Kenda NPJ 24x2.1" tire
For street use on a Nimbus Muni. Can only afford one uni, but want the benefit of being able to ride on both kinds of terrain?
Any other suggestions on tires?
Not sure of your location but the Felt Berm Master 24x3 works very well as a multi-use tire. See this thread for more about the tire: 24x3 Felt Berm Master Tire
any opinions
I’ve check into the Felt Berm Master and it looks to be a good all-around tire from the reviews (Thanks davidp)…
I’m wondering, as I’m new to this, if the wider 3" Felt tire will be better for me as a beginner compared to the thinner Kenda.
Thanks for any insights on this…
The Kenda is no doubt a lighter tire, and that could be a small benefit. I didn’t find the 3" tire to be a problem at all. It is hard to find a tire that works well on and off road. While the narrower tire may be good on the road, you will want to have more volume and cushion on the trail.
So, to take this back to the original post. The kenda tire you are asking about looks like it may be a nice pavement tire, but I’m not speaking from experience. Your MUni came with a Duro tire that is a very capable off road tire. If you don’t mind changing your tire every time you want to switch between road/offroad the Kenda is probably a good tread to add to your tire quiver. If you would rather have one tire that lives on your MUni, and be able to take it on the street, as well as off road the Berm Master is probably the best out there at the moment.
does wider = more stability?
Aside from the tire usage differences… It would seem that a wider tire would aide in stability. Any thoughts here? It’s 2.1" vs. 3"… does it really matter in this regard?
Secondly, and somewhat off topic, I’m wondering if anyone experiences a “side to side” movement of the tire while riding. In other words, if looking at the tire head-on, an observer would see the tire “roll” from side to side under the rim. The tire I’m riding on is inflated to full pressure, but it seems to have this rolling effect from side to side.
Which bring me to my next question… do tires come in varying Max. psi ratings, thus affecting the firmness?
There may be a bit more stability with a wider tire, but it’s good to remember that a unicycle is inherently unstable. My oppinion is that tire profile, sidwall strength, and pressure have more of an influence on stability.
Tires do come in different pressure ratings, and sometimes they are worth following. If you are rolling your tire it could mean that you are running too low a pressure, or that you have too narrow a rim for the tire. Since it’s a Nimbus Muni I can say that you have a decently wide rim to support a 3" tire without rolling at full pressure. There are a few reasons you may not want to follow the rated pressure for a tire. First, if you are on the trail the rated pressure is almost always too high. It’s a good idea to test different pressures until you have something that lets you ride your favorite trail without bottoming out. On the road different tires behave better or worse with different pressures. It’s a problem that is most revealing when there is a pronounced camber in the road.
That looks like a great tire for a geared 24" unicycle that is used on the street but I am not so sure as a multi-purpose tire.
One tire that is well proven to be great on pavement and better than you would think off-road (as long as there is no mud) is the Maxxis Hookworm. The big strike against the hookworm is its weight but it has really nice round profile and very thick sidewalls which allow you to run lower pressures without losing tire stability.
On the subject of tire stability, the Duro tire is a super stable tire for its size and has a bead-lock/protector thing built in to the casing which needs to be over the rim to work. If you are seeing the tire wobble side to side there is a chance that the bead isn’t properly seated or your rim is badly bent. Both should be pretty obvious if you spin your wheel and look for the wobble.
yeah that bead lock thing is just a wide lip on the casing before the bead which sits on the outside of the rim ive allways wondered what its for ?