Fat Tire Review Thread: Tires > 3"

Unicycles and Equipment
23

The Vee Rubber tires are heavy, but they ride well and they are inexpensive. If the devist8er were as light as a newer Larry, it’d be my go to fat tire.

I have a 26 x 3.8 and a 29 x3 Knard on order in a folding bead, but since the folding Knard in all sizes is still not available, it’s gonna be a couple weeks before any reviews are forthcoming.

I liked the Larry okay, but I think there are some better tires available now.

Avoid anything with a wire bead, they are much heavier construction, though they are less expensive.

All the Surly and 45North tires run on similar casings, so you should pick the tire based on the tread pattern you prefer and the lightest weight casing you can afford.

Deeper/taller knobbies are not always better.

The only reason I’d skip the ultralight casing is if you ride on a lot of sharp edged rocks.

The absolute beefiest casing is the Deivst8er.

24

Hi Nurse Ben,

thanks for the insight. Even though this thread is more of a generic review of fat tires, I am targeting such tire only to use in fall/winter for what they are advertised for initially: snow/sand/mud :stuck_out_tongue:

For the other situations (fast/nimble XC and rocky/steep downhill), I have my current tires :slight_smile:

I am having a hard time to find on the internet reviews of fat tires that mention performances in snow, hence my bump of this thread hoping that any canadian uni riders (or other place with its fair share of snow) can provide me more insight about what tire/tread to target in order to paddle in snow with ease (even more in the fresh powder).

25

I have ridden the Devast8or and regular Larry, but it’s been a while since riding either. The devast8or was bigger, heavier and slower but I would say a bit easier to control and improved front/back grip. It really isn’t a bad tire but it is HEAVY (1880g vs the 1350g Larry)

Snow varies a lot depending on location and conditions. In wetter snow I would pick the devast8or over Larry and in dry I would probably go with Larry over devast8or I think the knew Knard looks like it would be a great dry snow tire and Lou (if you can fit em’) looks like about the ultimate wet snow tire.

26

“paddle with ease in the snow” :smiley:

Snow is funny stuff, it packs down and sticks to your tire at times, while at other times it’s slimy like goose pump, then it freezes and become slippery like ice. Unlike mud, dirt, and rocks, snow changes consistency as you ride so the “best tire” will change as the “ideal snow” for that tire change.

The reason you want to look at the fat tire performance in dirt and mud is because this will give you an idea of how the tire performs in general, which is applicable to snow.

For instance, if you look at the Larry and Devist8er tread patterns, you might think the Larry has the advantage because the chevron pattern is shaped like a wedge to “paddle” the tire through the snow. In reality, the two tires perform very similarly in snow, with a small advantage going to the Devist8or because it sems to collect less snow when the snow is sticky.

If you are on a budget, get the Devister or a wire bead Larry on sale. If you want to spend some money and want the best multiuse tire, wait on the Knard reviews.

27

Nate runs great in snow!

It seemed to have MUCH more traction than the Larry. In the Summer, at Moraine, it had a bit too much grab. In the Winter, in 6 in of wet snow, it works as good as any tire can. Off camber is a problem for almost any uni tire in the snow.

The road ride back at sub 10 PSI wasn’t a problem either.

28

I got my Larry today! I currently only have a 50mm wide rim, it seems like it will be enough though. I’m not sure if I’ll get something wider, if I do it wont be more than a Large Marge as I dont want to go too wide.

I still dont have a frame for it, the Larry on the 50mm rim is 85mm at the widest point, I’m starting school again on Monday so I’ll talk to my teacher to make a frame ASAP.

Does anybody know who wide is the Nimbus 29er Oracle frame at the crown? I’ve been told there are a few 29er bike forks that can fit a fatty, I’m just wondering if it could be the case with some unicycle frames.

EDIT: Looking at the pictures on UDC, the 29er tire looks pretty tight, I doubt the Larry would fit in.

29

I don’t know about the tire but I’ve heard the rim is very weak.

31

A Large Marge is a very nice balance of width and stability. It will still run down to a 2.5" tire without laying it’s profile too flat. With the 3.8 it’s stable too.

The 50mm wide should be fine for now.

32

The 26 x 4" Surly Knard arrived today, so of course I had to go ride it :smiley:

Installed easilly, nice and straight, aired up to 30psi to set the bead, dropped the pressure to 15psi and went riding. I gradually reduced the pressure every ten minutes or so until I got down to 10psi.

The Knard rides much like a Larry in that it often likes to go straight when you want to turn, I call this “straightlining”. The Big Fat Larry was a straightlining fool, the Larry less so, the Knard about like Larry at higher pressures (15-12.5 psi), but when I dropped the 10psi the Knard was much more compliant and straightlined less.

The Knard is fast rolling and has a very predictable slide, i.e. in the mud when I was drifting, it was controllable and didn’t suprise me. I rode some pretty slimy uphill trails, I think the Knard did as least as well as the Larry would have done, maybe not quite as good as the Devist8or.

Though the Knard has the same casing as the Larry, it seemed firmer even at lower pressures, this could be due to the tire still having some break in to do. Overall it’s a very nice multi use tire, probably not the best for all snow conditions as it lacks deep tread, but for fast riding on packed snow, ice, firmer condiions where bite is less improtant than speed, it’s a nice tire.

In comparing the tire to a more common mtb tire, I’d say that the tread is like a Racing Ralph, though much, much fatter and with more edge knobbies to grip when carving.

I’ll post some pics later in the weekend. Weight was 1350gm.

33

Only one ride so far, had to go skiing, so much to do, so little time…

Some more comments that come to mind:

Awesome self cleaning tread, even though I was riding in clay, as you can see from the pics, the tire has no mud residue from the ride.
The Knard is not a directional tread, so you can’t put it on backwards :wink:
I’m running a Maxxis Freeride tube, 2.5", works quite well, also 2/3 the weight of a Surly Toob

The Knard 26 x 3.8 120tpi:

34

Fat tires make me feel like I’m on drugs as I want to get them all !!! :smiley:

As anybody had the opportunity to try a Surly Bud or a Surly Lou ??

They seem to have a much all-around tread, deep enough for most situation. And they are definitely gorgeous on a clown shoe rim (okay that is not mandatory for a good tire anyway :p).

35

For those of you that own a Nimbus Oregon, here is a question:

The Surly Larry installed on them is this the 120tpi foldable or the 27tpi wire bead model ?

36

Okay, answer from Nurse Ben gleaned from another thread: 27tpi wire bead :smiley:

37

So would any of the fat tires be any good for downhill and drops?

38

I haven’t had the opportunity to ride something else than a Duro Wildlife (3.0) and Surly Endomorph (3.7).
But for sure there seems to be some very serious fat tires (45NRTH Husker-Du & Escalator, Surly Nate & Knard, Origin8 Devist8or and even the Surly Bud & Lou of you have an Oregon and the fat tire fever) that might be plenty of fun ridding downhill / dropping with more volume and (for some) being lighter that the good old Duro.

Nurse Ben seems to have a lot of fun with his Devist8or.

And I am looking for a good opportunity (or some spare $$) to get a good all-around fat tire.

Promised I will post pics and a review if I can get my hands on one.

39

Silly mode on

Regular uncicycles are usually called Uni.
Moutain unicycles are called MUni.
And geared unicycles are called GUni.

Does this mean that fat unicycles are FUni ? :p:D

Silly mode off

40

Wes, you already know the answer, you ride my Conundrum before I sold it, remember??

Any tire can handle drops if the pressure is right.

Tires for downhill vary depending on the downhill, so muddy downhills are better with a deeper tread, dry rocky downhills are better with a medium tread, hard rock is better with a low sticky tread.

Fat tires are generally more stable because they have a larger contact patch, but this also tends to make them slower and harder to turn. Fat tires are also heavy, not in comparison to a Duro or Gazz which are heavy too, but in comparison to an XC tire like the Ardent.

But first you need a frame that can accomodate a fat tire…currently that would be a Conundrum, an Oregon, or a custom (Triton, Hunter, etc…)

41

This is also an option of frame, if you’re not planning on doing anything else than flat road riding… As soon as it touched the snowshoeing trail it exploded. I had the time to ride the Larry a little bit though, but I wanted to take in in the woods. :frowning:


42

that is a super good idea! to bad it didnt work

43

Have you seen the new fat tire from Vee Rubber: the Vee 8, 26"x4" tire that supposedly weighs ~1361-1404g, MSRP $85? I like the block pattern as that’s what I really liked on my KH24 (Felt Berm Master) and on my current KH26 (Maxxis Holy Roller). Too bad I already paid good money upgrading to my KH26 AND bought a Surly Neck Romancer fat bike! Perhaps someday I’ll build up a fat unicycle as I’m sure it’s as much or more of a blast than riding my fat-bike (certain situations).