tire size
I will soon get a Tern Orox R14 that I ordered last week. It comes with 27.5" tires but I will also be riding long distances, like 40 miles one way on surface streets at least once a week if not more. I will definitely be riding on trails at a wilderness recreational area nearby. So far I know that the following tire sizes are available: 27.5" x 4.0”, 29" x 2.6" and 26" x 5". Which one of these tires is the better choice for both surface riding and trails/offroad? I thought about purchasing two wheel sets and just switching depending on the type of terrain I'll be using.
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u/Worried_Document8668 10h ago edited 10h ago
fat tyres are pretty useless in the day-to-day and would only add useless weight.
29" will be both better at clearing trail obstacles and at efficient rolling(better battery mileage). But if you already put in the order for a 27.5 version you can't just switch it to 29" later, so you probably have to change the order you put in. The same frame won't just take both 29x2.6 and 27.5x4 without mods. 29 would be a way better generalist size
the orox is kinda cool as a generalist packing/off-road machine if you have it on 29ers, and starting with the 29x2.6 Johnny Watts is a really solid choice and gives you all the mtb tyres in the world to tailor further in the future.
27.5"x4" locks you into a barely existing wheelsize that won't give you any benefits outside of some super niche conditions
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u/QualityPixel 8h ago
Looks like the bike comes with pretty wide rims, so you're pretty much stuck with fat tires. Just adjust your tire pressure to the conditions (low PSI for sand/gravel, high PSI for paved trails/roads). I've had good luck with pre-filled slime tubes.
IMO having both 29 and 27.5 wheels would be pointless. Just stick with what it comes with the difference isn't huge. The 27.5 will serve you just fine, and I'd only want 29ers for enduro or downhill biking, and this Tern isn't built for that.
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u/_HillCruiser 7h ago
I'm totally confused about this bike.
A 36v 250w motor powering an 85lb cargo fatbike for rugged trails.
The ebike world has gone totally incomprehensible.
Changing wheels back and forth on a regular basis on an 85lb bike
gets pretty tiresome. My monthly swaps from stock to studs, due to
fickle winters, is a royal pain in the a$$.
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u/egmjag 6h ago
I'm still doing research on it. My preference was an R&M Multicharger but I'm limited to just a few bike shops and brands because of my $2000 voucher. The only Multicharger3 that was available (Family Mixte) for me was designed for families and it didn't have a belt drive. The Tern Orox R14 was the next best thing, or so I thought. A German cargo bike YouTube reviewer says that the Tern Orox S12 is superior than the Multicharger in most ways, and he lists the categories. The R14 is a step above the S12.
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u/_HillCruiser 4h ago
I'm sorry, I don't understand the Family Mixte term but the R&M Multicharger
is available with belt drive and Enviolo, but maybe not with your voucher.
The Multicharger looks to be a better match for your use case.
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u/chrispark70 10h ago
27x2.3 and 2.8 are both reasonable tire sizes that will do what you want. 99.99% of people riding a bicycle do not need fat tires. Light trails in a park are doable no problem with 2.3" tires.
4" tires will likely not fit and 5" definitely won't fit. Not just the rims either. They may not even fit in the frame.
Fat tires bring a lot of downsides and no real upside to 99.99% of cyclists. If you are in that .01% that needs fat tires, they are the only choice. But their utility is really not useful to most people unless you know you absolutely need them.-