Originally Posted by
chas58
how big can you go? I've gone up to 60mm, but find that 50-55mm works best unless you have very wide rims.
The real question is, what is causing your flats? Different causes need different solutions.
Keep in mind that internal protection is going to make the tire ride stiffer, although with a fat tire, that may not be a problem. In general, Continental and Schwalbe have great tires, some of which have an extra layer of rubber and some are even "e-bike" certified.
I put one of those flat guard strips between my tire and tube once, and about 3 hours into a 4 hour ride, it had rubbed a hole in my tube. So, I like your method better! LOL.
I use Slime tubes as insurance. It works well if something like a nail punctures the tube, but not so much if there is a slice in the tube.
Specialized has their armadillo protection if you are looking for other options.
Every time I've had a flat on my utility bike with these 1.5" H2 tires, it's always been the rear tire, and it's always been when riding on the shoulder of a road, or on the "under construction" portion of a road widening project. Thankfully we don't have goat heads to content with in my area of the world. And yeah I don't really like the idea of tire liners for the reason you mentioned.
The bike is a Marin Pine Mountain steel MTB frame, with a height-corrected Nashbar rigid steel fork (same height as suspension fork), which has tons of clearance for just about anything probably up near 3" wide or so.
Originally Posted by
NoPhart
I will second any of the Schwalbe "PLUS" tires with the tread you need (PLUS meaning the Green Guard, not the tire size). I run Schwalbe Smart Sam PLUS for my eMTB. Great all around tire with good bite off-road. I have friends that tour with Marathon's and they get 8,000-10,000 miles out of them without a any flats!
Thanks for the suggestions. I haven't looked at the Smart Sam tires but I'll check them out.