Bikes with monster tires: why?

[bobfish]

I've been riding monster bikes on and off for a three years now and have been an avid mountain biker and road cyclist for decades. Yes, they were originally designed for snow and sand. But I like how much the tires absorb the shock from rocks, road imperfections, and going up and down curbs. The issue of resistance is determined by the tire tread and how you dial in the air pressure. I dialed them up so I didn't notice any resistance issues. What others may mistake with that is that the rims and tires are considerably heavier than the skinnier mountain bike tires so what they consider resistance from the tire on the ground might actually be the added weight. Up to 2x or 3x heavier than MTB tires. My first one had 5 inch wide tires and my second one 4.5 inch wide. Since the tires absorb more, there is also less chance of bending a rim. Lastly, I like the extra wide footprint for extra traction/stability. So, there is a considerable practicality to them if you like to ride. I don't use it for long distances because it is heavier than my other bikes, but for hopping around town it's fun. They do look different and are a fun conversation starter as well.

Stop it! You'll talk me into trying one!

[moonoi]

I should think that these tyres don't pick up as many punctures. I seem to average about one a week where I cycle on my normal mountain bike tyres. You'd also need disc brakes with them at a guess.

Have you tried going tubeless?

I have had five punctures in the two months that I have owned my road bike. Several punctures on my MTB. None of the bike shops seem to have heavy duty puncture resistant tires and/or tubes. Only cheap Chinese made crap. I have gotten fed up and ordered off eBay two Kevlar clad, heavy duty, puncture resistant Michelin road bike tires made in Germany. Also several puncture resistant tubes to go with them. The tires are called 'Gator Skins'. The tubes are by Continental tire. No more punctures, I hope. Shop in the USA is called Bikesmith.

The tyres are Continental Gatorskins, and should be easily available in Thailand, have had no issue finding them in Bangkok, they are indeed more puncture resistent, but you'll lose wet weather grip/performance.

I've also used Bontrager R3, Continental GP4000S/S2, Vittoria Open Corsa/Rubino Pro/Rubino Pro Speed G+ all without any issues, although never lower than 90psi to avoid pinch flats on the dodgy Bangkok roads. All available locally.

Stay away from Veloflex tyres, look great, superb grip in wet and dry, but the casing is so thin you pick up punctures almost every ride.

[williet98248]

I should think that these tyres don't pick up as many punctures. I seem to average about one a week where I cycle on my normal mountain bike tyres. You'd also need disc brakes with them at a guess.

Have you tried going tubeless?

I have had five punctures in the two months that I have owned my road bike. Several punctures on my MTB. None of the bike shops seem to have heavy duty puncture resistant tires and/or tubes. Only cheap Chinese made crap. I have gotten fed up and ordered off eBay two Kevlar clad, heavy duty, puncture resistant Michelin road bike tires made in Germany. Also several puncture resistant tubes to go with them. The tires are called 'Gator Skins'. The tubes are by Continental tire. No more punctures, I hope. Shop in the USA is called Bikesmith.

The tyres are Continental Gatorskins, and should be easily available in Thailand, have had no issue finding them in Bangkok, they are indeed more puncture resistent, but you'll lose wet weather grip/performance.

I've also used Bontrager R3, Continental GP4000S/S2, Vittoria Open Corsa/Rubino Pro/Rubino Pro Speed G+ all without any issues, although never lower than 90psi to avoid pinch flats on the dodgy Bangkok roads. All available locally.

Stay away from Veloflex tyres, look great, superb grip in wet and dry, but the casing is so thin you pick up punctures almost every ride.

Yes, my mistake. They are Conti Gator Skins. The tubes are Michelin. I am in Phuket and all I could find here is Kenda and a couple other cheap Chinese made products. Maybe they can order better tires but just as easy for me to order from eBay. Just takes longer for the delivery. I try to avoid riding in the wet. Thanks for the correction.

[Songlaw]

And, a 29er Plus size [3" wide tyres] is probably more than enough.

http://p.vitalmtb.com/photos/users/109/photos/90725/s1600_BT_20150416_untitled_shoot_047.jpg?1429910900

I recall playing with 3" wide tyres on on my 26in DH bike years ago. Didn't take long to ditch them.....

My primary concern would be that despite weighing roughly as much as an Austin Mini, if you hit unexpected water at any sort of speed, say, at the bottom of a decline, hydroplaning would be almost assured. Thoughts?

[ozyjon]

Are you talking about this ridiculous contraption.

[moonoi]

serveimage.jpg

Are you talking about this ridiculous contraption.

Now that's perfect for cycling around Bangkok

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[bobfish]

And, a 29er Plus size [3" wide tyres] is probably more than enough.

http://p.vitalmtb.com/photos/users/109/photos/90725/s1600_BT_20150416_untitled_shoot_047.jpg?1429910900

I recall playing with 3" wide tyres on on my 26in DH bike years ago. Didn't take long to ditch them.....

My primary concern would be that despite weighing roughly as much as an Austin Mini, if you hit unexpected water at any sort of speed, say, at the bottom of a decline, hydroplaning would be almost assured. Thoughts?

Hydroplaning [uS]/ Aquaplaning [uK] : from my day job = [in knots] 9 x √tyre pressure in psi, for a rotating tyre [dynamic]... at a low 9psi that's 27kn or 43kph. That'd be shifting on a fat bike I think!!

[StreetCowboy]

And, a 29er Plus size [3" wide tyres] is probably more than enough.

http://p.vitalmtb.com/photos/users/109/photos/90725/s1600_BT_20150416_untitled_shoot_047.jpg?1429910900

I recall playing with 3" wide tyres on on my 26in DH bike years ago. Didn't take long to ditch them.....

My primary concern would be that despite weighing roughly as much as an Austin Mini, if you hit unexpected water at any sort of speed, say, at the bottom of a decline, hydroplaning would be almost assured. Thoughts?

I think the super-knobbly tyres make hydro planing very unlikely. They maybe make any sort of speed somewhat far-fetched too.

[davidstipek]

Also a Fat tire, has a special tread either for wet pavement to shed water quicker between road surface and tire rubber... Or is used like Corvette's tires and stick to road because of Tire compounds. What I am referring to here is the use on Motorcycles or any motorized 2/3 wheeler.

[ttakata]

I knew fatbikes were expensive and heavy, until I ran across this article. http://blog.fairwheelbikes.com/2015/01/27/worlds-lightest-fat-bike-18-7-pounds/

Turns out there are many cheaper and heavier fatbikes; starting at 10K THB. After reading the fatbike section of mtbr; I learned many people sell off their other mtbs once they go fat. So I rented one in Bali and for the first time I rode in the ocean and very dry sand; totally new environments. I was sold on the concept of one bike that can be ridden anywhere. I’ve been riding on the road the last 15 years so this year I got the Mongoose Argus Expert (16.8kg stock) and am enjoying dirt again. It is the heaviest and funnest bike I have ever had. It’s slow but I managed to get up to 25.3kmh before the 32t+11t gearing topped out at the airport loop. I can see why people would use a fatbike on the road; you don’t have to pay attention and just roll over whatever bumps or potholes are in the way.

Traction is what keeps you from crashing and fatbikes have 2 to 5 times as much as other bikes which is nice on tree roots, steep climbs, and wet sections. The drawbacks are weight (unless you are rich), rolling resistance, pumping them up, and high speed wheel momentum which is harder to steer.

BTW; Skinny tires are not always faster. Fatter is faster in this test. http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/specials/conti-gp4000s-ii-23-25-28 If you don’t ride fast enough for aero to be an issue you may as well go fatter since it has less rolling resistance and is more comfortable. Tubeless is faster and the cure to flats.

What’s crazy is a 100mm/4” Jumbo Jim can have less resistance than a 25mm Schwalbe Lugano.

http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/fat-bike-reviews

http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/road-bike-reviews

If you enjoy riding off road; a fatbike should be your next bike. If you are a strict roadie; just make fun of the non-aero fat guy on his bike.

I used to think my next dream bike would be a Moulton or carbon roadie with aero wheels, but now I want a Salsa Bucksaw or Foes Mutz.

[davidstipek]

Don't worry about hydroplaning on fat tires on bikes/motorcycles... That is why the specialized tread patterns and wet/dry race proven tire compounds! Extremely safer today then say 1965 era tires on wet pavement or uneven road surfaces. Yes the comment on disc brakes is correct, they react and function extremely better with the fat tires!

[bobfish]

Don't worry about hydroplaning on fat tires on bikes/motorcycles... That is why the specialized tread patterns and wet/dry race proven tire compounds! Extremely safer today then say 1965 era tires on wet pavement or uneven road surfaces. Yes the comment on disc brakes is correct, they react and function extremely better with the fat tires!

Tread pattern, compound, downforce and the macro texture/contamination etc do effect viscous hydroplaning. Dynamic hydroplaning in standing water is more speed/tyre pressure dependent. That varies but the quote given is for a rotating tyre; if you lock up, it is about 15% less. But it's only a rule of thumb, the rounded profile and narrower contact patch on bikes help a little. You should still worry though, once the hydroplaning threshold is reached [viscous or dynamic], lateral grip also disappears! so you'd be extremely lucky to stay upright. Unless you're as good/mad as say Guy Martin:

Now back to fat bikes....

[gandalf12]

Look up fat bikes on Google. They are meant for use on sand/snow originally, large volume tyre with low pressure gives better grip.

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Yep , but when riding on tarmac with them it's like peddling through treacle.

The commentators did discuss this during the Giro D'Italia. It is all to do with grip. Usually a wider tyre is used for riding on cobbles as opposed to a tarmac surface.

We're not talking 23 to 25/27 for Paris/Roubaix here! These are 3 to 4 inches in width

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Well the OP never said what he was considering when he said monster tyres. These are something for sure. Look like they are for use on very muddy tracks like a cross country track

[Shiver]

Look up fat bikes on Google. They are meant for use on sand/snow originally, large volume tyre with low pressure gives better grip.

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Yep , but when riding on tarmac with them it's like peddling through treacle.

The commentators did discuss this during the Giro D'Italia. It is all to do with grip. Usually a wider tyre is used for riding on cobbles as opposed to a tarmac surface.

We're not talking 23 to 25/27 for Paris/Roubaix here! These are 3 to 4 inches in width

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I think the background to the picture says why they're designed that way.

When I used to MTB (on more conventional 'full floaters' off road), I'd pump them rock hard for the climb, then at the top I'd let most of the air out for an amazing improvement in grip and control.

If the above is being used on tarmac then it's mostly for show and not very efficient. For pot holes a smooth tyre for rolling efficiency, hard to avoid pinch flats (aka snake bites from grounding on the rim), and let the suspension (which includes your legs), and any hopping skills you have to negotiate the potholes at speed. If you know the path well then you can find a sweet spot for the speed of going over certain holes (much like speed bumps close together - faster is smoother as you just tap the top of each one rather than going into and out of them).

The above pic is still using a very old concept in gear design though. They're a bugger to change gear when not in motion. There are several better designs out there now, has been for a while.

[lcp0761]

I'm getting ready to move/retire to Thailand and looking for any recommendations where in Thailand (preferably either in BKK or Pattaya area) to purchase a mountain bike (vs shipping my current bike to Thailand)?

[moonoi]

I'm getting ready to move/retire to Thailand and looking for any recommendations where in Thailand (preferably either in BKK or Pattaya area) to purchase a mountain bike (vs shipping my current bike to Thailand)?

Lots of places, but depends on what you actually want. Some models are more expensive here, or not even available, plus if you need larger sizes I'd recommend bringing your bike with you instead, as it can be a challenge to get what you want when you're taller than the average Thai

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[moonoi]

I'm getting ready to move/retire to Thailand and looking for any recommendations where in Thailand (preferably either in BKK or Pattaya area) to purchase a mountain bike (vs shipping my current bike to Thailand)?

Lots of places, but depends on what you actually want. Some models are more expensive here, or not even available, plus if you need larger sizes I'd recommend bringing your bike with you instead, as it can be a challenge to get what you want when you're taller than the average Thai

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