TAICHUNG, Taiwan (BRAIN) — If you drive a hybrid car and have tried non-hybrid tires, you have probably seen your efficiency drop. Hybrid-specific tires are designed to get the most range out of a battery charge. Duro understands it's all about squeezing the most range out of batteries, so its e-bike-specific Evolve line tweaks rubber compounds for its road tires to deliver the longest journey between recharges.
"Traditional road tires are made with rubber having durometer readings in the low 60s. Evolve road tires' center tread strip has a durometer reading of 70. We are using stiffer rubber so the tire's rolling resistance is lower," said Michael Kleinheinz, of Duro Tire's bicycle division.
"But that is not the only thing an e-bike tire has to address. E-bikes are heavier and they go faster, so the tires need to be tougher. And e-bike users prefer tubes — it's tire tech they understand, so these are mostly tube-type tires," Kleinheinz said.
In Europe, fast e-bikes (speed-pedelecs) are required to have speed-pedelec tires. Likewise, e-mountain bike tires are regulated.
Evolve mountain bike tires meet European regulation having to deal with the extra weight and higher speed of electric mountain bikes, so they are different from standard mountain bike tires.
"Evolve mountain tires have a slightly beefier bead and a heavier casing to deal with the higher load on the tires," Kleinheinz said.