The 406 Fat Tire thread
02-06-18, 11:05 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
The 406 Fat Tire thread
This thread is dedicated to ISO406 (20") tires that nominally are no less than two inches (51cm) wide.
I'll get the ball rolling with the Maxxis Grifter 20x2.10
I'll get the ball rolling with the Maxxis Grifter 20x2.10
Last edited by Abu Mahendra; 02-07-18 at 04:59 PM.
02-08-18, 10:27 AM
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Presently running Box Hex lab 20x1.95 (50mm) tires on my folder and they are awesome. I have about 1000 miles (mix of road/gravel/trail) on this rear box tire and should get at least another 1000 out of it. The front one shows very little wear. They are about 320grams. Superlight and very supple. The bike rolls like a dream with 35lbs in the tires (I weigh 160).
Most BMX tires “thud” as they bump over stuff; these tires bounce. I roll faster and the comfort factor is huge. Coarse gravel and chip seal roads are much more easily ridden with them. If you try tires like these, it’s hard to go back to the usual stiff tires.
I have been on the lookout for really nice 20” (406) tires for many years now; something of the quality of the Compass ultralight tires. The KHE Mac 2 “park” tire 20x2.30, 58mm, 360grams) s a plump superlight kevlar reinforced tire I would like to try some day. They seem to be available only in England. BMX riders complain that they don’t last long, but those doing conventional riding may find them to have an acceptable lifespan.
Most BMX tires “thud” as they bump over stuff; these tires bounce. I roll faster and the comfort factor is huge. Coarse gravel and chip seal roads are much more easily ridden with them. If you try tires like these, it’s hard to go back to the usual stiff tires.
I have been on the lookout for really nice 20” (406) tires for many years now; something of the quality of the Compass ultralight tires. The KHE Mac 2 “park” tire 20x2.30, 58mm, 360grams) s a plump superlight kevlar reinforced tire I would like to try some day. They seem to be available only in England. BMX riders complain that they don’t last long, but those doing conventional riding may find them to have an acceptable lifespan.
02-08-18, 07:17 PM
#3
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Those things look a lot bigger than 50mm. At 320g they must be feather-weight in terms of durability and/or puncture resistance.
Presently running Box Hex lab 20x1.95 (50mm) tires on my folder and they are awesome. I have about 1000 miles (mix of road/gravel/trail) on this rear box tire and should get at least another 1000 out of it. The front one shows very little wear. They are about 320grams. Superlight and very supple. The bike rolls like a dream with 35lbs in the tires (I weigh 160).
Most BMX tires “thud” as they bump over stuff; these tires bounce. I roll faster and the comfort factor is huge. Coarse gravel and chip seal roads are much more easily ridden with them. If you try tires like these, it’s hard to go back to the usual stiff tires.
I have been on the lookout for really nice 20” (406) tires for many years now; something of the quality of the Compass ultralight tires. The KHE Mac 2 “park” tire 20x2.30, 58mm, 360grams) s a plump superlight kevlar reinforced tire I would like to try some day. They seem to be available only in England. BMX riders complain that they don’t last long, but those doing conventional riding may find them to have an acceptable lifespan.
Most BMX tires “thud” as they bump over stuff; these tires bounce. I roll faster and the comfort factor is huge. Coarse gravel and chip seal roads are much more easily ridden with them. If you try tires like these, it’s hard to go back to the usual stiff tires.
I have been on the lookout for really nice 20” (406) tires for many years now; something of the quality of the Compass ultralight tires. The KHE Mac 2 “park” tire 20x2.30, 58mm, 360grams) s a plump superlight kevlar reinforced tire I would like to try some day. They seem to be available only in England. BMX riders complain that they don’t last long, but those doing conventional riding may find them to have an acceptable lifespan.
Last edited by Abu Mahendra; 02-08-18 at 08:35 PM.
02-08-18, 08:34 PM
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02-09-18, 08:28 AM
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/DUO-HIGH-ST...72.m2749.l2649
not light weight i'm sure, and nothing fancy, but I ride on the beach and on dirt trails on occasion, or to the store for a beer and Dorito run. and i'm no lightweight myself at 230lbs, so gram counting is no big deal for me. I slapped them on my cheap vilano urbano single speed. (let the flaming begin..)
not light weight i'm sure, and nothing fancy, but I ride on the beach and on dirt trails on occasion, or to the store for a beer and Dorito run. and i'm no lightweight myself at 230lbs, so gram counting is no big deal for me. I slapped them on my cheap vilano urbano single speed. (let the flaming begin..)
02-09-18, 09:05 AM
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/DUO-HIGH-ST...72.m2749.l2649
not light weight i'm sure, and nothing fancy, but I ride on the beach and on dirt trails on occasion, or to the store for a beer and Dorito run. and i'm no lightweight myself at 230lbs, so gram counting is no big deal for me. I slapped them on my cheap vilano urbano single speed. (let the flaming begin..)
not light weight i'm sure, and nothing fancy, but I ride on the beach and on dirt trails on occasion, or to the store for a beer and Dorito run. and i'm no lightweight myself at 230lbs, so gram counting is no big deal for me. I slapped them on my cheap vilano urbano single speed. (let the flaming begin..)
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02-09-18, 09:10 AM
#9
Part-time epistemologist
There were 20x2.0" Primo Comets. But there was a lot of dishonesty in tire sizing at the time. I'd be surprised if they were close to 50 mm.
20 x 1.75" Primo Comets at the time measured really close to 39 mm (from memory).
20 x 1.75" Primo Comets at the time measured really close to 39 mm (from memory).
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A narrative on bicycle driving.
A narrative on bicycle driving.
02-09-18, 09:11 AM
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65 PSI and comfy ride. I like simple and cheap. it's a beach thing.
03-02-18, 01:46 PM
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I ordered the KHE MAC 2 "park" tires 20 x 2.3. They arrived from Germany in about 2 weeks. They are supposed to weigh 360 grams. I don't have a scale, but they sure feel light. The sidewalls feel like rubberized parchment. The tread wraps further around the tire compared to the Box tire. With shipping, the pair came to $102.
khetire.jpg
The label reads 55mm, so they are narrower than what was depicted on their webpage. After mounting and inflating I measured them at 52mm (both width and height from rim) when inflated on the Box 27mm wide rim.
Not as big as I was hoping for but quite a cushy ride, nonetheless. I can use less air in these tires; 20psi front; 25psi rear on dirt/gravel/ in the rough stuff. 40psi on pavement works well. They are more robust than the Box tire, and weigh about 40 grams more.
khetire.jpg
The label reads 55mm, so they are narrower than what was depicted on their webpage. After mounting and inflating I measured them at 52mm (both width and height from rim) when inflated on the Box 27mm wide rim.
Not as big as I was hoping for but quite a cushy ride, nonetheless. I can use less air in these tires; 20psi front; 25psi rear on dirt/gravel/ in the rough stuff. 40psi on pavement works well. They are more robust than the Box tire, and weigh about 40 grams more.
Last edited by sleepycactus; 03-15-18 at 10:10 PM.
03-15-18, 10:01 PM
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OK for the big tires here are a couple of them that may or may not fit your folder. They probably won't fit, but it never hurts to check!
2tires.jpg
These tires are as big as you can get, without going to a "mid-fat" category, where you need to use disc brakes (linear pull brakes won't have enough clearance) and a BB wider than 68mm (for chain clearance at the rear tire).
One is the Cult AK tire at 2.5" wide. It has the flower pattern on the tread.
The other is the Demolition momentum 2.35" tire.
Both can be found at BMX shops or online.
They have slightly different shapes; the Cult is more peaked, while the Demolition is flatter on top. They have slightly different riding characteristics. I like them both.
Here are my measurements, inflated at 30psi on a 406-32mm wide rim (Sun Big ******):
Cult:60mm wide, 56mm tall;
Demolition: 58mm wide, 55mm tall.
On a narrower rim like a Velocity (24mm) or Sun CR18 (22mm) the inflated width is about 2mm less.
The Demolition Momentum is advertised as the lightest steel wire beaded big-sized BMX tire out there. It is quite light at 20 ounces.
The Cult is currently the only one available in the 2.5 width, and it is the fattest. There is plenty of air in it (and the Demolition momentum) to bounce off of rocks on.
2tires.jpg
These tires are as big as you can get, without going to a "mid-fat" category, where you need to use disc brakes (linear pull brakes won't have enough clearance) and a BB wider than 68mm (for chain clearance at the rear tire).
One is the Cult AK tire at 2.5" wide. It has the flower pattern on the tread.
The other is the Demolition momentum 2.35" tire.
Both can be found at BMX shops or online.
They have slightly different shapes; the Cult is more peaked, while the Demolition is flatter on top. They have slightly different riding characteristics. I like them both.
Here are my measurements, inflated at 30psi on a 406-32mm wide rim (Sun Big ******):
Cult:60mm wide, 56mm tall;
Demolition: 58mm wide, 55mm tall.
On a narrower rim like a Velocity (24mm) or Sun CR18 (22mm) the inflated width is about 2mm less.
The Demolition Momentum is advertised as the lightest steel wire beaded big-sized BMX tire out there. It is quite light at 20 ounces.
The Cult is currently the only one available in the 2.5 width, and it is the fattest. There is plenty of air in it (and the Demolition momentum) to bounce off of rocks on.
04-11-18, 06:38 PM
#13
Senior Member
Schwalbe Big Ben 55-406 on Downtube 8FH
I managed to stuff 2.15” wide (55-406) Big Bens onto my Downtube 8FH under 60mm wide fenders. There is very little clearance between the fenders and the tires. The Axiom fenders came with cheap iron fender stays. I replaced the stays with SKS stainless steel ones with safety breakaways. Would post pics but I don’t have 10 posts yet.
As an aside, the Big Bens have REALLY soft (and thin) sidewalls. Guess that’s where the cushioning come from. They are, by far, the easiest tires I have ever mounted. No tire levers required. Hey! I can save some weight and stop carrying tire levers around...
But the next time around I think I’ll actually go down to 2.00” wide (50-406) Big Apples. Gives just a wee bit more cleraance (Schwalbe doesn’t make Big Bens in 50-406).
The other thing is, the Downtube 8FH rims are only 19mm wide inside (24.3mm outside). I’m wondering if the Big Ben’s width will change if I put them on wider rims, say around 23-24mm?
As an aside, the Big Bens have REALLY soft (and thin) sidewalls. Guess that’s where the cushioning come from. They are, by far, the easiest tires I have ever mounted. No tire levers required. Hey! I can save some weight and stop carrying tire levers around...
But the next time around I think I’ll actually go down to 2.00” wide (50-406) Big Apples. Gives just a wee bit more cleraance (Schwalbe doesn’t make Big Bens in 50-406).
The other thing is, the Downtube 8FH rims are only 19mm wide inside (24.3mm outside). I’m wondering if the Big Ben’s width will change if I put them on wider rims, say around 23-24mm?
