Hello to everyone, this is the first time here for me.
I own a 26" with 125mm cranks, maxxis hookworm with a downhill tube.
I use my unicycle for commuting (and for fun) on street/bikepath.
I would like to know what do you think about changing tire/tube to a lighter one and if i will get real advantage in doing so.
Could someone advise me about make/model of tire ?
i need puncture protection
thank you
cristian from italy
A lighter tyre will tend to be less cushy to ride and less forgiving on bumpby terrain that a bigger tyre would roll over easier.
For commuting though, those won’t be an issue (unless you go for exceptionally narrow tyre). IMO, for commuting, the main reason to use a lighter tyre would be if you have lots of steep hills to climb- I tend towards lighter tyres for that reason.
You coild also switch out your downhill tube for a standard 26" tube to make things a bit lighter.
All just rolling along on good surfaces? In which case you don’t need a heavy tyre, but as mentioned above, nor will there be all that huge an advantage from having a lighter one. You certainly could do worse than go for some version of a Schwalbe Marathon - there is a range of options depending on your personal trade-off between speed and durability. I have a Marathon Supreme on my 29er which is very nice - and also has the advantage of rolling very well - I’ll probably buy another to replace it with. Though the first thing is to dump the DH tube - no need for that if you’re not hitting big edges or going off drops and risking pinch flats.
thank you for the replies.
I ride only on flat (good surface), no climbs. I also ride on grass in public parks.
I think i will change only the tube and use my hookworm till it ends.
I feel that going up in tire pressure from 50psi to 60 makes road crown less difficult and little bumps in the street are easier to overcome. I feel that my tire is too bouncy at 50psi and I loose my balance over the bumps
What about marathon puncture resistance ?
I ride with a Kenda Kiniption. It’s decently voluminous and beefy, but to a lesser degree than the hookworm so it’s a bit lighter. The big downhill tube that came with my uni can be crammed into the Kiniption, but I’d recommend just buying a regular 26" tube. It’ll save more weight that way too. I find the wheel accelerates more quickly with the lighter tire. I do lots of rolling jumps and stuff and haven’t had puncture problems.
i’ve seen the geax booze light and it seems to weight 590grams for the 26x2.30 measure
do someone have tried it ?
I’ve been riding a hookworm on my 26 for commuting too (110 mm cranks) and it’s pretty heavy, I want to put a holy roller on it. I had a high roller for ages (until I tore the sidewall) and it was lighter but has a very square profile so it didn’t handle camber well.
A lighter tire with some more volume and run it tubeless…
Schwalbe has a couple tires worth looking at, Big Ben is a high volume Big Apple kind of tire, then there’s the Super Moto which is big volume and very light. If you want something a little more treaded (on the outside edges) but still fast, there’s the Sammy Slick, Furious Fred, and the Hurricane.
But before you put more money in your uni, have you considered getting a bigger wheel?
Riding a 26" wheel on the road is slow.
Thank you Ben, i’ve been thinking about a 36er but at the moment i can’t find a second hand one here.
I think a 29er is not worth the money considering only 3" more than my uni.
I never tried a 36 and i don’t know if it would be too big for my short commute (about 3,5 miles round trip) and for my skill.
at the moment i ride about 40miles a week
as Ben said i think to be too slow (my average is 6,75miles/hour, considering 2 traffic lights and 3 pedestrian road crossing going to work)
do you think a 36" is too big in the traffic ? i think i can’t ride it on the sidewalk