Tires & Tubes Motorcycle tires on E-bike

[DieselTech]

Everyone I'm curious if it would be a bad idea of putting motorcycle tires on my E-bike?

I know the motorcycle tire is heavier, by a few pounds.

I think a 120/90-16 or a 130/90-16 motorcycle tires will fit a 20x4 fat bike wheel.

What's your guys & gals thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[HumanPerson]

Why not?
As long as it fits, it's already a Higher quality

 

[fabbrisd]

What are you trying to achieve - your "benefit for you" ? Different "look" ? Fewer flats than what you have already had on your current tires ? ... let me share this .... your total range drops, lets call that like 20%+ - your acceleration drops - your inclines get slower... all that from the "bit heavier tire thing". Oh, and "bike brands" will void your entire warranty if you tell them... this was a "thing" 3-4 years ago

 

[DieselTech]

What are you trying to achieve - your "benefit for you" ? Different "look" ? Fewer flats than what you have already had on your current tires ? ... let me share this .... your total range drops, lets call that like 20%+ - your acceleration drops - your inclines get slower... all that from the "bit heavier tire thing". Oh, and "bike brands" will void your entire warranty if you tell them... this was a "thing" 3-4 years ago

They are going on a AWD ebike, well its actually more of a moped style. It's a heavy bike at 108lbs.

I'm mainly going to be on gravel, dirt, trail type roads when biking, with some pavement riding.

Im just looking for a better quality tire. The motorcycle tires will add 12lbs to the bike. Also looking for a tire with fairly aggressive tread, just to take advantage of the AWD aspect of the bike.

I was also looking at the Huntsman Vee tire, Which looks like a decent tire. It's a regular E-bike tire.

I got time to think, it was a pre-order bike, dual 1000w hub motors with dual batterys. Full suspension. This will also be my 1st real ebike, so I'm looking for options. Thanks any thoughts & advice are welcomed.

 

[smritte]

1 month since your question.
What did you end up doing?

The tire you listed will have more of a forward pushing "Paddle" effect on traction. Low speed side hill may suffer but loose wet, especially uphill's will benefit.

This type of out of the box thinking is how you end up tuning your project to your needs. I'm constantly designing and building things. Sometimes you have to look elsewhere because what everyone else does, doesn't actually work for what I'm doing You would probably be surprised how many "stupid ideas" end up working well.

 

[DieselTech]

I have stupid ideas everyday. I ended putting battlax tires on it. But only after I cut 1lb 10oz of weight out of each tire. I'm experimenting with tires. Basically cutting the tread made the tire better for my riding style.

 

[addertooth]

You can find more substantial eBike tires as well. I am eyeballing some which are described as "thick". In my case, I am looking at street-optimized tires, as that is where my eBike runs most the time.

 

[DieselTech]

You can find more substantial eBike tires as well. I am eyeballing some which are described as "thick". In my case, I am looking at street-optimized tires, as that is where my eBike runs most the time.

Yeah I'm trying these MMG tires now. I of course got the tire cutter out today thou & added a bit more Sure-Grip to them.

 

[Smaug]

I'd be averse to all the extra weight.

I watched a video recently from FJester and he reported a 20% loss in range when he went to the heavier Shinko 244 tires. That would bug the hell out of me. I'd have to really be getting a lot of flats to accept that. I'd probably go with a heavier eBike-specific tire first, like the ones Schwalbe or Continental make.

Dieseltech, those latest ones you have look a lot more reasonable for on-road riding above 10 mph than the previous super-knobbies. I bet you could deflate them a bit and they'd still do fine on gravel; there's space between those side lugs to let them bite in a bit.

 

[HumanPerson]

Duro makes good ebike street tires

 

[DieselTech]

I'd be averse to all the extra weight.

I watched a video recently from FJester and he reported a 20% loss in range when he went to the heavier Shinko 244 tires. That would bug the hell out of me. I'd have to really be getting a lot of flats to accept that. I'd probably go with a heavier eBike-specific tire first, like the ones Schwalbe or Continental make.

Dieseltech, those latest ones you have look a lot more reasonable for on-road riding above 10 mph than the previous super-knobbies. I bet you could deflate them a bit and they'd still do fine on gravel; there's space between those side lugs to let them bite in a bit.

Yeah 6.5psi seems to be the sweet spot on them tires for riding on gravel. I usually air up to 20psi or higher, when riding streets.

These are nice tires for the money, but they are heavier than expected. 8lbs on the bathroom scales.

I dont think I lost much mileage if I'm not starting & stopping at intersections & such. I'm still getting 60-70miles in sports mode per charge.

 

[DieselTech]

Duro makes good ebike street tires

Yeah I just recently stumbled across them. They got some nice tires. I'm going to have more tires than I know what to do with.

 

[HumanPerson]

Yeah 6.5psi seems to be the sweet spot on them tires for riding on gravel. I usually air up to 20psi or higher, when riding streets.

These are nice tires for the money, but they are heavier than expected. 8lbs on the bathroom scales.

I dont think I lost much mileage if I'm not starting & stopping at intersections & such. I'm still getting 60-70miles in sports mode per charge.

in sports mode bro? that is really pretty good

 

[DieselTech]

in sports mode bro? that is really pretty good

Yeah the worse I've got was about 52miles but it was full throttle the entire trip pretty much. 35-38mph by gps.

Them longer trips in sports mode, I did manage to kick/twist the pedals a time or 2 on them trips. I'm pretty damn impressed soo far with this bike i bought & the mileage I've been seeing.

I am a little dude thou at 140lbs & 5'7" I'm sure is helping with them figures.

 

[HumanPerson]

Yeah the worse I've got was about 52miles but it was full throttle the entire trip pretty much. 35-38mph by gps.

Them longer trips in sports mode, I did manage to kick/twist the pedals a time or 2 on them trips. I'm pretty damn impressed soo far with this bike i bought & the mileage I've been seeing.

I am a little dude thou at 140lbs & 5'7" I'm sure is helping with them figures.

I'm 5" 7" @170+ lol

So, after having built some ICE bicycles like myself, then having ridden your ebike, (and you havent even gotten into solar charging yet)
what do you find yourself thinking about ebikes now?

I feel as though you're almost addicted heh heh

I do miss my gas bikes though, i am gonna pull the trigger soon and build a 4 stroke.

I've found, for me that is... that the quiet and long silent rides were a game changer for me

Sativa makes me a chatty charlie LOL

 

[DieselTech]

I'm 5" 7" @170+ lol

So, after having built some ICE bicycles like myself, then having ridden your ebike, (and you havent even gotten into solar charging yet)
what do you find yourself thinking about ebikes now?

I feel as though you're almost addicted heh heh

I do miss my gas bikes though, i am gonna pull the trigger soon and build a 4 stroke.

I've found, for me that is... that the quiet and long silent rides were a game changer for me

Sativa makes me a chatty charlie LOL

I'm actually liking it a lot. Yes I already want to build a bike. Or at least Hotrod mine.

I do like the silence, the other thing i like is the legality of a ebike. Lmao i can get on my ebike & not get pulled over. My 4stroke bikes always seem to get you pulled over, because it's got a engine.

 

[Smaug]

Along this recent tangent, I'm wondering if an eMoped will satisfy. I paid as much for the HyperScrambler 2 I could've gotten a nice used 125 cc gas scooter or a new 49cc that would go 100 miles at 35+ mph; no excuses, no qualification. 105 mpg too, I remember getting that with my old Honda Metropolitan and 93 mpg on my 155 cc Yamaha SMax.

 

[DieselTech]

Along this recent tangent, I'm wondering if an eMoped will satisfy. I paid as much for the HyperScrambler 2 I could've gotten a nice used 125 cc gas scooter or a new 49cc that would go 100 miles at 35+ mph; no excuses, no qualification. 105 mpg too, I remember getting that with my old Honda Metropolitan and 93 mpg on my 155 cc Yamaha SMax.

Yeah the bike I bought, is 1 of them riding the loophole bikes, As somebody mentions here. I got numerous gas mopeds & 4 stroke bikes as well. Lucking all the mopeds are 16" tires, so i can use these tires on them as well.

I'm thinking of buying a Livewire Del Mar S2. E motorcycle.

 

[m@Robertson]

Duro makes good ebike street tires

I have been eyeballing the Duro Beach Bums for years and finally put a set of them in 26x3.0 on my Mongoose Envoy, to replace the 26x2.8 Vee Speedsters that were worn down to the point I could justify buying Yet Another set of tires. Some obnservations:

• The 26x3.0 size designation is pure marketing BS, which is something of a tradition with bicycle tire manufacturers (versus the ETRTO which is usually accurate). In fact, even the ETRTO listed on the side of the Duro tire is exactly the same as the 26x2.8 Vee Speedsters. 26x3.0 came from the Marketing Department. My calipers say its casing size perfectly matches the listed ETRTO when fully inflated.
• The tread is indeed thick, which is nice, but the space in between the tread... there is basically nothing there. Its just the tire casing (i.e. the cords) with the thinnest coating of rubber over it. So I wouldn't call this tire particularly flatproof thanks to those vulnerable gaps.
• It rolls smooth as glass
• It seems to stick to the ground just fine in cornering. Mine are sitting on MTX39 rims which have an internal width of IIRC 32mm.
• I am using oversized 26x3.5 tubes underneath and they fit perfectly. Only need to make the usual extra bit of care to ensure no fitment issues. Also I put the correct size of Tuffy XL under the tires (the one with the green stripes). I re-used what was already under the Vee tires, which are so thin you have to do *something*).

I was really surprised at the size disparity. Thats not something you see very often nowadays. it was a little disappointing as my rims could easily fit a little larger tire and I wanted some extra flotation.

 

[DieselTech]

Yeah them Bridgestone battlax tires were supposed to be 23" tall & 120mm wide when mounted on a 3" wide rim.

When them battlax tires were mounted on my 3.25" wide wheels the tires were 25" tall & 130mm wide. I dont trust tire sizes for bikes or motorcycles that much anymore.