this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2025
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Hello.

I have a problem regarding choosing new tyres for my e-bike. I have narrowed the choice down to 2 options:

13342

Kenda Kraze

Pros (from reviews):

  • Looks cool
  • Strong rubber (lasts long)
  • Cheaper (total: 85€)

Cons:

  • Stiff ride
  • Slippery when on smallest amount of sand
  • Lower profile (makes a gap between fenders and the tyre itself)

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Schwalbe Super Moto-X

Pros:

  • (Looks like) better in rain and not affected by debris on the road
  • Comfier ride

Cons:

  • Expensive (total: 115€)
  • Worse looks

I can't make up my mind on which ones to buy, because I really like the look of the Kendas, but am worried about their performance in rain and the ride quality.

What would you recommend?

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

If after making sure the tires will fit your existing rims, and that your front fender specifically will still break away in the event of an object getting lodged against the wheel, then it might be down to personal preference at that point. But we can at least look to see which might match your use-cases better.

From only the photos alone, the Kenda set has a (mostly) slick tread, and the Schwalbe set has a moderately grooved tread. Assuming we're talking about USA road legal ebikes that have a top speed of no more than 45 kph (28 MPH), nothing would suggest that either tire option would have issues on dry pavement in a straight line.

Of course, tires are the only two connection points to the road, and rain and debris can dramatically change the bike's behavior. That said, the always-correct answer is to just ride slower in inclement conditions. Still, a distinction can be drawn when using slick tires on well-drained, grooved pavement versus poor-draining pavement where the runoff has dirt or sand. That is to say, a good road drains water when the tire doesn't, but a cheaper road (common for anything not a major arterial in the USA, such as a residential road or bike paths) might trap slippery debris under the tire, causing poorer performance.

But those are all road-going concerns. You didn't specify if you would be taking this lightly off-road. If so, only the Schwalbe seems to make sense, since its grooved surface adds a small modicum of "pinch" to looser surfaces, in addition to being more pliable than the Kenda's "strong rubber".

I personally am not entirely sold on why a bicycle tire needs significant rubber to hold itself up, since the tensile nature of a pneumatic tire on a tensioned wheel means that air pressure is bearing most of the forces, to the tune of 40-70 psi (~2-5 bar). Naturally, the tread needs to be thicker to not be worn away by the road, but the purpose of thicker sidewalls has always eluded me. With the exception of fully off-road tires, which will intentionally run with lower air pressure -- maybe 10-20 psi (~0.5-1.5 bar) for rock crawling or floating over beach/snow.

So I'm afraid a lot will depend on the conditions you're planning to ride in. I'm not going to say that aesthetics don't matter, because they do, especially as encouragement to go riding more often. Though in that department, I would say that the Kenda photo makes the rubber look rather blotchy to my eyes.

But maybe just pick one and try it out. I went through four sets of tires in 1000 km on my ebike before settling upon the ones I'm running now. Although that was a whole adventure unto itself, requiring building my own wheels.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Thanks for all the info, I don't think I'm going to be riding off-road that often, maybe sometimes a gravel road. Many of the roads here have holes and imperfections, so I'd think that the Schwalbes have the advantage there. I was worried about rain because I'd be using them from spring to autumn, in the winter I use knobbies.

I think I'm going to go with the Schwalbes, because upon further research, even though the Kenda's are cheaper (and imo better looking), they have many complaints about being poorly packaged and deforming in transit.

Forgot to mention that I've actually had the Schwalbes before, just wanted to know what the advantages of the Kenda's would be.