Has anyone had any experience using “hybrid” tyres - smooth in the middle, knobbly at the edges - on a uni? I’m looking to build a nimble, cross-country and road-capable 26" uni, and am thinking of a tyre something like one of these:
are these gonna work ok, or am I gonna end up with horrendous tyre-wants-to-follow-the-camber problems like on the Nimbus 29er (due to the Schwalbe Big Apple 2.35")?
I can’t speak for particular tires, as your riding experience may vary. But one basic principle is that unicycles don’t “roll” like bikes. We zig-zag around more, so ride quality might not be what you would get on a bike. My guess is that you’d get best results with your third link:
But that one might have the least-flat center section, which means it may tend to pull to either side. The first two examples look “flatter,” but they also look like they’d have poor traction on dirt.
I never noticed that problem with my Big Apple, but I haven’t put too many miles on it. I have noticed it on my Coker, trying to ride around Lake Tahoe on skinny, no-shoulder roads with traffic. Apparently learning to handle the camber is an acquired skill, as Nathan and Beau attest…
In general, a word about “hybrid” stuff. I have a hybrid bike, a Miyata Triplecross. Great bike, very well made, spiral-splined, triple-butted tubing in the frame, nice components, etc. But due to its cross-purpose intent, it makes a slow road bike and a weak (skinny) mountain bike. That’s what you get. Fortunately it’s perfect for commuting. But a hybrid is generally going to be a compromise of some sort.
Try Bontrager Jones XR. It almost elimates camber crawl but you need to run it at low pressure. I have reviewed it in the product review section.
There is also the Maxxis Holy Roller, and the similar DMR Moto RT, which are good all rounders for tarmac and trail. I have tried the Holy Roller and it definitely reduces crawl but does not get rid of it altogether, but then I don’t think any tyre does. Mikefule has written plenty about the Holy Roller.
The “camber problem” on the nimbus is that the wheel seems to want to be perpendicular to the road underneath it - so you end up riding with your body leant way way over to compensate, which makes it pretty hard to do much, but as you say, an acquired skill - and it seems to want to steer down the camber…I don’t know whether this is because the tyre is round or flat, high pressure or low (tho my 20*2.1 The Wall didn’t suffer from it nearly as much) and guess that’s what I’m trying to find out…
Well, any unicycle is a compromise, no? I mean, the Nimbus 29er is great for going in a straight line due to the huge heavy tyre, but it has this camber problem, and it’s neither nimble nor easily portable - but, more so than a coker…the 80mm-cranked 20" uni I rode 20+ miles on before is still small, agile, easily to hop and idle, but doesn’t have anywhere near the wheel mass or speed.
My bike is a Thorn Raven Sport Tour - an 853 steel-framed fast but rugged tourer; 26*1.75 Panaracer Pasela semi-slick tyres. It’s superb; not as fast as a road bike, no, but indestructible and takes anything you throw at it - an enormous virtue on many of Britain’s shoddy roads; not as good as a mountain bike, no, as anything technical’s probably out - but I’ve done some fairly rough ground on it all right. It’s versatile. And one bike to go anywhere, do anything, is awesome - you’ve got to get to and from those beaten off-road tracks somehow…
So ymmv, obviously - I guess what I’m aiming for is a unicycle like that bike. When shiftable geared uni’s come down in price, maybe I can do better that way, but in the meantime…
Thanks to Andy for the recommendations, however - those do look like good options - and to both of you for your input and expertise. It’s very helpful (even if you can’t speak for those particular tyres, of course!)
Why do you say 700? One of the attractions of 26" is the enormous choice of tyres, particularly chunky ones; there are a few 700C ones but not nearly as many. Of course, a choice of tyres isn’t really relevant—what matters is whether there is even one tyre that’s good enough for what you want to do with it…
I’m not sure about the Bontrager Jones XC - it doesn’t look very slick at all so I find it hard to believe it’s as smooth or as good on tarmac as others??? Can you recommend any good "similar cross type tire"s ? TIA!
Most people who do long distances on 29ers, including me, find the Big Apple to be the best 29er tire for roads, and don’t have significant issues with camber. Make sure you’re pumping it up enough.
Belive me it works well on and off road. It’s not really knobbly, the central treads are only about 2mm tall like any traditional bike tyre so it rides well. If you pump it hard it is a bit twitchy, but I ride it at about 25psi (approx: I have a cheapo pump with a guage on it) and it rides straight even on severe camber. Off road it’s great.
The other hybrids I metioned are specifically designed for street and trail riding and have a round profile, again, the tread is flat so it’s stiff and they don’t squirm around like knobblies, they behave like a road tyre. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=3244
