I’ve recently bought a used unicycle, had to replace the tyre and inner tube.
Been practicing on it for the past four weeks and the tread on my tyre has been worn down in places where I’ve pivoted or rolled sideways.
Will need to replace it soon. What’s the best tread for a beginner whose going to thrash the rubber.
The one I have on, is a square tread, like a bumpy bmx tyre. I’ve used it on concrete and car parks. Asphalt and rough texture roads.
There is no “best” but you probably want something fairly round, smoothish, same size as your old one or a bit wider (if it will fit), and finally… inexpensive.
Cheaper tires tend to have harder rubber which lasts longer on concrete and asphalt, both of which will quickly eat up a more expensive “grippy” tire.
I’d look for something from CST or Kenda, both good low cost brands. Or really whatever your local bike shop has in stock.
Rotating your tire every once in a while can even out the wear and make them last a bit longer.
I was riding my 19" Equinox Street today. Since I’ve owned it, I’ve replaced the tire several times, each time with the same, Cyko Lite tire. The current one is getting pretty low on the tread. It has lasted, I think, longer than the previous Cyko Lites. I think this is because I’m doing less hopping on paved surfaces, less pivoting. My current tire is also wearing evenly. In past years, the patches corresponding to the 3/9 position got worn down. Maybe, since I’m not so hard on tires any more, it is time to try another tire, one with a softer rubber compound. I am improving a lot at wheel walking and wouldn’t mind having a more grippy tire for that.
Well, here is the official wheel walking tire discussion thread! The Hive 20 x 2.4 tire that I mentioned there is still working well for me. The free-range, grass-fed, sustainably-sourced, organic rubber tire recommended on that thread by Leo is probably even better, though I don’t know if either one exists in a 19-inch variety.
For Unicex, I second Saskatchewanian’s recommendation. Rotating the tire is a good way to get the maximum life out of it.
You have not said the rim size so it isn’t so easy to advise.
Some tyres apparently aren’t meant for the sharp rocks on a road surface. The one my Quax Luxus 20 came with wore out in two weeks riding on the road.
In my experience, avoid the Maxxis Ringworm. It has blocks that cross over the centreline of the tyre and always wanted to lean one way or the other but never upright.
Maxxis Hookworm is a good durable road tyre on a 20 inch but in larger diameters is reported by many as prone to being influenced by road camber.
I have a 20”.
Was wanting to know if more chunky tread like a mountain bike tyre is better or a smoother racing slick type of tread.
I just changed for the first time my Maxxis Creepy Crawler after a little over 600 hours of beginner’s practice (the hard kind).
The answer -as to any “which is best?” question that doesn’t specify what it’s supposed to be best at- is: It depends.
What do you want to do with it? Just ride around on the road/ car parks/ bikepaths? Get a smooth tire.
Some off road/trials? A bit of profile is nice.
Then it’s always a question of how much grip do you want, vs. how long you want it to last. They are not 100% related, but most softer (and grippier) tires wear quicker.
To make it last: rotate your tire on a regular basis. They tend to wear in specific places those that hit the ground when the cranks are horizontal.
I agree with the above, deflate the tube a bunch so the you can rotate the tire on the wheel, to make it last much longer. You’ll tend to wear the tire mostly at 2 positions, like you said, when you’re making the turns(and scuffing the tire on the sidewalk or pavement).
So figure out what part of the tire wore the most and rotate the tire on the wheel so the most tread left part ends up where you usually wear the tire the quickest.
I might rotate my tires about 6 times before the air shows.
Another way to change the points on the tire that are getting worn down the most is to change the position of the cranks instead of the tire. I have done it that way once or twice when I had a good crank puller and no bike pump, and my tire was at just the right pressure.