Recommendations for 29" tire for road/pavement/street

Unicycles and Equipment
12

Thanks Tom. Let me ask a follow up question, and forgive me for my ignorance, but is “profile” a technical term or an informal one? And does it refer to the tread or the actual shape of the tire as a whole?

I ask in part out of an interest in understanding these matters but also because the Michelin tire I have just returned, though narrow, had what I would call from a casual observer’s perspective a decidedly unsquare profile yet was very sensitive to the crown. So I’m trying to understand what to look for in the “profile” and if, perhaps, this tire was just too narrow regardless of the profile to be a decent one for unicycling. Thanks.

13

How about “cross-section” instead of profile? Is that more to your liking? The cross-section is what Tom was referring to. Take the tire and cut it in half like you were sharing a donut with someone (although I realize that it’s difficult for you to share something so valuable). Now look into the donut perpendicular to the surface you have just cut. That’s the cross-sectional view.

14

As the lovely Harper notes, I’m talking about the cross-section. However, there can be other factors. For example, some Michelin tires have different tread compounds in the center of the tire instead of the edge; that can have an effect. Or, a tire tread pattern which has a center ridge tends to be bad.

15

Thank you Tom.

16

29x2.0 tires popping off 42mm rim

I’m a bit late to this conversation but having the road tire blow off my new 29" Oracle with the 42mm rim put me to searching the forums for help! When I ordered it I asked UDC to put the Big Apple 29x2.0 on for road riding. I have been very happy riding a Big Apple 26x2.35 on my 26" wheel so ordered one for the 29er. The new tire is rated up to 70psi, so I inflated to 65, and later that night I heard a loud bang (thought someone broke into the house!) which was the tube popping after the tire bead popped off the rim. I replaced the tube and slowly inflated to 40psi and I can see how the bead is getting pushed off the rim. I’ve read about this phenomenon in other threads (Tire options on KH-29).

My questions are: Will this be an issue with every 2.0" tire I put on my rim (such as the Marathon Supreme)? Will this happen (or be less likely to happen) if I get the 29x2.15 or the 29x2.35 Big Apple? I like to ride at higher pressures for speed/efficiency.

18

It will be less likely to happen with the larger tires. I think the 2.35 BA would be fine on that rim, you might be able to get by with the 2.15 tire. In other threads people have commented that the 2.35 BA tire is more sensitive to road crown versus the 2.0 BA. However, if that hasn’t been an issue for you on the 26x2.35, then I wouldn’t expect it to be on the 29 either. Even with a bigger tire you might want to try lower pressure. Schwalbe claims that their “balloon” tires, such as the BA, roll as well at 2 Bar (~30psi) as a 37mm tire rolls at 4 Bar (~60psi).

A 42mm rim is wider than you really want for a 2" tire, especially at high pressure. This post mentions two different Schwalbe 2.0" tires blowing off the even narrower (38mm) Kris Holm 29" XC Rim at 70 psi.

The ETRTO compatibility chart below indicates that the recommended rim size for a 2.0" (50mm) tire is between 17mm to 27mm inside rim width. (Measurement B in the diagram.) Add 5-7mm to account for the bead hooks/sidewalls and you are looking at a 24mm to 34mm rim. Granted, the ETRTO recommendations will be somewhat conservative, but perhaps that’s because they have to consider tire/rim combinations that will be run at high pressure as well as low. (The chart and diagram are from here.)

Martin

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rim_dimensions.jpg

19

wow, a timely post.

I have a KH29 with a standard rim size. I gave up trying to put my BA 2.0 on, though I managed to ride it a bit and had no problem with road crown, and I loved it.

A few times of the tire popping of the rim made me give up the idea. Really scary.

So, I was thinking of getting a road wheel build for my 29, basically an Oracle set up, which UDC assured me would take the BA 2.0, but this is making me wonder about that. I don’t want the BA 2.35, I want the 2.0.

What are my other choices for getting a road wheel build for my KH29 and my BA 2.0, preferably with disc brakes, since my KH29 has an Oracle hub with disc brakes.

20

If you’re building a road specific wheel, why not use a MTB rim? There are plenty of 36 hole rims that will support a 2" tire and lace to an Oracle hub. I have a road wheel using a Velocity Dyad (24mm wide).

21

yeah, the velocity rim sounds like a good idea. They don’t sell them at UDC, and I don’t want to build it myself.

Should I get all the parts from UDC, order the rim elsewhere and have an LBS build it?

22

I run a Sun Ringle MTX33 which is a nice medium width rim and pretty light, it would suite 2" road tyre nicely

I have a oracle hub on mine as well

braided_hose.JPG

23

Fiesty: I see you have a mountain bike tire on there. What width is that tire? Why did you go with the narrower rim? Do you swap out a road tire?

As far as getting the wheel built, I guess I would need to order all parts from UDC and the rim from elsewhere and have it built at an LBS?

How does this rim compare against the velocity?

24

I’m glad you picked up on this thread. I read your posts in the other thread and I thought about posting there too but I figured you’d probably see this one when I bumped it.

Like davidp said, most any MTB rim would probably be suitable. In the size range I mentioned you have the Dyad (24mm), Sun Ryno Lite (27.4mm) and Rhyno Lite XL (29.2mm), Sun MTX 31 or the 33 that Feisty uses, on up to a Salsa Gordo (35mm). There are many other rims available that would work. Even in this size range a wider rim will give you more tire spread. I read on another forum that a 2.0 Marathon Supreme measured 44mm wide on a Dyad and 48mm wide on a Gordo. I measured 46mm wide, with the same model tire, on a Rhyno Lite. I would expect the same results with the BA 2.0 and the same general benefit from a wider rim; comparable stability at slightly lower pressures.

UDC still carries the KH XC rim that I previously linked. At 38mm wide (probably 31 to 33mm inside width) it is still a little bigger than ETRTO guidelines. But it is still closer than the 42mm rim, and much closer than the 47mm rim. It probably does ok with a 2 inch tire at 45-55 psi as opposed to the 70psi blow offs mentioned previously. I found another thread from 2009 about a BA 2.0 tire blowing off a KH rim. He mentions, at the end of the thread, that Schwalbe replaced his BA 2.0 with a 2.35 and told him that the rim was too big for a two inch tire. It doesn’t say which KH rim he was using so I sent the OP of that thead a PM asking about it. I am very curious to find out if it was the 38mm XC rim though I suspect it was the Freeride.

The 2009 thread I mentioned also brings up the fact, and I have read this elsewhere, that blowing a tire off the rim may damage the tire. This can make it more prone to blowing off, even at lower pressures than the original failure. If the tire always starts slipping in the same place it may be correctable with a little rim cement. I might also be corrected by moving the tire to a narrower rim.

As far as having UDC build your wheel… Call and talk to someone in the service department. Ask if you could drop ship a rim directly to them and then buy the remaining parts and the build from them. I am pretty sure they do custom work, Nurse Ben’s 32" wheel was built by UDC on a rim that he provided.

25

I built a new 700c wheel for my kh 29er, and it has become one of my very favorite unicycles! I use it for steep road climbing only, and it weighs in at a scant 11.5 pounds! I used the Velocity Dyad rim and resist nomad tire. It’s the perfect combination.

dyad.jpg

26

I run a resist nomad (700x45) on a kh xc 38mm rim. It works great. I don’t run really high pressure, only 45-50 psi. I have hundreds of miles with no problems so far. It does crown a bit but nothing unmanagable. I haven’t tried any of the schwalbe tires so I have little to compare it with other than a kenda small block 8 I used to ride on the road. The nomad seems to be a great uni tire, I’m surprised it doesn’t get more mention. Resist is an awful name for a tire company though.

27

I just ordered the Schwalbe “Big Ben” from Rivendell - click the link to read their description and review:

http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/tben.htm

I’ll post a review!

28

Great info- thanks for posting it!
Well I’ve replaced the tube and super-carefully mounted the tire and inflated, this time only to 55psi (max rating 70 on the BA 29x2.0). Rode 8 miles yesterday without any problems but I have to say I am a little paranoid that it’s going to blow at an inopportune time (not sure what an opportune time would be), and also paranoid about rim damage and self damage that might happen. I guess I might try the 29x2.15 if I have another blowout, but keeping my fingers crossed.

There really are not many wide road tires at the 29" size!

29

So I heard back from the OP of that 2009 thread, wdunicyclist. He said that he was running the 38mm wide KH XC rim (D’Oh!) and he had the tire at 65psi. He also suggested the DT Swiss TK540, a heavy touring/e-bike rim, as a good choice for a 700c commuter.

Looking forward to your review. Are you getting the 50mm or the 55mm and what rim do you have?

30

Thanks for all of the great info here and in subsequent posts. I’ve been doing okay so far (10 miles anyway) with the BA 29x2.0 on my 42mm Oracle rim with it inflated to 55psi. Another blow-off the rim and I will try the 2.15" width which would be cheaper than building a new rim. I guess the fundamental issue is a good wide street slick 29" tire is not a tire that there is a big market for.

31

Maxxis Torch 29 X 2.10

I recently put a road tyre on my KH29 which I had bought second hand with an off road tyre. The rim is 38 mm wide (outside). The tyre I chose is not mentioned in the same page as unicycle anywhere on the Internet let alone this site.

I have now covered about 50 km on the Maxxis Torch 29 X 2.10. The version I bought has a wire bead and weighs 770 grams but I can’t find that exact model on the Maxxis site.

I don’t know how well it would go on a wider rim but I love it on mine.

It is a very easy tyre to fit. No force required to get the bead over the rim. Indeed it tended to fall off the rim until there was bit of pressure in it.

Riding away, the immediate impression is its incredibly low rolling resistance probably mainly due to a hard straight centre section of tread about 14 mm wide. I know that many uni riders are suspicious of tyres with longitudinal changes of tread but there is no problem at all with the Torch. The transition onto the side treads in a lean is completely smooth.

The quality of the ride is also quickly evident. I started with it at 50 psi and have dropped to about 45 psi. (I am about 85kg.) It responds very precisely and predictably to direction changes with no sign of squish.

The grip on hard surfaces is excellent and held on through anything I could manage to ride, though I have yet to try it in the wet. I was also surprised by how stable it remains while traversing road discontinuities at acute angles. Many tyres will noticeably jump in such circumstances.

Most of my riding experience has been on a KH 26 with a 48 mm wide (outside) rim sporting a Maxxis DTH 26 x 2.15 tyre. The 29 with the Torch is even less prone to road crown than that uni. Perhaps it is the narrower rim?

While taking it on the first test ride, looking for some different surfaces and not really paying attention to where I was, I suddenly found myself on Barnby Street, Murwillumbah, crossing the top of William Street which meets it at a 24 percent grade. Had I anticipated it, I would certainly have stayed near the middle of the road well away from the slope. Hard to say the actual camber angle on the line I took but it is definitely generous as it transitions immediately to the 24 percent slope. Realising that if I panicked, I could easily end up heading down the steep hill and falling to the low side I kept my focus and crossed. It is a test I probably wouldn’t choose to repeat but I am very impressed by this tyre’s performance on camber.

If you like riding your 29 fast on the road with lightweight tyres then give the Maxxis Torch a try. I doubt you will find a faster tyre both from its low rolling resistance and excellent ride.

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32

Found out the hard way that the Maxxis Torch has no grip through fine waterlogged silt on concrete. To be fair I think any tyre would have slipped out under the circumstance.

Riding in cruise mode, not paying attention. At night, in the shadow of the bridge, should have had the high beam on a higher setting and definitely should not have been doing 12 kph when I hit the flick in the path. Forgot about the rain the previous night.

Straight down onto my hip. The bruise was big and very colourful. Really glad of my thick hip pads.

I have put the pressure up to 55 psi because I realised it was buckling a bit under heavy torque and I was losing some control and feel.

Rolling even faster and the ride is still great.

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