Winter s-pedelec tires for a food delivery courier

[morswin26]

Hi everyone! I am currently looking for a new bike tire for winter for me. I have pretty high expectation for it. It has to have e-50 standard as i ride fast e-bike - normal tires are getting flat too often. For last two years i was using schwalbe marthon plus mtb and those were great. 25k km and only 3 flats. The only problem with these is that they wear off too quickly and they are not too cheap. Im working very much and the rear one wears off up to the puncture guard on my bike in about 2-3 month. I use my bike mainly on roads (which are being cleared of snow so spikes are out of the question) and bike paths (which are mostly not). I also like to go off-road after work. The best one without spikes i've found on the web is continental topcontact winter II, and if it had additionally side knobs - that would be the thing is best for me. My bike has 28 inch weels (best if the tire has 29 inch) and can fit tire up to 2,4 inch width. Do you guys have aby recommendations?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Hi Morświn
If you are to ride a normal winter without the ice, invest in
Schwalbe Johnny Watts 365 29 x 2.35"
The only surface these tyres cannot handle is pure ice.

If you plan riding on the ice, nothing can beat these tyres:
Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro 29 x 2.25
These are perfect for snow, ice (including black ice), and can be ridden in the dry conditions, too. (Have you ever ridden into black ice? I did. Then immediately ordered the ISPs).

Both have been proven by myself, and especially by my brother over several winters now. I have included Polish links as I assume you're Polish?

continental topcontact winter II

I have used it on one of my e-bikes. Nothing special, indeed.

 

[morswin26]

Hi Stefan, thanks for the reply. Yes I'm from Poland. Well I'm planning to ride 90% through the city and we both know how snow and ice is being removen from biking paths in Poland. Unfortunatelly both might occur plus under the layer of snow there are painted road signs which are also very slippery when wet. While riding in my city during winter the conditions are like 40% unsnowed tarmac, 40% snowy bike paths and 10% ice of which only half is predictible so sometimes you hit ice when you don't expect it. And as you can expect from a courier on fast e-bike I'm riding pretty fast while also making long distances (400-900 km per week IN THE CITY) so it is essencial for me not only not to hit anyone while commuting but also to earn as much as possible while also not paying too much for the maintance.

Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro 29 x 2.25

Thats why I'm pretty afraid to buy these. I feel like spikes wouldn't withstand such conditions (that much tarmac). They have pretty poor puncture guard as well and getting flat is not only unpleasant but also very expensive for me (because I loose a day of job). They are also quite expensive and i think they might not last until the next winter.

After few day of thinking and wondering i think i'll try schwalbe marathon winter plus. They seem to have a good enough grip on compressed snow and ice while not being that expensive. Spikes are more on the sides so they won't wear off that quickly as thay would on ice spiker pro. Plus 7/7 protection on schwalbe's scale. If they turn out to be good i'll maybe try ice spiker pro on the front weel as that one does'nt need that much puncutere protection in the city.

If anyone would like to shed new light on the matter I'm still open for change. @Stefan Mikes thanks again for the reply

 

[Art Deco]

Hi Stefan, thanks for the reply. Yes I'm from Poland. Well I'm planning to ride 90% through the city and we both know how snow and ice is being removen from biking paths in Poland. Unfortunatelly both might occur plus under the layer of snow there are painted road signs which are also very slippery when wet. While riding in my city during winter the conditions are like 40% unsnowed tarmac, 40% snowy bike paths and 10% ice of which only half is predictible so sometimes you hit ice when you don't expect it. And as you can expect from a courier on fast e-bike I'm riding pretty fast while also making long distances (400-900 km per week IN THE CITY) so it is essencial for me not only not to hit anyone while commuting but also to earn as much as possible while also not paying too much for the maintance.

Thats why I'm pretty afraid to buy these. I feel like spikes wouldn't withstand such conditions (that much tarmac). They have pretty poor puncture guard as well and getting flat is not only unpleasant but also very expensive for me (because I loose a day of job). They are also quite expensive and i think they might not last until the next winter.

After few day of thinking and wondering i think i'll try schwalbe marathon winter plus. They seem to have a good enough grip on compressed snow and ice while not being that expensive. Spikes are more on the sides so they won't wear off that quickly as thay would on ice spiker pro. Plus 7/7 protection on schwalbe's scale. If they turn out to be good i'll maybe try ice spiker pro on the front weel as that one does'nt need that much puncutere protection in the city.

If anyone would like to shed new light on the matter I'm still open for change. @Stefan Mikes thanks again for the reply

Winter riding isn't my thing, but search out @Prairiedog posts on winter riding and see what he runs.

 

[m@Robertson]

I swear by the Marathon Plus Tour but I don't have to deal with snow. Only drifting sand which can be annoyingly deep on occasion. The big job a tire has to perform in that environment is to not wash out to the side. The Tour version is commonly called a 6000-mile tire although it looks like heavy cargo bike loads are going to reduce mine to 3000 max. I've been running the 2022-and-older version of the tread, but the 2023+ version completely changed, and is only now spottily available here in the US. I just received one and it presents like a very deep version of the Pickup tread.

Another possibility, although its not going to be cheap, is to leave Schwalbe behind and go to a Maxxis mtb tire. I went that route for my front cargo bike tire with a Minion DHF and despite that being a totally off the wall application, it has turned out really well. The side knobs on the Minion really do the job for stability and I have not even had a hint of control loss or wiggle since going to it. Underneath to make up for the loss of a tire belt I used Tannus, a Schwalbe air Plus thicker tube and inside of that Flatout sealant. Zero flats ... so far. Cost is about what a Schwalbe would have run me, and tire wear looks to be around 2000-2500 miles so it wins on control at the expense of durability. The knobby profile on a heavier cargo bike is silent and smooth on pavement which is a surprise, and of course on dirt a Minion is up for almost anything.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Maxxis mtb tire

These are soft and wear out at an alarming rate. MTB tyres are for riding rocks, and are to be replaced often.
The OP needs a durable tyre as the priority #1.

MTB tyres are not necessarily good on the snow, and are hopeless on ice.

Well, I'm riding the Marathon Winter Plus on one of my e-bikes when it becomes icy. I use Schwalbe Smart Sam for any other winter conditions on another e-bike. (I would have used Johnny Watts 365 but that tyre does not fit the e-bike I'm talking about).

 

[m@Robertson]

A durable tire is not Priority #1. Priority #1 is a tire that doesn't lose grip and keeps you from having to plant a foot at speed or crashing. I already pointed out the durability sacrifice, because we can all read, and see the durability concern @morswin26 voiced.

My experience with mtb tires in snow has been riding in the Sierras overland, on trails and crushed-granite roads (which barely qualify as roads) and I have found tall knobs in snow - like you see on a mud tire - are ideal, but mud tires would suck on any kind of pavement. Mid-sized knobs like you find on a Minion or an Assegai would (and I know they do) work both on the street and trails so long as we aren't talking about deep snow. The Dual compound used on my Maxxis tires used on the street is their hardest, most durable compound and may explain why I can get so many miles out of the Minion I am using.

An MTB tire used in a cargo application (not so far off of bike delivery wear/tear) that is already at 1000 miles and is expected to go to 2000 is acceptable... at least to me. As I see it, a bike that has a job and is not a toy for playtime... reliable grip is Priority #1. But its up to @morswin26 to decide whether that holds for him or not.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Hi @morswin26!

Yesterday (Saturday 20th of January 2024), I met a food courier riding an e-bike at the intersection of Banacha/Grójecka in Warsaw. I asked him whether there were any bike paths along Grójecka, to which he answered no. I told him I would then continue riding with traffic, to which he said he'd rather ride the sidewalk.

I met exactly the same guy in the middle of Nowy Świat but he arrived from the direction of Świętokrzyska while I came from the de Gaulle Roundabout.

Was that man you?

It was me, only less snow when I met that courier

 

[morswin26]

Hi @Stefan Mikes

Unfortunatelly that wasn't me but still you might have seen me. I was in WWA a couple days ago (11-15.02) and i was living on Kopińska street. I had glovo backpack and an old race bike with red tires (had no balls to take an e-bike and leave it outside during the night especially in the capital).

In the end i've only tested marathon winter plus only on the front wheel as during putting them on I saw I had broken rear rim. And I have to say they are good. I have not noticed any spikes falling out and had no flats even though going 50km/h on them. Also 1st winter during my career (5 years) without any fall or crash. Next winter I'll test them on more burdened wheel and see if they ccan handle it as well.

 

[morswin26]

I swear by the Marathon Plus Tour but I don't have to deal with snow. Only drifting sand which can be annoyingly deep on occasion. The big job a tire has to perform in that environment is to not wash out to the side. The Tour version is commonly called a 6000-mile tire although it looks like heavy cargo bike loads are going to reduce mine to 3000 max. I've been running the 2022-and-older version of the tread, but the 2023+ version completely changed, and is only now spottily available here in the US. I just received one and it presents like a very deep version of the Pickup tread.

Another possibility, although its not going to be cheap, is to leave Schwalbe behind and go to a Maxxis mtb tire. I went that route for my front cargo bike tire with a Minion DHF and despite that being a totally off the wall application, it has turned out really well. The side knobs on the Minion really do the job for stability and I have not even had a hint of control loss or wiggle since going to it. Underneath to make up for the loss of a tire belt I used Tannus, a Schwalbe air Plus thicker tube and inside of that Flatout sealant. Zero flats ... so far. Cost is about what a Schwalbe would have run me, and tire wear looks to be around 2000-2500 miles so it wins on control at the expense of durability. The knobby profile on a heavier cargo bike is silent and smooth on pavement which is a surprise, and of course on dirt a Minion is up for almost anything.

Also thanks @m@Robertson for pointing out tour tires. It made me realize i've never tested schwalbe's e-compound myself which is going to change