Unbelievably Fat Street Tire

[Bluto]

I enjoy the ride quality, traction, and wheel protection of a large volume tire, so I'm always on
the lookout for fat tires that aren't woefully compromised by knobs. Recently I found mention of a
Schwalbe tire called "Big Apple" that was purportedly offered in 26x2.35 and 700x50 sizes.

Turns out that this tire is available in 26x2.0, 26x2.35, 700x50, and 700x60! I ordered a pair each
of the 26x2.35 and both widths of 700c sizes.

They are very nice tires; the ones I've mounted so far run quite true. The sipes in the tread are
extremely shallow, making the design functionally a slick.

Mounted on a rim measuring 19mm inside width, the inflated 700x60 tire is 2 1/4" in width, visibly
fatter than some WTB Nanoraptor 29x2.1" tires I have on one of my bikes (not for long!).

I've not had the opportunity to run these tires very far yet on the street, but I was so surprised
to have their size live up to its billing that I thought it appropriate to share my discovery. These
are fun treads to ride!

I am not affiliated with the manufacturer or the supplier from whom I bought them. Below I supply a
link to their website, which is updated since the time I made my order:

http://www.schwalbetires.com/on_tour.php?Nickname=BIG%20APPLE&Image=TireImages/big_apple.gif

Hopefully these tires will become available to dealers in the USA soon. Hopefully also there will be
more frames constructed to accomodate them, but meanwhile I am tempted to have a custom road bike
frame built to fit them!

Cheers,

Chalo Colina bigger, better

 

[GearóId Ó Laoi]

That's nothing.

there's a 26 x 10.75 tyre made here in Ireland but you'll need special forks. It's used for cycling
on water and is called the "Shamrock Aquon".

 

[Alex Rodriguez]

Hows the rolling resistance on these tires? I use to run metro cross 700X38 tires on my commuter.
These are mostly slick tires. They were great at absorbing road bumps, but they were slow. I
stupidly ripped the side of one when I ran the bike with a mis-adjusted brake shoe. I have since
switched to Avocet 700X25, that's what I had in the closet at the time. I can feel the difference in
rolling resistance, but I could also feel the bumps much more.
---------------
Alex

 

[Bluto]

Alex Rodriguez <[email protected]> wrote:

> Hows the rolling resistance on these tires? I use to run metro cross 700X38 tires on my commuter.
> These are mostly slick tires. They were great at absorbing road bumps, but they were slow.

Well, they're faster than the Nanoraptor knobbies which served as the only immediate point of
comparison I've made yet. (FWIW, WTB Nanoraptors are not too terrible street tires, for knobbies.)
This weekend I'll try them head-to-head with some of my other bikes and get a more thorough feel.

It's all pretty subjective for me though, since I don't use a cyclocomputer and slicks never fail to
_feel_ faster to me than treaded tires.

The comparison to narrower slicks is not too important for my purposes, since I have no intention of
running these 60mm tires at max pressure.

Chalo Colina

 

[Scribe2b]

supergo has bontrager semi-slicks on blowout, 2 for 18.95 USD. kevlar. 585 grams. they are fat, 2.1`
and roll like slicks on pavement.

 

[Matt O'Toole]

"Scribe2b" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...

> supergo has bontrager semi-slicks on blowout, 2 for 18.95 USD. kevlar.
585
> grams. they are fat, 2.1` and roll like slicks on pavement.

These have been my everyday tire for about 5 years. They're fast rolling, but good slicks are still
noticeably faster. Not all slicks, though.

Matt O.

 

[Matt O'Toole]

"Joseph Kubera" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Matt wrote:
>
> >These have been my everyday tire for about 5 years. They're fast
rolling,
> >but good slicks are still noticeably faster. Not all slicks, though.
>
> Hey Matt,
>
> Which brands/models of slicks do you consider the "good" ones? Maybe the Avocets so many
> rave about?
>
> I have a new bike to build up but haven't decided on tires yet...

I'm sure the Avocets are good. The fastest ones I've ridden are Conti Avenue 1.75", but they're such
a pain to get on and off the rim I gave them up. I had some $13 slicks from Performance that were
good. Now I have some Bontrager 1.5" that are great too.

I don't like really skinny tires on mountain bikes. It can make the handling feel a little "off,"
probably because the steering geometry was made with 2" tires in mind. Plus, wider ones are no
slower, more comfortable, and don't require as much pressure, so I can still use my MTB mini-pump.
I've tried the skinny Specialized Fatboys, and didn't like them.

The thing to look for is a thin, supple casing, and a tread that's fairly thin and featureless. More
material usually means slower tires. That includes Kevlar belts for puncture protection -- they
don't work, and they make for a slower tire.

Matt O.