Hi all,
I have been considering putting a more road oriented tire on my Oracle 27.5, to reduce rolling resistance, get more frame clearance, and because my skills are not up to offroad trail riding yet,-- mostly I find myself riding around town or in and around RV camping areas we vacation at. (So mostly pavement, and some hard packed dirt trails/roads, and gravel roads/lots)
I saw a rim-tire size table that suggests I should stick to 2.8"+ tire width.
I saw @hillin mentioned he got a Surly extraterrestrial for a similar terrain mix, which looks pretty good, but the largest I found was 2.5", so not sure if it would work well with my 42mm rim.
I also saw the vee speedster comes in a 3.0", which I like the idea of the size being close to the stock 3.25 crux but with more frame clearance. However, it appears this tire doesn’t have hardly any tread, especially in the center band, which I bet rolls very nice, but I am not sure if it would be a problem where the pavement ends.
Finally I found the Shwalbe G-one allround in a 2.8", which looks like it has at least some tread, plus was about $30 cheaper than the speedster. I was leaning towards this one, but one always wonders how well it will work on a uni.
Not sure if there are any others I should be considering.
I am thankful for any advice folks have!
In my opinion you will be fine with the Surly Extraterritorial tyre. You mentioned your rim being 42mm that is probably the external measurement which will give a 33mm internal measurement.
I’m pretty Surly says it’s suitable for upto 40mm internal.
You are right, looks like 41.6 external, 33 internal, according to this:
Thanks!
I used a Schwalbe G-One Speed Evolution on my 29 for a short time. Very quick tyre, very direct response. But absolutely horrible on chambered roads. Now, not everyone experiences cambered roads the same, some may find no trouble at all, but I had to stop using it.
I ride the schwable hurricane 29 x 2.5 on my nimbus 29 road. I ride hard pack limestone and asphalt. This tire has a mild tread on the center and more aggressive on the edges,. I run 35 lb of pressure and this tire behaves quite nicely. This is the best tire I have found for the type riding you are doing. 2.5 is plenty wide, and this tire is available in 27.5. I have tried many tires and have a nice collection of ones I did not like hanging an the wall in my garage. Take my advise this is the perfect tire, you won’t be disappointed
What is your complaint the 27.5 is “hard to ride”? It is designed to be an offroad mountain tamer. One day you will have the skills to make the most of it, However, for now it can only be modified so much. It will never feel like a skinny wheel road unicycle that is easier to ride.
You have two options:
a.) Up the psi to 40. This may help.
b.) Get a 2nd skinny tire unicycle like a 29. This will be more fun/easier to ride.
The Schwalbe Super Moto X is usually popular among unicyclists. They make a 2.4 but also a 2.8.
There is also the Super Moto, aimed at eBikes originally, with stiff walls. But it comes at a price: it’s 300g heavier than the Super Moto X.
+1 for the Schwalbe Hurricane - I have it on my 26" guni and it’s noticeably quieter / smoother on road and hard pack than my previous tyres. I started with the Duro Wildlife Leopard 3" (heavy and tractor-like, clearly made for off-road, but surprisingly OK on road if you don’t mind the noise), then got a WTB Ranger 2.8 (still big, but much smoother-running and quieter - definitely a contender). I put the Hurricane on for the summer, but haven’t thought to change back yet. The smoothish tread down the centre is great for fast pedalling, then the grip at the edges works well on gravel and grass. I imagine it’s not great for real rough stuff, but it does what I need. And I’ve had no camber issues with it. Interestingly I’m not particularly faster on it than the WTB, as it is noticeably smaller on the wheel, so each revolution of the pedals takes me less far
Definitely no camber issues for me either.
Mostly my complaint is the tire knobs rub against the frame, unless I drop the pressure to about 25-26psi or less, which makes it squishy and sluggish, at least for my weight. I thought a bit easier rolling tire might help make it a little less tiring to ride, too-- and hopefully translate to longer rides and more saddle time. The biggest problem is me though, I am still riding pretty inefficiently. Some day I will get over that hump!
The Surly ET 29" definitely worked for me, it’s fast, stable and good looking. I’m not sure how does that translate to the 27.5" version, but keep in mind that in the 27.5" world there are far more choices than 29", and amongst them the ET is a very expensive one.
Thanks all for the suggestions! I really wanted to get the hurricane, but couldn’t find it any wider than 2.4. And the 2.5 ET… one if the sites recommended to use it on rims 31mm and less, which made me nervous. Then I saw mention of the WTB ranger as a contender and noticed that other folks on here made positive mention of it before too. I thought about what @slamdance said… this is a muni, and I do think my next uni will be either a 29 or 32 road uni, so I pulled the trigger on the “light and fast rolling” WTB ranger 2.8.
I am anxious to see what the difference that the lighter, smaller, smoother tire will feel like, and will also be really glad the annoying frame rub issue with the crux 3.25 that I’ve been living with should finally be gone now!
I think you’ll be happy with it - and yes, it’s certainly a good deal wider than the Hurricane
I love the Schwalbe Rocket Ron 27.5x 3.0
For me he is the best of both worlds. Rolls absolutely brilliantly, steers very well and you can absolutely drive it off-road. Unfortunately Schwalbe no longer produces 3.0 tires, but I think the 2.8 version will be similar.
Well I shied away from the ET due to seeing the recommendation here saying max 30mm
However I also noticed that UDC’s Nimbus 29 road unicycle has the same Dominator 42mm rim as the munis, and sell it with a 2.0 tire on it, so I bet both the 2.4 hurricane and 2.5 ET would have been just fine too. Oh well, I have a feeling I will be happy with the WTB ranger too.
Got the WTB ranger 27.5 x 2.8 in the mail, mounted it and gave it a try… wow what a difference in appearance and ride! It feels like I dropped a wheel size. It shaved 288g of rotating mass, looks noticeably smaller, rolls noticeably smoother, feels far more responsive for turning and getting moving after mounting, and I now have tons of frame clearance with no more tire rubbing.
I should have done this a while ago!
After:
Before:
Now get out there and ride. He He He.
My old Schwinn had no knobs on the tire whatsoever. The tire was very smooth overall. It had a center rib that was flat and about 5/8" wide. A bunch of tiny flat ribs emanating outward and a crosshatch pattern on the sidewall. It handled hard packed dirt and the street smooth as silk. You may want to reconsider running a knobby at all. If you don’t need one, you don’t need. Knobby’s have a lot of roll resistance over time and distance on smooth surfaces. I live in the country now and got myself a mountain uni a while back. I ride on hard packed roads and kinda like the traction of the knobby on a sharp turn. Aside from that they don’t contribute to the ride. I broke a finger in spring and had problems with my eyes this year didn’t ride. Your post got me to thinking about my tire. I’ll probably replace the tire before spring arrives and see how a smooth one works out for me. I’m not going to be doing difficult trail riding that requires extreme traction. Enjoy the ride however it works for you.
Wow, I am surprised that worked out well on the hard pack, it looks slippery (so do those pedals!) Unis have come a long way!
Yes I was really thinking about non-knobby at first, but thinking about @slamdance 's response about it being a muni (and that’s what I really dream of doing… I watch Ryan Kremsater Finnspin, and Markus Buchel videos, dream big dreams, then I ride 400-600m on pavement and dismount exhausted just before I feel my legs will fail me, LOL). I think I will just get a 29er road uni with a nice road tire some time later when I can cover more ground.
N+1 heh heh!
Before deciding on a smoother rolling knobby, really liked the look of the tread on the G one allround
But i was afraid it might not work well on a uni without seeing anyone here who tried and liked it. I don’t want to start a collection of tires I tried and didn’t like 
I really do like the ranger so far. I noticed several times where i probably would have a UPD from an awkward take off with the old tire where i sort of lose momentum or cannot correct fast enough, with this one, I was able to save it and get going (just like it was a smaller wheel size) It is also a bit closer to the ground, so it feels a little more confidence inspiring.
It’s been over 40 years since I had the Schwinn so I got the photos from the internet. I don’t have any myself, I don’t think the white pedals came original. In this image you’ll see the originals. They were rubber and your feet stuck to them pretty good. I rode barefoot a lot. They were very comfortable on bare feet. I can’t find bare-footing pedals these days. I’m not sure it’s a great idea for 64 year old feet to be jumping off Uni’s onto gravel, etc. LOL. I like the looks of the tire you shared, its almost dead smooth with a hint of bite if required. Rubber has a lot of natural grip to it. I rode in the winter. Not across smooth ice much but I have, packed snow is less suicidal and I doubt a knobby would help much. I rode on cleared roads and sidewalks primarily. Now I’m a fair weather rider, if its a nice day, great. Its a good day for a ride.
