Yes, I noticed that the air seems to be swishing from side to side as I turn left or right, so that the bulk of the tire shifts from one side of the rim to the other. And that's with 50 psi! I guess this is normal, according to what you say? Doesn't make me feel too stable, but I suppose I'll get used to it. I never noticed this with my 2.25" knobbies.

noglider: I think the price issue residue will dissipate eventually. I'm just fresh off seeing these tires online for $10-15 less, so I'll give it some time. The price tag on them was $48.50, and the store owner was a little too eager to give me a 10% discount. 'Should have raised a flag right there!

I totally know how you feel wrt LBS and in-person buying. I like the idea of supporting local business in theory, but if you are like me and not good at saying no, and experience feelings like guilt when not doing what the salesman wants, it gets tough.

My recommendation: we are now sure the Hookworms are the tires you really want, but I don't see that it has been confirmed that they will fit.

Take some clearance pics of the Big Apples mounted, make some caliper measurements if you can, and either post them here or start another thread asking specifically about Hookworm size/clearance. Lawn Guyland is pretty densely populated (not to mention NYC), maybe you can find a BF member nearby that has the tires you want, and will let you mount them to check for clearance?

Once you are sure they will fit, sell the pair of Big Apples for about $50 on CL or eBay, and buy the tires of your dreams.

Perspective: there are wheelsets lighter than just one of those tires...

Hookworms are a blast to ride. Set them at 35psi, go nuts. Loved them. But heavy -- great for goofing around, on an urban bike, or for short commutes, but slightly too heavy for the 19mi commute I was doing at the time.

I also tried out a pair of Schwalbe Big Apples, 26 x 2.35 at near the same time. Liked them lots better for the commute, same kind of cushy ride, lighter... but I got a flat which I'm sure the Hookworms would have mitigated, as the tread on them are much, much thicker than the Big Apples.

Ended up back with 1.5" width tires on my regular commuter, still the best compromise size for my riding.

>>>>My recommendation: we are now sure the Hookworms are the tires you really want, but I don't see that it has been confirmed that they will fit<<<<

EUREKA!!! Amazing how the answer can sometimes be so obvious that you totally blow it off!

Before I made the purchase, I followed all the guidelines and measured my frame to arrive at the conclusion that I COULD fit a 2.5" tire. Then somebody reminded me that the side-to-side measurement wasn't the only one to be concerned with. With no top-to-rim measurement to go by, I decided, at that point, that buying online and hoping for the best was not the way to go with this. That's when I started calling around to all the local bike shops to see what they had in stock.

For some reason, once I installed the Schwalbe 2.35"s and saw that they fit, I completely stopped thinking about whether an even fatter tire would fit. Like a spoiled kid, all I could think about was how I really liked the "look" of those big, fat Hookworms and their awesome, matte-finished rim-to-rim texture - and how cheap and WalMart shiny the Big Apples looked. Even the fact that I had to remove the vertical support on my rear rack to accommodate the 2.35"s didn't raise a flag.

Anyway, what I'm saying is that, Rube Rad, I owe you a drink the next time you are out here on Long Island! Right after I read your reply, I ran downstairs, grabbed a tape measure and put it up to the bike with the Schwalbes installed. Before I could even take a measurement, it was so freakin' obvious to me that a 2.5" tire -- even a 2.4" tire -- could not possibly clear my rear seatstay. In fact, it's questionable whether one would fit into my front fork, either. I don't know where my head has been, but I feel like an idiot now.

However, I also feel A LOT better about the Schwalbe Big Apples, as they are now the best option I had for fat slicks. I wish the weather was better here on the East Coast, because now I'm not afraid to get out there and scuff them up while giving them a good test. I really look forward to springtime, though.

Thank you all for your advice and patience. This matter is now officially CLOSED!

I'd try in the 40's. My Big Dummy doesn't handle right if I let the BA's get down below 50psi,but that's a cargo bike. Below 30 while running tubes and you're asking for pinch flats.

Note,you have to decide which is more important,handling or comfort,and adjust your pressure to match. There's no such thing as a tire that gives a plush ride and handles sportingly.

I'm happy I triggered your light bulb! I don't get to the wrong coast much, but if I'm ever swinging through I'll drop a PM -- especially if I have a bike with me, we could go for a ride!

Here is the best reason not to get the hookworm or the big apple, nor to wait until you have more cash on hand:

https://www.amazon.com/CST-Cyclops-Ti.../dp/B002SG174M
CST Cyclops Tire - 26 x 2.4 BLK/BSK

At 11.99 for a tire very similar to the hookworm and lots of good reviews on bikeforums, hard to see why you would get anything else (unless you just don't know they exist).

Biggest problem with big tires:

Clearance around drive train (especially front derailer), may have to deflate tire (or unhook brakes) to get them past the brake pads when changing wheels.

Also, big tires and low pressure (for me below 35psi on some supple high performance tires) leads to so much sidewall flex that the tire literally just gives out from underneath me and leaves me on the ground. The only way to fix this is to swap to wheels much wider than I run with standard mountain bike tires, but that is an expensive swap (and requires readjusting the brakes).

Like has been said before, large tires don’t give you any benefit if you fill them up to the max pressure they can take.

Thanks, Chas. Between reminding me about the CST Cyclops (which I considered, but dropped at the last minute when that do-or-die question popped into my head: "What's wrong with them that they are $30 cheaper than the Big Apples or the Hookworms?) and then sharing your general experience with fat tires, I am back to feeling nothing but buyer's remorse!

Kidding aside, I will probably ride them for a while, get them out of my system, then switch back to narrow slicks or something else. I just need for the sting of the $95 price tag to wear off.

As far as resenting prices at the LBS: somewhere, someone does your kind of work for a lot less. You don't feel like you're ripping off your boss. That's how the LBS owner feels about his prices: he's not ripping you off. He's just making a living in the way he knows how. Let him feel that way. I've been on both sides, and whether or not I agree, it helps to understand.

I agree. I've owned a business (now a side-business) for thirty years and, in order to stay afloat, I have to mark up certain items by as much as 300 percent. The reason this purchase hurt so much is that it was an impulse buy. I did not need a new set of tires, as my Specialized Nimbus slicks are only a few months old. I just wanted the cool look and feel that all the advertising sold me on Maxxis Hookworms, and for that, I was willing to give up some other things I actually need. It turns out the Big Apples don't feel that much better than what I had and they certainly look dorky to me with that reflective strip around the circumference.

Again, though, I don't want to whine any more. It's done and I will live with them. Please only post positive comments from here on in, everybody!

Here's my 2 cents. Like Tom, I ride a MTB and don't really want a road bike. I bought a set of 26x1.95 Continental Town and Countries to replace the same some knobbies that were on the bike when I bought it after reading how they'd be quieter and give me a faster smoother ride. I used them for about a year wondering when the extra speed was going to appear before going to the Performance Forte 26x1.5 slicks that I prefer, and switch back to the Town and Countries during the early and late parts of the riding season when the deeper treads give me more reassurance when the weather can be bad. They allow me to ride more often than if I just had the slicks, and provide that feeling of extra speed when I replace them with the slicks after it's warm again. I can't say the Town and Countries were different enough than the knobbies I originally had to justify buying them, but they're the ones I put back on when it's time to switch to a bigger tire because I like them better than the knobbies. I love the smoother ride too, but not enough to keep them on when the weather is better. I also know that buying the Town and Countries may have cost me more than I wanted (I think I spent about $60 on the pair), but they allow me to keep riding (and that's priceless in a way) and I'm glad I have them.