From winding urban lanes to snowy trails and everything in between, the humble tyre bears the brunt of the high speeds and weights associated with e-bikes. If you’re a part of the e-bike commuting community and want to stay active all-year-round, then here’s what you need to know about the best e-bike tyres.

The Unique Demands of E-bike Tyres

Tyres are the only point of contact with the road or trail. This means that no matter how advanced a particular e-bike is, much of the performance still hinges on the tyre. Its ability to offer reassuring grip, minimal wear, greater ride comfort, and efficiently transfer power directly to the ground, all constitute the hallmarks of a quality e-bike tyre.

Tyre choice affects speed, range, grip, and maneuverability, and has a huge impact on how your e-bike handles. The increased weight and speed of e-bikes place greater demands on the tyres, meaning that any quality e-bike tyre must be able to meet the demands.

• Terrain

The primary factor determining the choice of any tyre is the terrain you wish to ride on. Tyres have different tread designs, based on the terrain-specific requirements – road tyres will be sleak, for less rolling resistance, giving a faster-rolling tyre. Trail, downhill, enduro tyres will have a more prominent knob tread design, with higher shoulder knobs, which serve to penetrate into the muddy and slippery terrain and secure good grip and safety while braking and cornering. Winter studded tyres will use different rubber compounds to withhold the low temperatures and will feature a special knob + stud design, to assure a safe ride with enough grip even on snowy and icy surfaces.

• Increased Speeds

Increased speeds are one of the primary considerations when picking an e-Bike tyre. It becomes most noticeable when cornering, and places greater demand on the e-bike tyre in terms of grip and wear. This is especially important if have a high speed e-bike (45km/h), then you definitely need a tyre with ECE-R75 certification.

• Grip & Tyre Width

E-bike tyres should always be designed for high grip, especially for when city streets become slick with water and the lack of grip that ensues. If you ride your e-bike on mixed surfaces, make sure to pick one with appropriate tread pattern for your usages. Commuter tyres are generally sold in larger widths than standard road bike tyres to provide added comfort and grip, as well as reduce the risk of punctures.

• Increased Weight

E-bikes tend to weigh substantially more than ordinary bicycles due to the inclusion of a motor, battery and an overall sturdier build. The increased weight places unique demands upon the tyre in terms of wear, while also playing a huge role in ride comfort and control of the e-bike. Make sure to pick a high-quality tyre that can withstand the added weight.

• Puncture Protection

Higher speeds and increased weight lead to an overall greater load being placed on the tyre. This makes puncture protection extremely important, as tyre repair on an e-bike is usually more complex than on a conventional bike, so make sure not to miss this feature.

Specific E-bike Tyre Considerations

The beauty of e-bikes is the freedom they provide, and many who like to use their bikes for the urban commute Monday to Friday, also hit the trails come the weekend. With such variety in terrain and riding styles, finding the best e-bike tyre is no easy feat. So, by now you are wondering “What is the best solution for my mixed-terrain e-bike riding?”. Well, there are several solutions to pick from:

• Having two (or more) sets of wheels

In general, having a two (or more) sets of wheels comes with many advantages, mainly being that you’ll be able to pick the wheels with the most suitable tyres for your different needs, have them ready at your home and just swap when you need to. But, there are several cons to this solution as well; it will be pricey; it does requires space for storage of additional wheel sets; it requires some preparation beforehand; and it might require some technical knowledge/skill. Plus, it is very difficult to take your spare sets with you on travels, you still need to pick one tyre for the upcoming ride. 

• Opt for hybrid bicycle tyre

Hybrid bicycle tyres have become popular, with many different intakes and variations on the most important features. In general they offer enough comfort, good grip on different surfaces, additional puncture protection, while keeping the lower rolling resistance. While this solution works great for many people, most year-round cyclist will still find themselves in need for a different set of tyres in a specific season, or when riding more on certain terrains or in certain weather conditions. Think winter, it is never a good choice to ride on snow without studded tyres. 

• 5-in-1 tyre solution?

Wouldn’t it be great to have 5-in-1 tyre solution? Well, up until 5 years ago it was just a distant dream, but in 2020, well, you do have this option! With the reTyre modular tyre system, you actually can have 5 tyres in “One”, in one simple zip! Check out the video: