Looking for tire recommendations
 

I bought a cheap 29” BCA bike for my 17 year old son. As a side note, out of desperation during the pandemic, I also bought him a Mongoose. He likes the BCA much better.

He is riding it daily and has seriously depleted the rear tire treads. I want to get some new ones for him. He currently has 29x2.25 tires on the bike. He rides almost exclusively on the roads (asphalt). I don’t plan on running tubeless and my concerns are good traction, flat resistance and longevity. A reflective sidewall would be a plus, but not a necessity. He uses the bike for point A to B transportation and doesn’t need a super lightweight tire.

Any recommendations would be appreciated. I don’t have a problem spending a few bucks for something decent. However, I’m not looking for a $100 tire on a $150 bike.

Thanks

John

What area do you live in, and does he ride year round?

We live on Long Island , NY . He will also ride in the winter, but hopefully not if we have snow.

Schwalbe Big Apple fits all those characteristics. My bicycles all use narrower tires but my unicycle has the Big Apple and I like it.

Edit: The Big Apple doesn't have puncture protection. For that, you could consider the Big Ben, also by Schwalbe. The largest one is 50mm though, a little narrower than 2.25.

The Schwalbe Almotion comes in 2.15 width, probably more expensive but, is a highly rated touring tire.

I just looked that up . It appears there are a few models in the Big Apple. I see a Marathon HS and a RaceGuard RLX. Is one more appropriate for his use than the other?

Ok, thanks. Let me check the Big Ben.

Big Apple w/Raceguard RLX is new to me. It seems to be the regular Big Apple model now though, actually. The Marathon is a different tire but does also come in 50mm width.

I just found the Schwalbe 2021 catalog:
https://www.schwalbetires.com/sites/...21_English.pdf

Has an interesting new tire called the Super Moto, in 2.40 width.

Take a look at the chaoyang kestrel. You can go a little thinner like 1.75

If he's riding the bike on the road, then get road tires. The Continental GP Four Seasons are a good all-year tire - about $35 each. 700x32c will fit the "29er" rims. Keep in mind, if you go from a 2.2" off-road tire to a 32c road tire you will need different tubes. Also, the 2.2 probably has a Schrader valve whereas most tubes for 32c will have Presta valves. However, Continental does make a long-stem road tube with a Schrader valve.

Going from a 2.25/57mm tire to a 32mm tire is a huge jump. Might require narrower rims to accommodate the narrower tires.

I only suggested it because I made the same change on my Marlin 5 this summer when I repurposed it from a crap mountain bike into a crap road bike. The tire change alone made a 2mph difference and made the bike handle a lot better through turns. I eventually got a proper road bike and put 40c Terra Speeds on the bike.

These all sound like options worthy of checking into. My problem is two fold. I understand and value the placement of the proper tire on a bike.
I am actually a tire guy. Just not with two wheel vehicles. By profession , I am a manager in the automotive tire industry. I know if you put the wrong tire on a 1,000 HP streetcar you are going to have less traction than you would with a 500HP setup and an appropriate tire. The same goes for off-road tires on pickups and SUVs. My hobby is ATV riding. Tires are significantly important their also.

Using that logic, I want to find the right balance (no pun intended) for my sons bicycle tires. The problem is I can teach classes on car, truck and SUV tires all day long , glance at a tire and tell you if it is appropriate for your application. I can also hold my own with ATV and UTV tire selection. I just don’t know enough about bicycle tires to make an informed decision.

My get tells me to stay with something around the same width (2.25) to avoid issues with rim and tube compatibility.

My instinct was pointing me to buy these on Amazon. I’m not finding these tires at the prices mentioned there. I was also intrigued with what I heard about the Continental Black Chile compound. Should I be for a kid that rides 10 miles a day near home?

There are charts for tire/rim width compatibility this page and others. SheldonBrown .com has one, I just don't have the specific page address offhand. Maybe someone else can tell you how to measure the interior width of the rim.

Check that Schwalbe catalog in the sections for Touring and Urban tires, pages 19-31. Big Apple, Big Ben Plus, etc would be the closest in your criteria. I have no affiliation, other than as a satisfied customer.

UniversalCycles .com is a good place to buy bicycle stuff. I have no affiliation with them other than as a satisfied customer.

I rode Big Apples for ten years, wore through three sets of tires. Rotated them and kept going until the casing showed through the tread. Zero flats. None. This is for a guy riding at 180 to 200 pounds on a heavy city bike, always some load in bags. Riding alleys, vacant lots, jumping curbs, riding down stairways, riding ice and snow and just beating up those tires. They do not flat. Only switched tires recently because I figured I could get away with less flat protection.

Flat protection barriers make any tire ride horribly. Most riders who want that feature are just entirely insensitive to comfort or traction. Simplest way to minimize flats is reduce pressure. Stand back and observe bike and rider with static load. The tire should visibly sag at least a little. If pressure is too low steering will be sloppy and you will get another type of flat, snake-bite or pinch flat, which is tube trapped between tire and rim when striking bumps or obstacles.

OEM rim on your bike will be fine with most tires. Bikes are not that demanding. If you have something unusual, like antique 18mm wide tires or 5 inch fat bike tire, yes, find correct rims. The difference between 2.00 and 2.25 tires does not matter.

Big Apples come in different widths. What is available is different for different rim diameters. Mine were all 622-50 (same thing as 700x50 or 29x2.00 and that is another discussion) and with a 19mm internal width rim were 46 to 48mm wide, depending on pressure and wear.

Big Apples ride extraordinarily well for a utility tire. Schwalbe designs for no flats, no flats, and no flats. When that is done they put in other good stuff. The flat free tires they throw out all other considerations. I also ride on Schwalbe tubulars. Out of production. One of them, on a front wheel, has been going for four seasons now and must be close to 10,000 miles. No flats. Tubulars do not do that. Schwalbes do.

This site might be helpful or confuse things more: https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/

I put Continental Tour Rides on my 29er for commuting and whatnot. They roll pretty well and are reasonably priced. No flats in maybe 2k miles?

Probably a good option.

As a side note, it usually takes quite a while to wear out a set of tires. Perhaps he is locking the rear wheel to stop?

You could also just swap front and rear. Lack of tread means less rolling resistance. Has he had any flats with the set on the bike? Mountain bike tires are usually pretty good and not getting flats. I find they tend to just roll over stuff like glass anyway.

Jcm1960 Just because you're mostly riding on pavement, doesn't mean you have to go straight to a 32mm slick. BF (and the General Cycling forum) are very road-bike biased, and the knowledge base skews that way. Not trying to bash anyone, but that's what it is.

It's really the tread pattern and the carcass construction that determines 'performance' especially at the lower speeds found in 'around town' riding. I like a higher volume, lightly treaded tire, for in-town general purpose riding, since you tend to encounter a lot of different surfaces and obstacles / surface transitions. I prefer a 1.95"-2.1" tire, which gives me enough air volume to bounce off of things, by running a slightly lower pressure than you could on a 'skinny' tire.

The Conti Tour Ride and Michelin Protek Cross are good budget commuter tires. They are inexpensive ($20-$25), but well made and fairly long-wearing. They also come in a 47mm width (~1.95") and are available with reflective sidewalls.

I hope you are wrong as I recently ordered and received two Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires which they say has the most durability and reliability built in.
I have not mounted/installed them yet . I wanted the absolute most flat free tire I could find short of using a solid tire. They look pretty enough. In what way
are you suggesting I am giving up comfort ? As far as I know you simply add or subtract air to make it more or less cushy or soft when riding over bumps.

Thanks for all the info and replies. I sincerely appreciate the guidance . FWIW, I contacted Schwalbe and Continental. The former was quick to respond with a recommendation and the latter still has not replied.

The rear tire is worn , so I will probably rotate it and let him ride for a while and burn through it a bit. Based on what you people said and what Schwalbe offered, I ordered the Marathon GT 365. They are probably more tire than he needs, but sound like they will be road worthy and not frustrate him/us with flats. So far he has been flat free on the stock, cheapo , OE tires. I would like to keep it that way.

Below is the reply I received from Schwalbe:

Thanks for the message. Judging by everything you said I think the perfect tire for your son’s bike would be our Marathon GT 365. It’s a 4 seasons tire designed to very high levels of puncture protection and maximum grip on pavement even when it’s slippery out (winter riding would even be possible, the only limitation would be where there is a lot of ice and then only studded tires work). Basically they are a very tough road/city/commuting tire that you can do ANYTHING on, but offer the absolute maximum amount of safety and confidence that we offer in a tire.

The part number is 11101343 and they run $51 each.



The tire size is called 28x2.00’’ but don’t be confused, this is the correct fit to replace a 29x2.25’’ MTB tire (the replacement will fit perfectly on the rim, but will inflate to 2’’ wide instead of 2.25’’ wide, which will actually improve the bikes performance on the road).



This is a non-folding tire (wire bead) as per your preference.

Universal Cycles has them for 41 each.

Schwalbe Marathon Plus does it all.

Go to Target or Academy Sports, and buy whatever is on the wall. He won’t care.

Yup. No offense to the OP, but you're really overthinking a new tire for a kid's bike.