Are additional wheelsets worth it?

[sjj530]

HI -- I'm a long time biker but new to the eBike world. After about a month of research, I decided on the Biktrix Juggernaut Ultra FS Pro @ ~$4200. Class II, Mid-drive (Bafang Ultra), full suspension. The bike comes stock with 26" x 4" fat tires. However, Biktrix says the frame can also take a 27.5" x 3" wheelset.

I bought the bike mostly for trails, and with the fat tires I could also do sand and snow, but I may end up riding mostly on pavement, where I think the knobby fat tires will be a detriment. Has anyone had any experience with swapping out the wheelsets? It would be fairly expensive but a lot cheaper than buying another eBike just for roads. Or is it just more trouble than it is worth? Any opinions?

Thanks!

 

[starrtech2000]

There will be a noticeable improvement in road feel and battery range when riding on roads if you get a smoother rolling, smaller tire. The lower rotational weight has a big impact on battery.

 

[HumanPerson]

HI -- I'm a long time biker but new to the eBike world. After about a month of research, I decided on the Biktrix Juggernaut Ultra FS Pro @ ~$4200. Class II, Mid-drive (Bafang Ultra), full suspension. The bike comes stock with 26" x 4" fat tires. However, Biktrix says the frame can also take a 27.5" x 3" wheelset.

I bought the bike mostly for trails, and with the fat tires I could also do sand and snow, but I may end up riding mostly on pavement, where I think the knobby fat tires will be a detriment. Has anyone had any experience with swapping out the wheelsets? It would be fairly expensive but a lot cheaper than buying another eBike just for roads. Or is it just more trouble than it is worth? Any opinions?

Thanks!

couldnt hurt. try 27.5 x 2.3" road tires https://bicyclewarehouse.com/collections/27-5-bike-tires

 

[Member 4888]

Find rubber that has enough grip to keep your SUV on single-track and that can be pressured up to 70 lbs or more when on hard surfaces. The majority of people I talk with regret buying a fat tire bike as their only ride when most of them end up riding hard surfaces. I'd love to have a winter set of wheels, but with a Rohloff Speedhub and a dynamo-hub in the front, it's not doable for me. $2500.00... or more for a spare set of wheels will have to wait. Using a racehorse to plow fields, or a Clydesdale to rope calves just isn't a good idea. Maybe it's just best to have the right horse for how you want to ride the majority of the time. Stay safe.

 

[Tonerider]

I almost never go off hard surfaces, and put Hookworms on my V10. Battery range increased at least 30 % and feel and top speed are much better.

 

[Member 4888]

I almost never go off hard surfaces, and put Hookworms on my V10. Battery range increased at least 30 % and feel and top speed are much better.

I bet it was like a whole new bike for you with so much less rolling resistance. I have ridden Schwalbe Mondial touring rubber for over 37K miles now. At max pressure, they are great on hard and/or wet surfaces but have enough tread to let me ride single track too when dropped 20 lbs pressure. It's always a compromise with rubber and you have to find what works best overall for how you ride. Having a spare set of wheels ready to ride would be fun. I just wanted the best all-around ebike not a one-trick pony so I went with 2" tires. I have ridden with faster bikes... 700C tires, no gear, less than 1/3 the weight of mine, but unless it's over pristine surfaces (if those actually exist) I have never met anyone that can stick with me for long, let alone up to 100 miles. What my bike floats over fully loaded will send terror into the heart of a rider on 1" rubber.

When you are ready to move to the next level with your bike look into a Rohloff Speedhub... game changing!

Stay safe.

 

[sjj530]

I'm still new to the whole fat tire world. Can I replace my 26x4 knobby fat tire with 26x4 slicks? Do they even make such things? And if so, will they take a high pressure for riding on paved surfaces?

The alternate seems to be buying a whole new wheel set. Biktrix is happy to sell me a 27.5" x 2 7/8" wheelset for $399, which seems high. Especially since the wheelset doesn't include the disc rotors or the cassette. Would I have to swap the rotors and cassette from one wheelset to another, or do I just buy extra rotors and an extra cassette? As I mentioned, I'm a noob in this regard.

Thanks,

 

[Mcwick]

Getting 27.5 wheels is a no brainer. It would be having two bikes. Fat 26 for the winter and 27.5 for the rest of the time. The bike will handle much better on single trail with 27.5 x 2.8. If you only ride paved, you bought the wrong bike.

 

[Member 4888]

Getting 27.5 wheels is a no brainer. It would be having two bikes. Fat 26 for the winter and 27.5 for the rest of the time. The bike will handle much better on single trail with 27.5 x 2.8. If you only ride paved, you bought the wrong bike.

I hate anything over 26" wheels on single-track trails, and even more so when riding with full panniers. The larger the front wheel the more effort it takes to turn the bars. I'm not grinding down runs at top speed and I wanted the best all-around ebike possible rather than having a garage full of one-trick ponies like fat-tire bikes.

 

[sjj530]

Thanks for all the feedback, guys! The eBike is supposed to show up today. Chances are I'll put a few miles on with the fat tires and then decide to get the additional wheelset.

 

[Member 4888]

Thanks for all the feedback, guys! The eBike is supposed to show up today. Chances are I'll put a few miles on with the fat tires and then decide to get the additional wheelset.

It's always important to be optimistic.

 

[Les]

HI -- I'm a long time biker but new to the eBike world. After about a month of research, I decided on the Biktrix Juggernaut Ultra FS Pro @ ~$4200. Class II, Mid-drive (Bafang Ultra), full suspension. The bike comes stock with 26" x 4" fat tires. However, Biktrix says the frame can also take a 27.5" x 3" wheelset.

I bought the bike mostly for trails, and with the fat tires I could also do sand and snow, but I may end up riding mostly on pavement, where I think the knobby fat tires will be a detriment. Has anyone had any experience with swapping out the wheelsets? It would be fairly expensive but a lot cheaper than buying another eBike just for roads. Or is it just more trouble than it is worth? Any opinions?

Thanks!

My experience with ebikes is, if you feel a strong need to change something, consider where you are in the disposal life of the ebike, about two years of continuous service. You see, you still have to make a decision whether to keep the ebike or junk it base on the battery life and controller life of two and three years, respectively, give or take. I would stick to these times for overlap reasons with a new ebike. You can try stretching your battery to three years with or without diminishing power.

Start shopping for a new ebike a year ahead of your arbitrary deadline. This is a repetitive process, if you want to stay in the game. Trash the bike, if components are worn or sell it, working, to an unsuspecting newbie. All my opinion. Hit me.

 

[Member 4888]

My experience with ebikes is, if you feel a strong need to change something, consider where you are in the disposal life of the ebike, about two years of continuous service. You see, you still have to make a decision whether to keep the ebike or junk it base on the battery life and controller life of two and three years, respectively, give or take. I would stick to these times for overlap reasons with a new ebike. You can try stretching your battery to three years with or without diminishing power.

Start shopping for a new ebike a year ahead of your arbitrary deadline. This is a repetitive process, if you want to stay in the game. Trash the bike, if components are worn or sell it, working, to an unsuspecting newbie. All my opinion. Hit me.

This is exactly the type of thinking that has allowed companies to build so many low-end crappy, and yes, disposable junk ebikes. The K-Mart mentality. My bike is over 6 years old with 37+K miles on it and riding beautifully. Two of the 30Ah triangle packs are also 6 years old and I road 75 miles the other day on one using only 17Ah. Apparently, your experience with ebike differs from my own. That's the difference between buying high-quality equipment and maintaining it properly so that it lasts, and buying poor-performing crap, riding it into the ground, and then moving on to the next POC. The American way. The great thing about the BaFang BBSxx series mid-drives is that if you bought a POS bike or owned an old one that you mounted the motor on you can always upgrade to a new bike and keep using the same motor, input control, and batteries.

Personally, I don't think life is a game and I also think it's better than trying to rip off someone else to make up for having a K-Mart mentality.

ALL my opinion.

 

[HumanPerson]

Good opinion Bassett. I'm in the mindset now of rolling slow like 9 - 15mph and enjoying the long range
from the battery. For sure the 52v 35ah and 60v 40ah batteries help too

BBSHD and Quality components .... FTW!

Ride Safe!

HP

 

[Member 4888]

... I'm in the mindset now of rolling slow like 9 - 15mph and enjoying the long range from the battery...

Ride Safe!

HP

My average moving speed is 12.5 mph, my top speed is over 47 mph, and sometimes the average speed is under 5 mph... I like to stop a lot.

P.S. Even with only 4 left... K-Mart sucks, and so does the mentality.

 

[fyfa]

嗨——我是一名长期骑自行车的人，但对电动自行车世界很陌生。经过大约一个月的研究，我决定购买 Biktrix Juggernaut Ultra FS Pro @ ~4200 美元。II 类，中驱（八方超），全避震。这辆自行车配有 26" x 4" 胖轮胎。但是，Biktrix 表示车架也可以采用 27.5" x 3" 轮对。

我买这辆自行车主要是为了小径，用胖轮胎我也可以在沙地和雪地上骑行，但我最终可能会主要骑在人行道上，我认为多节的胖轮胎会造成损害。有谁有更换轮对的经验吗？这将相当昂贵，但比购买另一辆仅用于道路的电动自行车便宜得多。还是只是麻烦多于其价值？有什么意见吗？

谢谢！

 

[fyfa]

It's very easy to convert a bicycle into an electric bike

 

[Member 4888]

不是我会浪费钱的自行车……或想骑的自行车，而是您想要的任何东西。一个问题，你打算把电池放在哪里？我想不出更糟糕的自行车车架选择。祝你好运。
Bùshì wǒ huì làngfèi qián de zìxíngchē……huò xiǎng qí de zìxíngchē, ér shì nín xiǎng yào de rènhé dōngxī. Yīgè wèntí, nǐ dǎsuàn bǎ diànchí fàng zài nǎlǐ? Wǒ xiǎng bù chū gèng zāogāo de zìxíngchē chē jià xuǎnzé. Zhù nǐ hǎo yùn.

 

[fyfa]

Drive integrated wheel.
motor+controller+battery,all in the front wheel

 

[Member 4888]

Drive integrated wheel. motor+controller+battery,all in the front wheel

That definitely a way to do it.