the first tire. Dropping the pressure to 25PSI or less made an astonishing difference in ride quality. (20PSI is really comfortable) It also made a dramatic difference in top speed and distance, but I'm not too concerned with that. (If I can't ride it, it doesn't matter how far it can go)
I have been looking for a different bike to convert and will swap stuff out when I can. I need (disc) brakes and a safe frame/fork to work with. I may even scrap all this "first attempt" and start over. I don't know how much life this front rim has left in it. I already wore out one rear rim and have a pile of brake pads because of the braking problem

. ( I didn't "wear" most of them out, most simply stopped working. And I keep the rims clean, no mud or water)
Haven't had the bike out of the basement this week, non-stop rain. Bike no-go in rain. Took the rear wheel off to service the bearings and freewheel hub (seemed to be having a problem, probably because I don't pedal) and might get a ride in today.
bob

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Schwalbe Marathon Plus would last a long time.
We have also had great experience with Schwalbe Super Moto-X tires.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Schwalbe Marathon Plus would last a long time.

the nike rental bikes have them. that should all you how they last.

 

[PedalUma]

Super Moto-X

Those are also fast on just about any surface, such as badly alligatored broken pavements, where others need to slow way down. I only once had a flat with them. I hit a 45cm long piece of stainless steel that came to a sharp triangular tip with razor edges.

 

[charlieboom-boom]

The longest lasting tire is Schwalbe Pickup. They are rated for 350 pounds each. My friend rides her cargo bike daily, has never had a flat, and the tires still look new after three years.

I switched to using Schwalbe Pickup tires in 55 & 60-406 sizes (115 & 125kg load rating at 65psi) on my tadpole type e-trike and e-velomobile. The larger air volume at a lot lower air pressure solved the problem of breaking spokes on the single rear hub motored wheel. I also use heavy duty thorn resistant tubes & Mr. Tuffy tire liners. That seems to make them as nearly flat proof as possible. The rear hub motor wheel in the e-velomobile has 4,500 miles after 3 years and seems to be about half worn out. (60-406) Which is pretty good because of all the weight on the tire and that the e-motor (a 8TGMAC) is very high torque and also does REGEN braking. I think that the REGEN does cause a lot more wear. The front two 55-406 tires show a lot less wear than the rear tire. Most likely because there is a lot less weight on the front wheels. Between my two e-trikes and the e-velomobile I have yet to have a flat tire with the Pickup tires after nearly 15,000 total miles between the different trikes over 5 years of use.

 

[PedalUma]

Schwalbe Pickup tires

Wow. Thanks for the report.