Originally Posted by
gsa103
1) Lots of long wearing tires tend to be pretty hard, and not necessarily confidence inspiring.
2) Rolling resistance. I ride mostly at lower assistance levels, and the current tires just have a lot of drag. Getting better tires would add 1-2 mph easily. The mid-drive is programmed to not launch hard, so it doesn't seem to be that hard on tires.
Realistically, I'm going to put about 3000mi on the tires every year. And I'm probably going to want to replace tires every 2-3 years, just due to age. That means a tire needs to last 6k-10k miles, which isn't that big a stretch for most tires. With that in mind, I'd much rather have a tire with better rolling resistance and traction over a high-mileage tire that's just going to age out.
Makes sense.
Short of a touring tire, I find most good tires are comfy at the right pressure. Shoot, going from 35mm to 50-60mm is going to give you a pretty comfy ride (at the right pressure).
As long as you are not bottoming out on the rim and the handling is not squirrelly, you can typically go lower with no ill effects. The inverted tread for me has worked well for a powered commuting tire. Schwalbe makes some great commuting tires that are fairly comfortable, great rolling resistance and fit well with commuting.
I cruise at 22-26mph, and that power, although not huge, takes a huge toll on knobby mountain bike tires that are designed for dirt. My motor is doing about 250 watts, and my leg are doing 250 watts (roughly). Tire wear is a lot like riding a tandem with my brother - tire life is probably about half what it would normally be.
And, cornering on a tire like the thunder burt is a lot, lot different than the tires you have been on (or anything with a rounded profile and minimum to no tread). Its not dangerous, but you can not really lean on it as hard is you can with a tire designed for pavement.
In my experience, my speed is not affected by the type of tire. I use race tires, commuting tires, mountain bike tires, even studded tires (which are horribly slow on a traditional bike). It does tend to affect range - on racing tires and a drop bar bike I can probably go 20% father if that makes a difference. Still, there shouldn't be a huge difference in range in the tires you are discussing.
Are silkworms that bad? You on the 120tpi version? Maxxis doesn't always make the most efficient tires - I wouldn't be surprised if Conti or Schwalbe rolled a lot better.