Lighthouse Challenge - 160km of Road Riding - low rolling resistance tyre options for an EMTB?

[Bellefield]

I'm not a road rider, and not light enough / fit enough to do this challenge without some battery assistance, but training for it will get me fitter and hopefully lighter, and they allow ebikes anyway so why not?

I'll be using my hard tail EMTB (2019 Giant Fathom E+2 Pro 29er) for this challenge, which is a 160km (100 miles) race with over 2km of climbing, mostly over 1 big steep and about 4 medium steeps, around the island, so I'll need to turn my battery off for most of the ride to keep it in reserve for those climbs, especially the ones towards the end of the race.

This is all road riding, so rolling resistance will help both the battery life and my legs. I've been looking at the Johnny Watts, so interested in any feedback folks have about rolling resistance, I've also been looking at the Marathon Almotion which are tubeless and more road specific, just not sure if the rolling resistance is any better than the Johnny Watts?

Any other suggestions out there?

 

[Gary]

they allow ebikes anyway so why not?

Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Sitting on an Ebike on the road for 7 hours sounds horrendous to me.
[EDIT] If you really plan on riding the Ebike off for a lot of the ride it'll be more like 10+ hours

Schwalbe the ONE tyres will be the least rolling resistance higher volume tyres you'll find to fit your Ehardtail.
Johnny Watts isn't a good tyre for pure road riding. (it's not a great tyre for anything TBF)

Any other suggestions out there?

If you're able bodied and have no health issues. Why not use the challenge to get fit and do it on a normal roadbike? They're honestly way more fun to ride (and faster) and 100 miles with 2000m of climbing isn't actually all that hilly profile over that distance. Working up to your first century ride isn't actually all that difficult but will be extremely rewarding. Just gradually train with a couple of shorter harder rides mid week and one long ride at the weekend, upping the mileage until you can easily manage 60mile rides. Then with the correct pacing and fueling you'll be ready to attempt the 100miles

 

[Bellefield]

Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Sitting on an Ebike on the road for 7 hours sounds horrendous to me.
[EDIT] If you really plan on riding the Ebike off for a lot of the ride it'll be more like 10+ hours

Schwalbe the ONE tyres will be the least rolling resistance higher volume tyres you'll find to fit your Ehardtail.
Johnny Watts isn't a good tyre for pure road riding. (it's not a great tyre for anything TBF)


If you're able bodied and have no health issues. Why not use the challenge to get fit and do it on a normal roadbike? They're honestly way more fun to ride (and faster) and 100 miles with 2000m of climbing isn't actually all that hilly profile over that distance. Working up to your first century ride isn't actually all that difficult but will be extremely rewarding. Just gradually train with a couple of shorter harder rides mid week and one long ride at the weekend, upping the mileage until you can easily manage 60mile rides. Then with the correct pacing and fueling you'll be ready to attempt the 100miles

cheers Gary, the hills are steep, and even the road racers struggle on them, its a good point on the length of the bike ride on an mtb, the most I've done is an 80km mixed ride of road and off-road, which was great but took me 5 hours, although I was taking it easy and enjoying the views along the way. I don't have a road bike, and I'm unlikely to get one before the race, so I'll stick with the ebike but maybe do the half circle (57 miles) instead, its all about enjoying the day really.... just hope its a nice day

 

[Bellefield]

Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Sitting on an Ebike on the road for 7 hours sounds horrendous to me.
[EDIT] If you really plan on riding the Ebike off for a lot of the ride it'll be more like 10+ hours

Schwalbe the ONE tyres will be the least rolling resistance higher volume tyres you'll find to fit your Ehardtail.
Johnny Watts isn't a good tyre for pure road riding. (it's not a great tyre for anything TBF)


If you're able bodied and have no health issues. Why not use the challenge to get fit and do it on a normal roadbike? They're honestly way more fun to ride (and faster) and 100 miles with 2000m of climbing isn't actually all that hilly profile over that distance. Working up to your first century ride isn't actually all that difficult but will be extremely rewarding. Just gradually train with a couple of shorter harder rides mid week and one long ride at the weekend, upping the mileage until you can easily manage 60mile rides. Then with the correct pacing and fueling you'll be ready to attempt the 100miles

I should add, I've been trying to get myself fitter in recent month's and over the last three months I've managed to lose 11kg, from 109kg to 98kg, and while I'm still trying to lose weight, I doubt I'll be able to get down to much below 95kg by the time of the challenge.

 

[Gary]

You didn't say what wheelsize or rim width your bike has?

 

[raymal]

I'm not a road rider, and not light enough / fit enough to do this challenge without some battery assistance, but training for it will get me fitter and hopefully lighter, and they allow ebikes anyway so why not?

I'll be using my hard tail EMTB (2019 Giant Fathom E+2 Pro 29er) for this challenge, which is a 160km (100 miles) race with over 2km of climbing, mostly over 1 big steep and about 4 medium steeps, around the island, so I'll need to turn my battery off for most of the ride to keep it in reserve for those climbs, especially the ones towards the end of the race.

This is all road riding, so rolling resistance will help both the battery life and my legs. I've been looking at the Johnny Watts, so interested in any feedback folks have about rolling resistance, I've also been looking at the Marathon Almotion which are tubeless and more road specific, just not sure if the rolling resistance is any better than the Johnny Watts?

Any other suggestions out there?

Schwalbe Super Moto X get a big thumbs up from me

 

[Bellefield]

You didn't say what wheelsize or rim width your bike has?

its a 29er, the rims are 25cm wide

 

[Gary]

MotoX are nowhere near as low rolling resistance or as grippy cornering as ONEs. infact they have to be cornered with far more care on damp roads. They're also heavyAF

700x 30 ONEs will fit on your rims. and save you 2kg

 

[Gary]

Oh... and If you've never ridden a roadbike you might be a bit freaked out looking down and seeing the narrowness of the tyres. Don't be. Just get the pressures right and put your trust in them. roadies descend and corner a LOT faster than emtb riders.

 

[Tim1023]

And just in case, and to save you from unnecessary tears during your search: 28 equals 29 in the crazy world of tyre sizes - EMTB Forums

 

[The Hodge]

Google Image Result for https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/248/361/ed8.gif

 

[Bellefield]

Oh... and If you've never ridden a roadbike you might be a bit freaked out looking down and seeing the narrowness of the tyres. Don't be. Just get the pressures right and put your trust in them. roadies descend and corner a LOT faster than emtb riders.

to be honest, the narrowness of the bars and learning a whole new way to change gear were my main worries.... but now I've added the narrowness of the wheels I will give it a try one day

 

[Gary]

It's just like riding a bike mate

 

[lightning]

The main eye opener for me was the lack of suspension (compared to a MTB)
When l got my road bike it was initially horrendous, l drafted an advert on Ebay "road bike for sale, ridden once, eyeballs still vibrating"

But you have to look where you are riding, not like a MTB where you just steamroller over everything, you need to stay out of the gutter and avoid pot holes/grids etc

Plus, fitting slightly wider tyres and reducing pressure a little made all the difference.

And fitting a decent saddle is critical.

 

[Gary]

Yeah. They're not really for softies.

And you shouldn't be riding your bike in the gutter or straight into potholes whatever bike you're on.

 

[lightning]

True enough, but on a MTB it wouldn't matter if you hit a pot hole or grid, where on a road bike it's something to be avoided at all costs, so more care is needed.

 

[Sander23]

150 km is alot. The most ive ridden on my haibike hardtail is 120km(but that with dual battery setup), mix of road and trail. The biggest noticeble thing on the road for me is the front suspension lock out and ofcourse tires. Have them near max pressure. Ive allways ridden xc to xc-trail tires, from continetal cross kings to vittoria e-agarro. I never went to low profile and small tires as i gave much more about comfort on the road then losing some rolling resistance

 

[Bellefield]

150 km is alot. The most ive ridden on my haibike hardtail is 120km(but that with dual battery setup), mix of road and trail. The biggest noticeble thing on the road for me is the front suspension lock out and ofcourse tires. Have them near max pressure. Ive allways ridden xc to xc-trail tires, from continetal cross kings to vittoria e-agarro. I never went to low profile and small tires as i gave much more about comfort on the road then losing some rolling resistance

Which of the tires you’ve ridden feels like it has the lowest rolling resistance? What are the e-agarro like?

 

[Sander23]

Weird enough its the agarro that feels alot faster then other xc tires ive tried. Probably because the shape is more round.

E-agarro 2.60"

Continental cross kings 2.30"

 

[tnull5]

I'm not a road rider, and not light enough / fit enough to do this challenge without some battery assistance, but training for it will get me fitter and hopefully lighter, and they allow ebikes anyway so why not?

I'll be using my hard tail EMTB (2019 Giant Fathom E+2 Pro 29er) for this challenge, which is a 160km (100 miles) race with over 2km of climbing, mostly over 1 big steep and about 4 medium steeps, around the island, so I'll need to turn my battery off for most of the ride to keep it in reserve for those climbs, especially the ones towards the end of the race.

This is all road riding, so rolling resistance will help both the battery life and my legs. I've been looking at the Johnny Watts, so interested in any feedback folks have about rolling resistance, I've also been looking at the Marathon Almotion which are tubeless and more road specific, just not sure if the rolling resistance is any better than the Johnny Watts?

Any other suggestions out there?

Specialized Pathfinder. I ride my Levo with a set of wheels with these, feels very road bike like. Another set with Maxxis tires for off road. I do a lot of riding on the Pathfinders because I do a lot of road riding on my Levo. I come from a road and MTB background. Worked in shops in the mid to late 80's. Road and MTB, there for the birth of suspension, clipless pedals, index shifting. Now E-MTB. With the Pathfinders, the bike is really nice on the road. I have gone gravel like, with bars and shifters. It really rides like a road bike and still cuts up the trails. Best of both worlds for me. Good luck in your event.

 

[Bellefield]

I went with schwalbe marathon almotion evo and fitted them tubeless.

they are a heavyish tyre, but I wanted something virtually puncture proof and that would grip well in the rain.

the tyres worked really well.

hardly any tyre noise on the tarmac and seemed to be a lot smoother and faster onthe road, although I couldn’t measure the difference.

perhaps one measure could be my top speed which was around 58kph on my old tyres but was up to 62.5kph yesterday, although the road surface and the bearings play a part in this as the bike felt like it was shaking apart when going over 55kpm ?

 

[Cyclopath1000]

Schwabe g force 29x 2.35. That is the ticket. I have them on a 30 mm roval rim. Second set of wheels specifically for road riding. Wheel set cost $450 including tires. I had a spare set of rotors. Cassette is shared with my arc 40 wheels