Ebike with interchangeable tires (fat and regular)

Boesman

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I am planning on buying a Ebike soon. Ideally I'd like to use it both in the winter - when there is quite a bit of snow in my area - and in the summer. It seems silly to drive around in summer with fat tires. And it seems impossible to drive around in winter with regular tires. So what to do...?
Ideally I'd like to find an Ebike that can take both fat tires and regular tires. Does such a thing exist?

Would appreciate any insights!
 
Do you want to just switch tires, as many people do, which just means you need to choose appropriate rims, or do you want to change the entire wheel, which means duplicating gears and disks, and either two hub motors or go mid-drive, with all the inherent drawbacks.
 
I suggest that you get a mid motor fat bike. Most have 26 x 4.5 fat tires with 100mm rims. 27.5 wheels would work with the fat suspension fork. The wheels must have the same width hubs and the rims should be 35mm or 40mm. The tires should be 27.5 x 2.6 or 2.8.
I have the same setup and it works great.
Just switching tires would not work. 27.5 x 2.8 tires wouldn't work on 100mm rims...
Some bike companies sell spare wheels.
 
The most important thing is to ensure that both tires will function properly with the frame of your bike. Have you tried to find something that is a good balance between regular and fat tire?
 
I'd be suprised if a bike with 2" rims will accommodate 4" tires, and if that's the case, swapping between 2" and 4" tires would probably require considerably more effort and money to swap tire sizes. Perhaps a better way to go with buy two eBikes.
 
I run 700c tires on my 29" rims for road (or light mix) and switch to 2.6" tires when i want to do more dedicated off road trips. Works well so far for me but i am not sure if that will be wide enough for snow.
 
Frame & fork clearance & hub spacing are significantly different between a fat tire ebike vs regular sized tire ebike.
You probably can have a spare set of narrow rims/street tread wheels but the hubs will need to be fat bike spacing; not something commonly found with online merchants or retail stores.
 
I am planning on buying a Ebike soon. Ideally I'd like to use it both in the winter - when there is quite a bit of snow in my area - and in the summer. It seems silly to drive around in summer with fat tires. And it seems impossible to drive around in winter with regular tires. So what to do...?
Ideally I'd like to find an Ebike that can take both fat tires and regular tires. Does such a thing exist?

Would appreciate any insights!
Here is some information that may be helpful Buy a bike with FAT tire 3-4". Why, because th bike will be designed to take those larger tires and there will be no problem fitting smaller/narrower tire in the frame. However, the question remains with you be able to fit the narrower tires on the wide rims? That depends on the design of the rims and the size tire you are trying to fit on the wide rims.

I would do some research at local bike shops to get information on the limits of those different tires. Another alternative might be to buy a bike that has tires that fit in between the FAT tires and narrower tires you are considering. Keep in mind even the widest tires have their limitations in snow and ice.
 
My Sondors Fatty came with 26 x 4.9 tires. The rim is 80mm wide. I ride on the street in Texas and never need fat tires so I installed 26 x 2.5 Maxxis Hook Worms on my stock rims, and they fit and look great. They also stick to the road like glue.
20170626_203443.jpg
 
My Sondors Fatty came with 26 x 4.9 tires. The rim is 80mm wide. I ride on the street in Texas and never need fat tires so I installed 26 x 2.5 Maxxis Hook Worms on my stock rims, and they fit and look great. They also stick to the road like glue.
View attachment 6434
It does look great. Did you have any issues getting the tires to seat with the extra wide rims.
 
It does look great. Did you have any issues getting the tires to seat with the extra wide rims.
No, none what so ever. They're easier to install than the fattys. Hook Worms run a little big though, almost as big as 3 inch. If you have 100mm rims I wouldn't go less than 3 inch.
 
No, none what so ever. They're easier to install than the fattys. Hook Worms run a little big though, almost as big as 3 inch. If you have 100mm rims I wouldn't go less than 3 inch.
I've been looking for Maxxis 20x4 tires but there seem to be so many different kinds I can't decide and they're kinda pricey. I ride mainly on urban streets and would like to ride during winter as much as possible. Do you have any recommendations? I have Shinko's now which look pretty decent, havent had a chance to put them on because bike broke, and I got a pair for only $100 so I'm not expecting a lot out of them but at least I have a backup in case of flats
 
My experience was the same as @biknut (and hey I know that bike :D )

The only difference is his bike looks great with the small tires and mine looked like crap. Before and after:

IMG_20190405_182030.jpg
IMG_20190907_175309.jpg


Those are 80mm rims and Schwalbe Crazy Bobs, which if I remember right were 26x2.40. I did use somewhat oversized tubes (4.0) under them, which I like to do regardless, to make sure the beads didn't voice any objections to being seated, which they didn't. A byproduct of going small on the sidewalls is you can kiss goodbye ride comfort. Thats a fast commuter and since its 2wd, I couldn't have front suspension, so potholes at speed made me fear for my frame. And my wrists. I went back to fat tires.
 
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