Tires what tires are best?

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mtbforlife

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well my bike has 2 of the bald raceing tires (not really bald thay are just made like that) and thay are real good on road but thay are real thin and seem dangerous if it were wet. i was wondering what tires are best if i want to ride on the road but still be able to keep traction off road and in rain, but still keep the look of a racer? i do have some problems with the rear brakes thay just skid if its wet outside, but the frountwill grip very well. i do have a pair of treaded tires for like mountain bikes, but dont know if thay are smooth enough for rideing real fast.:confused: dose anyone use special tires? any tips would work. thx
 
Any fairly-smooth cruiser bike tires will work, and fatter ones can absorb much shock (if you don't over-inflate them!). I have some generic 2.125's on mine, which is about as wide of tires as you will find for typical rims. The Worksman bike I started with came with Cheng Shin tires which were entirely adequate, but I wanted white tires, so I bought some $15 white Kendas.

You can get Kevlar if you want to pay for better puncture resistance, but there's a few ways to handle the issue of flat-tire-prevention as well.

If you want the fattest "street-tread" tires around in 26", then (I think) they would be the Schwalbe Big Apples, which are available in both 2 and 2.3 inches wide (in 26"/559 size). They cost $45 each however, and the 2.3"-wides may give chain-rub issues in certain low gears. I have them on a non-motor recumbent, and I'll warn you that most typical 26" wheel bicycle fenders just barely fit over a 2.3" Big Apple tire.

...If you happen to have a Golden Eagle (belt-drive) kit, I would also warn that the 2.3" Big Apple is so fat that I don't know that you could even properly line up the drive ring and the engine's pulley correctly. This would depend exactly on what kind of rear hub your bike had; mine has a 3-speed Shimano Nexus.... I don't own a Chinese chain-drive kit, so I can't say if they'd have the problem or not.

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Ultimate setup:
If you're blowing out your wallet on this project, then you want to get wider rims as well. Most MTB's come with rims that are WAY too narrow, what you want is downhill rims on it, you want rims that are 1.25 to 1.5 inches wide (outside measure). And that advice is valid for MTB's that are motorized or not.
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Tyres

The best tyre I've found is the Specialised Armadillo Hemisphere with Kevlar walls. I use thornproof tubes. This combo costs Aus$70 a pop but they wear really well and I get much more mileage from them so they aren't so expensive in the long run. I inflate them to 45 psi and not 65 so they give a softer ride and I reckon better grip. Tyres are very personal but this one is a nice tyre and has red/pink walls.
 
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