TGoat

My three-month-old bike (Huffy Rangeline 27.5), the back tire is worn smooth around the middle. It's a mountain bike, but it has street tires. I rotated them, so in another three months the back tire (which was the front) will probably be worn smooth as well.

I ride 14 miles a day. I purchased two $20 Wal-Mart knobby tires for my old Trek and they lasted a lot longer than three months.

Is that normal wear?

So, when I finally need tires what kind should I buy? Knobby or street? Which brand? What price ranges am I looking at? Where should I get them?

Any suggestions appreciated

Steve B.

I might say Walmart or Dicks except they are unlikely to have 27.5, thus a local bike shop would be a possibility. Maybe see if they have a web site that shows inventory. If not, maybe REI, you can check stock online as well. If nothing local, BikeTiresDirect can mail order in a few days.

Get a "city" tire or one designed for commuting, dont get knobbies, they wear out quickly on pavement.

SoSmellyAir

If longevity is a major concern, you may consider an e-bike rated tire.

biker128pedal

Sound like you change/rotate the tires yourself. If so that helps. If all you do is ride paved roads by all means get road tires. If you ride dirt and gravel at times look for a hybrid tire. How wide are the tires on the bike now?

Best bet is to research so you can decide. Other best option is take a trip too the local bike shop. Take the tire and ask their advice based on where you ride. Also if you want to reuse your tubes something close to the same size will fit better.

TGoat

They are 27.5 x 1.95 if that's what you mean by width.

Also, what is an e-bike rated tire?

KerryIrons

You likely have not anywhere near worn out the tires. Many folks ride road tires until the casing threads just start to show through the tread rubber. You don't need tread on street tires, and maybe you're just wearing off the knobs. Are you doing any skidding stops? That will cause very rapid wear. Keep your best tire on the front and let the rear one fully wear out. THEN you rotate the front to the rear and put a new one on the front. You only need knobs if you have traction issues on soft surfaces. If the knobs cannot engage the riding surface then they are of no use. Knobs cannot engage the pavement, but are made for dirt surfaces.

BCRider

I'd almost say that you're skidding a lot. But you've had other bikes where the tires lasted a lot longer. So I dunno....

However just to cover all the bases.... If you avoid the front brake and only use the rear then you are missing out on about 70% of your stopping potential. Learn to use the front. But at the same time learn how to properly use it. We can offer hints for that if needed. Don't let some past front brake mistake keep you away from the maximum stopping power.

Otherwise I just can't see why the back would wear out so much faster than the front. It's not like our weak "engines" can load the tires strongly enough to wear them out with acceleration....

TGoat

I try and stop very smoothly using both brakes. I hardly ever skid. I weigh 207, maybe that has something to do with it.

csport

What KerryIrons says: do not rotate the worn tire to the front. A sudden front tire failure will most likely result in a hard fall. You want to have a good tire in the front.

There are good 27.5 tires for pavement riding including "randonneuring" tires like Panaracer Pari Moto, Soma Grand Randonneur or Rene Herse as well as more heavy duty ones like Schwalbe Marathons

TGoat

I guess I should mention that I live in Las Vegas. It was 114° yesterday. Now that I think about it, I had to buy new tires for my car after 25,000 miles, and they were 40,000 mile tires. They still had plenty of tread on them, but the sides were rotting out. Tire rot is a real problem down here. I guess I should have thought of that sooner. That could be a big part of the problem.

biker128pedal

Inside the rim width. Don't worry about it. But indicate above don't rotate rear tire to front. Just get a new tire for the rear and ride and ride and ride. Get something within your budget but the Marathon listed above will last longer. Or buy cheap tires and replace them more often.

Ride every day. Good going.
https://www.huffybikes.com/rangeline...-bike-56861-1/

e-bike rated tires are those designed for a bike with an electric motor. Supposed to be a little tougher. I don't have an e-bike

Keep riding. After awhile think about test riding a little higher end bike at a bike shop.

TGoat

Thanks for all the help and suggestions, I learned a few things. That Marathon tire looks pretty good. I assume it's an E-Tire.

My tire is a 50.584, 27.5 x 1.95. That Marathon tire is a 44.584, 27.5 x 1.65. Will the Marathon tire fit? Do I need a different tube? Or is it just good to go.

Thanks

CVT

How much tire pressure you have on the tire?

TGoat

I was putting 40, but the bike shop guys told me to put 60, so that's what I'm doing.

Darth Lefty 

Marathons. And then stop worrying about it for a long time.

CVT

I would try to borrow another pressure gauge to compare it to yours, seems like too much pressure, I am not sure if that's the case for bikes but or cars, wearing on the center is high pressure inducation.

Ironfish653

60 is a lot of air for a 1.95, but with a 200+ rider, on pavement? Not totally unreasonable. I wouldn't go any higher, though.

Bike tires always wear faster in the middle, because they're round in profile, not squared off like car tires. Riding knobby tires on pavement, in hot weather, will just make the center row of tread wear out that much faster.

hokiefyd 

One tire I'd recommend for you is the Continental Ride Tour, in 54-584 (it'll fit a "27.5 inch" wheel), and it's about 2" wide when fully inflated. It has a very thick rubber tread, completely smooth down the center, and rolls very smoothly and quietly. It has a strong puncture protection belt and the rubber compound itself seems pretty durable. I have hundreds of miles on a pair myself and I can't tell a lick of difference between the front and the rear tire. The little mold sprues on the rear tire haven't worn off yet, even in the center tread channel. And I weigh 240 pounds.

I highly recommend those tires for doing just what you're doing -- commuting on pavement and/or gravel surfaces.

Oh -- they're also e-bike rated...so you know they'll be strong and durable. They're also very reasonably priced: https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...ride-tour-650b They happen to be out of stock at the moment on Bike Tires Direct, but I bet a local bike shop can get 'em.

TGoat

This sounds really good. Good price too. One thing we have here in Vegas are Acacia Trees. They have super sharp thorns that range from 1/8 inch to 2 inches long. For a long time I was averaging one flat tire per week. We also have something called goat-head thorns. They are a roundish little ball covered with thorns that blow in from the undeveloped areas. I'm sure a better tire would help with that. You can also pick up a piece of glass. You won't get a flat right away, but if you don't spot it, it can embed itself into the tread and you won't realize it until it's too late.

Thanks for the suggestion.

hokiefyd 

My dad lives in St. George, UT, just up I-15 from you in Vegas. He deals with the goatheads there all the time. The tread is very deep on the Ride Tours, which means the channels between the tread blocks are also deep; this helps in my experience by allowing a "diversion path" for those things that might want to embed in your rubber.

TGoat

I just have two questions about this tire. I just bought some new tubes (2 flat tires this week) that are 27.5, 1.9-2.2, will they work with this tire or will I have to get different ones. Also, how much tire pressure do you use?

hokiefyd 

Yes, you can use those tubes. The Ride Tour inflates up to about 50mm when mounted on my 19mm internal width rims, which is 1.97 inches. I'm 240 pounds, ride a mix of smooth and not-so-smooth surfaces, and ride in a relatively upright position. I run about 30 and 45 psi, in the front and rear respectively. I will sometimes inflate them way up (meaning, about 45 and 60 psi) if I know I'll be riding exclusively smooth pavement (just for the "faster" feeling) and I will sometimes run them a little lower if I'm only gravel for a little more comfort. At this size, you'd really have to go low, and also ride pretty aggressively, to risk pinch flatting.