Tires - size does matter?

[RAB63]

Thank you all for your informative posts. As a relative newcomer to eBikes, I have learned a lot from browsing your various threads.

I live in So. Cal and in addition to road adventures I’d like to take advantage of the plentiful trails throughout the Santa Monica mountains. In this day and age of advanced technologies, is there one bike that can be a top performer on the streets and the trails, and which WW model could best serve both purposes? Is it still necessary to have a road bike and a mountain bike?

My current eBike is a cruiser style with custom 3 inch road tires. Neither the bike nor the tires are particularly well suited for trails. Although I am enamored with R&M and think that the Superdelight might be the answer to my needs, after reading your posts, I am thinking about joining the WattWagon (I am already on the Wentz Wagon).

Although I never considered going “fat” and don’t love the look, after reading and digesting the WW information, I actually think that the CrossTour might be the best bike for me. I am on the wrong side of 50 and have already learned that falling off a bike at my age is not fun. I have also learned that taking to the trails as an inexperienced rider with a heavy, ill equipped bike can be exceedingly dangerous.

After safety, comfort is another top priority. While my preference would be full suspension (also for safety) I am thinking that the 4 inch tires on the CrossTour might be a reasonable trade off against the FS of the Travalanche (and the FS and narrow tires of the Superdelight)? I’d love to know your thoughts on whether the CrossTour could be a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable ride on trails as well as streets?

I understand the range limitations of riding on all surfaces with rugged, 4 inch tires. But wouldn’t a dual battery setup make up for the range issues? I am not into bike racks and would need a dual battery setup anyway to venture out from the house, as opposed driving to my rides.

While we are on the topic of tires, I’d like to hear some advice on steps that can be taken to avoid flat tires in remote areas such as mountain trails. “Tubeless“ setups, puncture resistance, tire ratings, etc.? It seems to me that there are many more things that can go wrong on a eBike as opposed to a conventional bike, including with the extra stress put on tires in off road settings. The thought of getting stranded on a remote mountain pass with a heavy bike that cannot be manually ridden out of the canyon is freightening enough to me to keep me home and on the couch.

Is it possible to have one bike (and one set of tires) that can be equally effective and enjoyable on the streets as on beginner and intermediate mountain trails? Is the CrossTour that bike?

Thanks.

 

[BTfl]

Thank you all for your informative posts. As a relative newcomer to eBikes, I have learned a lot from browsing your various threads.

I live in So. Cal and in addition to road adventures I’d like to take advantage of the plentiful trails throughout the Santa Monica mountains. In this day and age of advanced technologies, is there one bike that can be a top performer on the streets and the trails, and which WW model could best serve both purposes? Is it still necessary to have a road bike and a mountain bike?

My current eBike is a cruiser style with custom 3 inch road tires. Neither the bike nor the tires are particularly well suited for trails. Although I am enamored with R&M and think that the Superdelight might be the answer to my needs, after reading your posts, I am thinking about joining the WattWagon (I am already on the Wentz Wagon).

Although I never considered going “fat” and don’t love the look, after reading and digesting the WW information, I actually think that the CrossTour might be the best bike for me. I am on the wrong side of 50 and have already learned that falling off a bike at my age is not fun. I have also learned that taking to the trails as an inexperienced rider with a heavy, ill equipped bike can be exceedingly dangerous.

After safety, comfort is another top priority. While my preference would be full suspension (also for safety) I am thinking that the 4 inch tires on the CrossTour might be a reasonable trade off against the FS of the Travalanche (and the FS and narrow tires of the Superdelight)? I’d love to know your thoughts on whether the CrossTour could be a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable ride on trails as well as streets?

I understand the range limitations of riding on all surfaces with rugged, 4 inch tires. But wouldn’t a dual battery setup make up for the range issues? I am not into bike racks and would need a dual battery setup anyway to venture out from the house, as opposed driving to my rides.

While we are on the topic of tires, I’d like to hear some advice on steps that can be taken to avoid flat tires in remote areas such as mountain trails. “Tubeless“ setups, puncture resistance, tire ratings, etc.? It seems to me that there are many more things that can go wrong on a eBike as opposed to a conventional bike, including with the extra stress put on tires in off road settings. The thought of getting stranded on a remote mountain pass with a heavy bike that cannot be manually ridden out of the canyon is freightening enough to me to keep me home and on the couch.

Is it possible to have one bike (and one set of tires) that can be equally effective and enjoyable on the streets as on beginner and intermediate mountain trails? Is the CrossTour that bike?

Thanks.

I only ride fat tires, put slime in them, fat tire bike seem to do OK with most environments

 

[Ebiker33]

A plus sized tire of 3" seems to be ideal do all tire, but 4" and bigger tires are known for being able to excel on sand and snow at a lower PSI.
If you think you will never do those types of surfaces, then fat might not be the way, however if you are also concerned about comfort fat tires are more comfortable as well.
I can't imagine a bike with 4" tires doing fast skinny sketchy single track, but I could be wrong. I would think the possibility of crashing would be higher.

 

[pushkar]

A couple of things - we use HED rims and 45Nrth tires- they are tubeless ready, through we ship with tubes for simplicity purposes.

In terms of trails, and off road, IMO the biggest factors are your usual suspects - speed and terrain.

Question - are you doing a lot of commuting or is it more trail riding (not a lot of cargo) ?

If you had the option of getting a 4 inch FS with higher range (like Crosstour, but FS), will that be a better bike for you ?

 

[RAB63]

A couple of things - we use HED rims and 45Nrth tires- they are tubeless ready, through we ship with tubes for simplicity purposes.

In terms of trails, and off road, IMO the biggest factors are your usual suspects - speed and terrain.

Question - are you doing a lot of commuting or is it more trail riding (not a lot of cargo) ?

If you had the option of getting a 4 inch FS with higher range (like Crosstour, but FS), will that be a better bike for you ?

Pushkar:

Thank you for the response.

I don't have the option of commuting, but do use my current bike to run to the store. I currently have a Bontrager basket which is part of the MIK system, which is sufficient for my cargo needs. I also have a BT trunk bag which I use interchangeably with the basket (again MIK compatible).

I don't imagine riding single track and will mainly stick to fire roads and and double tracks. Because it is the Santa Monica mountains, there will be lots of hills and some steep elevations. In terms of speed, although I might go a bit faster on the "flats", tearing down hills is definitely NOT in my future. Low and slow!! I'd like to be able to explore where I want to go, with safety the primary concern, and comfort being #2 (reliability is also an issue - I fear getting stuck in a canyon with a heavy bike).

Overall, I will likely ride 60% to 70% on paved surfaces (beach paths and streets) and 30% on trails. I guess my question is would 4 inch, aggressive tires detract too much from my paved surface riding in terms of range? Would I be better off with 3 inch and FS?

Thank you for your incites.

 

[steve mercier]

Pushkar:

Thank you for the response.

I don't have the option of commuting, but do use my current bike to run to the store. I currently have a Bontrager basket which is part of the MIK system, which is sufficient for my cargo needs. I also have a BT trunk bag which I use interchangeably with the basket (again MIK compatible).

I don't imagine riding single track and will mainly stick to fire roads and and double tracks. Because it is the Santa Monica mountains, there will be lots of hills and some steep elevations. In terms of speed, although I might go a bit faster on the "flats", tearing down hills is definitely NOT in my future. Low and slow!! I'd like to be able to explore where I want to go, with safety the primary concern, and comfort being #2 (reliability is also an issue - I fear getting stuck in a canyon with a heavy bike).

Overall, I will likely ride 60% to 70% on paved surfaces (beach paths and streets) and 30% on trails. I guess my question is would 4 inch, aggressive tires detract too much from my paved surface riding in terms of range? Would I be better off with 3 inch and FS?

Thank you for your incites.

4" is not optimal on streets. 2.6" inches is probably the current mountain bike trend. If you do not want a full suspension bike then a hardtail with trail geometry can be certainly be used on streets. Oh and do not leave home without Tannus Armour inserts. https://tannusamerica.com/products/tannus-armour

 

[Chancelucky2]

If you're basically talking about what some call gravel bike trails, I'm not even sure you'll need 2.6" if you have a front suspension and maybe seat post suspension. Everyone's different, but 38 mm is about my limit on the road, before I feel like my tires are slowing me down some. Of course, the comfort might be more important to you than the speed, especially on an e-bike.

 

[JES2020]

4" is not optimal on streets. 2.6" inches is probably the current mountain bike trend. If you do not want a full suspension bike then a hardtail with trail geometry can be certainly be used on streets. Oh and do not leave home without Tannus Armour inserts. https://tannusamerica.com/products/tannus-armour

Will wonders never cease! These inserts are genius, flat protection and ride able flats takes soooo much worry out of a long bike trip. Thanks for sharing!

 

[pushkar]

Tannus will be standard on the new UC Pros. I struggled to get it but just signed up as an OE.

It is an opt out feature. You can request it to NOT be put in while assembly.

 

[RAB63]

Pushkar:

It sounds like everything you are doing is top notch and I think that you are going to be very successful.

I noticed that on one of the dual battery bikes that you did, one battery was mounted on top of the top tube (as opposed to mounting both batteries within the seat tube-top tube - down tube triangle). Was that a function of the size of the frame? I am 5'11'' and would much prefer to have both batteries mounted within the "triangle" if possible?

 

[pushkar]

Pushkar:

It sounds like everything you are doing is top notch and I think that you are going to be very successful.

I noticed that on one of the dual battery bikes that you did, one battery was mounted on top of the top tube (as opposed to mounting both batteries within the seat tube-top tube - down tube triangle). Was that a function of the size of the frame? I am 5'11'' and would much prefer to have both batteries mounted within the "triangle" if possible?

Thanks for the kind words.
Yeah the dual battery within the triangle will be hard to do except on the size XL. Just because these are external packs - so getting clearance for both will be tough. We may be able to squeeze in 2 of the 14ah packs.. but it will be very tight.


With the new Aluminum frame, we have been able to address using the triangle much better. yay!

 

[Ebiker33]

Tannus will be standard on the new UC Pros. I struggled to get it but just signed up as an OE.

It is an opt out feature. You can request it to NOT be put in while assembly.

That is awesome, as we get better and better Ebikes we go further and further, a flat 30 miles away from civilization and cell service, could be dangerous, this will give peace of mind to go for it with your Ebikes.

 

[TomD]

I just installed Tannus Armour for my Luna X1 front tire last night. Holy cow what an ordeal. I sure hope you have thought about the labor involved in installing these pushkar.

I had purchased Armour for my Frey CC but never installed them. I was planning to put them in my Luna X1 but needed to go up a size as the X1 has plus size tires. I talked to Tannus America and they said I could swap them out if I ordered a set from them. The ones I originally ordered from Amazon came in retail box and they rebounded perfectly. The set I ordered from Tannus America was folded very aggressively and did not rebound back into shape. Tannus America told me not to worry about it that it doesn't affect performance but I could not get my wheel to spin without tire wobble. I spent a good hour or two massaging the inserts and got it good enough (or so I convinced myself) but I am pretty sure the remaining wobble is these places where the armor is deformed.

Here is a picture of the armor from Tannus America versus what came in my retail box. I have not had a chance to ride yet and not looking forward to doing the rear wheel haha.

 

[Ebiker33]

I just installed Tannus Armour for my Luna X1 front tire last night. Holy cow what an ordeal. I sure hope you have thought about the labor involved in installing these pushkar.

I had purchased Armour for my Frey CC but never installed them. I was planning to put them in my Luna X1 but needed to go up a size as the X1 has plus size tires. I talked to Tannus America and they said I could swap them out if I ordered a set from them. The ones I originally ordered from Amazon came in retail box and they rebounded perfectly. The set I ordered from Tannus America was folded very aggressively and did not rebound back into shape. Tannus America told me not to worry about it that it doesn't affect performance but I could not get my wheel to spun without obviously wobble. I spent a good hour or two massaging the inserts and got it good enough but I am pretty sure the remaining wobble is these places where the armor is deformed.

Here is a picture of the armor from Tannus America versus what came in my retail box. I have not had a chance to ride yet and not looking forward to doing the rear wheel haha.

Testimony of why it should come installed on the bike so we don't have to do it ourselves later.

 

[steve mercier]

I just installed Tannus Armour for my Luna X1 front tire last night. Holy cow what an ordeal. I sure hope you have thought about the labor involved in installing these pushkar.

I had purchased Armour for my Frey CC but never installed them. I was planning to put them in my Luna X1 but needed to go up a size as the X1 has plus size tires. I talked to Tannus America and they said I could swap them out if I ordered a set from them. The ones I originally ordered from Amazon came in retail box and they rebounded perfectly. The set I ordered from Tannus America was folded very aggressively and did not rebound back into shape. Tannus America told me not to worry about it that it doesn't affect performance but I could not get my wheel to spin without tire wobble. I spent a good hour or two massaging the inserts and got it good enough but I am pretty sure the remaining wobble is these places where the armor is deformed.

Here is a picture of the armor from Tannus America versus what came in my retail box. I have not had a chance to ride yet and not looking forward to doing the rear wheel haha.

Looks like the shipper was in a hurry to get to lunch (-: , but seriously I also noticed that the ones that bought from my LBS ( which come nicely prepackaged ) are in perfect condition while the the ones I ordered directly from Tannus were kind of loosely stuffed into a large generic box. I guess it is cheaper to mail them that way.

 

[steve mercier]

Tannus will be standard on the new UC Pros. I struggled to get it but just signed up as an OE.

It is an opt out feature. You can request it to NOT be put in while assembly.

That is cool Pushkar! If I am imagining all the items I would like on an Ebike it would start with a FS bike like the Travelanche and add a 40Ah battery capacity , fenders ,lights , 25kg capacity rear rack ,Tannus armours inside Magic Mary tires and of course the option to easily de-limit the bike. (-:

 

[onlineaddy]

@steve mercier 2000Ah battery?! That's gonna be huuuuuuuuge!

 

[onlineaddy]

@steve mercier you meant Wh.

 

[steve mercier]

@steve mercier you meant Wh.

OOPs brain cramp. Let me revise it to 40 Ah or the equal of 3 Bosch 500 powerpacks

 

[pushkar]

That is cool Pushkar! If I am imagining all the items I would like on an Ebike it would start with a FS bike like the Travelanche and add a 40Ah battery capacity , fenders ,lights , 25kg capacity rear rack ,Tannus armours inside Magic Mary tires and of course the option to easily de-limit the bike. (-:

Intriguing
1. Why 40Ah?
2. Why 25Kg rack? and Sprung or unsprung ?