Swalbe Smart Sam opinions

[PacNwTexan]

So I've been on the Moscow + for a couple hundred miles now and the tires feel like the knife into ruts and gravel much more than my non-E bike which is a light 26" bike that I can practically glide over a lake on.

I wonder, has anyone changed their tires for a better all around option?

Maybe the issue is the weight of the bike combined with speed. Riding is a mix of urban neighborhoods, single track forest and gravel, lots of gravel.

Running 45lb in rear and 40 up front.

Thanks in advance

 

[PBVideo]

I’ve been riding with the Smart Sam tires for several thousand miles and really love them. They’re a great balance between paved roads and trails. I run 40+ in them and find that they’re efficient for longer rides and can easily handle the trails.

 

[PacNwTexan]

I’ve been riding with the Smart Sam tires for several thousand miles and really love them. They’re a great balance between paved roads and trails. I run 40+ in them and find that they’re efficient for longer rides and can easily handle the trails.

Could be I'm just not used to the affects of a heavy bike and increased momentum.

 

[PacNwTexan]

Helpful read on tire pressure

How to find the perfect tire pressure for your mountain bike

While riding, the only contact point (hopefully) between us and the ground is our tires. Easy to dismiss, our tires influence how our bike feels more than any other expensive ‘must-have’ accessory! But how do you find the perfect tire pressure for your MTB? It’s time to find out what tire...

enduro-mtb.com

 

[john peck]

So I've been on the Moscow + for a couple hundred miles now and the tires feel like the knife into ruts and gravel much more than my non-E bike which is a light 26" bike that I can practically glide over a lake on.

I wonder, has anyone changed their tires for a better all around option?

Maybe the issue is the weight of the bike combined with speed. Riding is a mix of urban neighborhoods, single track forest and gravel, lots of gravel.

Running 45lb in rear and 40 up front.

Thanks in advance

I tore the sidewall outa the rear on a root, but the front is like new @ 1800 mo. I replace it with a K negeval,
best I could lay hands on in a hurry. I like the Sams.

 

[Decrepidude]

I find them heavy and inefficient, they're squidgy on pavement, and roostertail badly. I'm not an off-roader, mostly pavement without dramatic changes in elevation. I equate it to trying to tap dance with army boots on. Would love to go tubeless with Vittoria Terreno Dry's but hate replacing things that ain't broke lol.

 

[Alaskan]

Schwalbe Hurricanes or Johnny Watts are both fast and quiet on the road and decent off road, ebike rated with good protection and durability. Check them out

 

[Decrepidude]

Yeah, the Hurricanes look good, but there's a big disclaimer requiring tubes... the Johnny Watts look almost as nubby as the Sams... I am mesmerized by these:

 

[Alaskan]

I have the 27.5 x 2.6 Johnny Watts installed on my R&M Delite Mountain and they are brilliant. Very quiet and fast on pavement, grippy and sure footed through hard turns, good on wet pavement and with their blocky (not knobby like smart sams) tread the are very good on dirt and gravel and the wider spaced blocks at the shoulders make them good not great in mud. Not very good in sand though but little except for fat slicks are good in sand anyway.

 

[PBVideo]

Are you running your Johnny Watts tubeless?

 

[Decrepidude]

I have the 27.5 x 2.6 Johnny Watts installed on my R&M Delite Mountain and they are brilliant. Very quiet and fast on pavement, grippy and sure footed through hard turns, good on wet pavement and with their blocky (not knobby like smart sams) tread the are very good on dirt and gravel and the wider spaced blocks at the shoulders make them good not great in mud. Not very good in sand though but little except for fat slicks are good in sand anyway.

As I said, I'm enamored with the Terrenos, and what the heart wants... I'm still trying my best to resist, my wallet disagrees with my heart.

 

[Alaskan]

Are you running your Johnny Watts tubeless?

No tubolito inner tubes. Almost as light as tubless at 45 grams per and way cleaner to deal with, patch etc. They hold their air for months too. their MTB is twice the strength of conventional tubes and saves 100 grams in weight per tire. they are good from 1.8 to 2.5 and come in 26, 27.5 and 29 versions. the MTB plus version weighs 105 grams and works with 2.5 to 3" tires. Below is a link to their FAQ page You can get them for less on ebay. I have been running them on two different bikes for two years now with over 7,000 miles per year between them. One staple flat and that is it! Their patch kit is alcohol wipes and 1" oval patches that adhere with no sanding or roughing up needed. Apply the patch after wiping it clean. Keep pressing on it for 30 seconds and reinstall. I have had a road applied patch on one of them for over a year.

FAQ - Tubolito

LIGHT AND ROBUST, HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?

www.tubolito.com

 

[john peck]

The standard sam´s sidewalls were not tough enuff for my rear wheel, but the front one has 3k+
with virtually no sign of wear.

 

[PedalUma]

Any thoughts on the Aerothan tubes?

 

[PBVideo]

Thanks Richard, good information!

 

[Alaskan]

If you try them be careful and deliberate in installation. They are so thin and pliable it is easy to pinch them between the bead and the rim and ruin them before they even hit the road. At around $30+ that was a hard lesson to learn.

 

[PedalUma]

Schwalbe Aerothan Tubes Review

Schwalbe’s ultralight Aerothan Tubes are small and weigh 1/2 as much as a standard tube. Find out if they're worth the extra $ in our full review…

bikepacking.com

Cheaper than doing a tubeless setup and less messy in a major disaster.

 

[Law]

Yeah, the Hurricanes look good, but there's a big disclaimer requiring tubes... the Johnny Watts look almost as nubby as the Sams... I am mesmerized by these:

I want these unfortunately they only come as a 29. Maybe they will expand sizes.

Do any of you think these graphene compounds will result in real results, or is it all marketing?

 

[Decrepidude]

I want these unfortunately they only come as a 29. Maybe they will expand sizes.

Do any of you think these graphene compounds will result in real results, or is it all marketing?

I wasn't aware they don't come in 27.5, I can't imagine why... I did see a 26 at their site, (https://www.vittoria.com/us/en/tires/gravel-cross/terreno-dry) so maybe one of the 700 sizes will fit a 27.5 rim- wheel and tire sizes are weird these days... Graphene is one of those catchwords that get associated with everything. It's hard to prove it works, or helps, or even if it's really in them. I can see marketers saying "well they've got carbon, and graphene is made of carbon, so, it's kind of in there?" Sooner or later, science will make advances and graphene may live up to the hype.

 

[Alaskan]

700C is close to 29", way too big to put on a 27.5 rim (which is the same as a 650B)