Wider Tires

[mkatt4x4]

Is it better to have wider mountain bike tires on a motorized bicycle.
Got myself a used mtb bike, with 26x2.1 tires and it looks like I got tons of space for the 2.3 tires. I have been looking at going electric for an all-in cost of $500 (500W Direct Drive, 30A 9FET, 60V 10Ah RC Lipo for total nominal over-power of 1800W, and range of 35km) I prefered this setup mainly because of the silence and stealth for riding on city bike paths, plus another major legal consideration (for my own circumstances) that this market appeals to for transportation needs.

So this is what I was thinking, mtb gas engine because the frictional loss on the tires doesnt waste precious electric watt/hours=gasoline, and the hybrid 700cx35 tires would be electric if I so choose. Or I could just buy seperate wheels for the mtb for less rotational mass etc.

Now has anyone enclosed a bicycle engine in a box on a rear mount setup with perhaps some sound deadening foam and computer fans for air cooling of the engine.

 

[paul]

I run 2.3 on my electric. I have ran 1.95 and see no difference in performance, what I do notice is my except my bottom feels better from the much smoother ride with the big tires on my motorized bicycle

 

[16v4nrbrgr]

The big fat tires really improve the ride on fixed frame bikes, my chopper rides pretty plush with just a suspension fork and a sprung seatpost to take the kerpow out of nutshot potholes. If the bike is mainly for the street, in my opinion some smooth tread tires are better than knobbies, since these motorized bikes chew threw knobbies very fast, I rotate the tires on mine pretty frequently because the wheelspin at takeoff wears even my smooth treaded tires slick down the center. The chopper tires which are 4" wide wear a lot slower, simply due to the bigger contact patch, so thats another benefit of running fat tires because they will last longer.

 

[miked826]

I plan on alleviating all my suspension/handling/loading issues in one fell swoop with my 18" x 4" DOT Approved street knobbies. Those aren't midget feet in the pic either. Those are my feet and I'm 6' tall. LOL