dmethvin Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 EDIT: See updates near the end of the thread, I had some problems with this tire. I decided to go for one of these tires for the Firewheel, it was about $30 at a seller on Amazon which was cheaper than buying it direct from Schwalbe if you have Amazon Prime. The benefit to this tire is supposed to be that it provides a smoother ride. Unfortunately it is raining heavily today so I can't try it out! I figured I would post the photo album anyway and follow up with riding experience later. Here is the album: http://imgur.com/a/bl3U5 Previous discussions of this tire in other threads: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmethvin Posted February 27, 2016 Author Share Posted February 27, 2016 Finally got a clear (but cold!) day to ride a little bit. Here are my initial impressions about the Big Apple. Just to recap, the Schwalbe site says: "The Big Apple started off the Balloonbike trend ten years ago: Comfortable cycling without using complicated technology! Air cushion tires are used as natural suspension. Inflated to around 2 Bar a Balloonbike rolls really easily and with a full suspension effect. A normal tire with a width of 37 mm must be inflated to a rock-hard 4 bar, in order to roll similarly well. " Given that description, on my first ride I set the pressure at 36psi (about 2.5 bar). (The tire says it handles 30-70psi.) On the OEM tire I usually ride at 45psi. Pros: Definitely a smooth comfortable ride! Bumps are softer and road noise from the tread is almost non-existent. Even at 35psi it feels like less road friction than the OEM tire at 45psi. Probably due to the width? Cons: Less friction with the road feels strange compared to the OEM tire. That may go away after I'm used to it. Because it's not as wide, the tire tends to stick a bit more in large cracks. The Firewheel shell seems to scrape more when I go up/down some inclines, the wheel is slightly less tall. Overall I'm pretty happy with the tire and plan to give it a longer trial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmethvin Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 Over the past few days I've been riding at 45psi (about 3.1 bar) which has fixed the problem with the scraping problem I mentioned. The ride is a bit rougher but still seems softer than the OEM tire. Now that I've been riding on it I'm used to it and like it a lot. I'm keeping this one mounted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StreetMeatNYC Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 How's it going with the tire so far? I ride a 9bot1, and switched a few days ago to the big apple. It's been really squirrly, and harder to control, I have more foot pain and my batt dying faster. I'm wondering if it's cause of air pressure. I ran my ninebot at 50psi, I tried that with the big apple but seems too much. Just wondering where you are at with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmethvin Posted April 2, 2016 Author Share Posted April 2, 2016 I like it! It was a bit more comfortable with less pressure but the shell scraped too much when the tire gave a lot on bumps. I am riding at about 45psi. The wheel is definitely a lot "looser" than it was with the wider wheel but I like it that way. If anything it seems to have made my range longer, and the wheel does say it has low rolling resistance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StreetMeatNYC Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 Yeah, I dropped it to 40 PSI and its a lot more comfortable, now only thing I'm worried about is because of the low resistance I don't realize how fast I'm going and I constantly getting the high speed tilt back. But I guess that will go away with time and usage... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmethvin Posted June 28, 2016 Author Share Posted June 28, 2016 Update: After a few months of riding on this tire I had a strange situation where the sidewall "ripped" on both sides at different points along the wheel. The reflective strip is also coming off the tire at several other points. You can definitely feel these as "lumps" when you're riding. Fortunately I still have the old Kenda tire and I'll put that back on. I'm contacting Schwalbe to see if they'll cover this, it's pretty strange. See the photos below. Higher resolution photos at http://imgur.com/a/VXmww Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve454 Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 5 hours ago, dmethvin said: Update: After a few months of riding on this tire I had a strange situation where the sidewall "ripped" on both sides at different points along the wheel. The reflective strip is also coming off the tire at several other points. You can definitely feel these as "lumps" when you're riding. Fortunately I still have the old Kenda tire and I'll put that back on. I'm contacting Schwalbe to see if they'll cover this, it's pretty strange. See the photos below. Higher resolution photos at http://imgur.com/a/VXmww That looks like a blowout. You should replace it. Usually happens when hitting a sharp edge and the pressure jumps up to the point that the weakest part bulges out. Usually only happens on old and dryrotted tires on cars but for EUC might be different. (or a potential blowout that is) do you feel an up and down while riding? If you do, definitely replace the tire. If not keep riding and let us know how it holds up. Could be with the relatively light forces encountered it would not be a safety issue. But just for looking better you should change the tire. After all, it is a small tire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StreetMeatNYC Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Mine did the same thing after a short period of time. I was told my tire pressure was too low, but it pulled into turns and got squerrly on white lines when any higher... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OleTC Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 I have ruined several tires on my bicycle, riding with too low pressure. Somewhat similar look, as what You've got. Ultimately the outer tube breaks at the rim, cause it is constructed to be stiff and the low pressure in the inner tube allows it to bend. Then the ride gets bumpy and snakey. The inner tube could even peak out. So higher pressure during riding is the cure. I say replace this, since it could open up at high speed and trigger unstability and a fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve454 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 @OleTC I agree, if the tire is not looking good, replace it. It's a hassle, for sure, but well worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmethvin Posted June 30, 2016 Author Share Posted June 30, 2016 Yep, already replaced and I'm back to the original tire. The ride is a bit stiffer but at least i can keep rolling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flass Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 Bumping up this old thread with a question to you Schwalbe Big Apple users out there! I have a Kingsong KS-16 and I have a Schwalbe big apple tire but am a bit unsure whether to replace the Kenda tire supplied by Kingsong or not. It is apparently a tiny bit thinner than the Kenda tire (which is 57-305), is this something you can feel in the sense of reduced stability riding on low speeds? The thing is that I still suck quite alot at riding my KS-16, and I have never ridden above 10kmph. If you big apple users consider this, would you still think it's a good thing for me to make the effort and replace the tire? I have to replace the inner tube right now anyway so it would be practical to do both at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmethvin Posted September 23, 2016 Author Share Posted September 23, 2016 18 hours ago, flass said: It is apparently a tiny bit thinner than the Kenda tire (which is 57-305), is this something you can feel in the sense of reduced stability riding on low speeds? It definitely changes the ride, the EUC feels like it moves with a little less friction against the road. That is both good and bad. It's like the difference between when your tire is pumped up really hard and when it's a little softer. Also the extra amount of spring from the tire makes the EUC feel a little looser but not to the point where you would lose control. I liked the tire and would have kept it on except for the sidewall damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallexis Posted October 14, 2016 Share Posted October 14, 2016 On 29/06/2016 at 1:00 AM, steve454 said: That looks like a blowout. You should replace it. Usually happens when hitting a sharp edge and the pressure jumps up to the point that the weakest part bulges out. Usually only happens on old and dryrotted tires on cars but for EUC might be different. (or a potential blowout that is) do you feel an up and down while riding? If you do, definitely replace the tire. If not keep riding and let us know how it holds up. Could be with the relatively light forces encountered it would not be a safety issue. But just for looking better you should change the tire. After all, it is a small tire. I ve got same problem with 14" x 2.00 SCHWALBE BIG APPLE after 200 km (only). Sidewall are not enough strong for EUC use. I was in holidays (this summer) far from my home when I've got this problem. The only one solution was to find a local shop in order to buy a new tire. And I've found a solution in Decathlon (french sport shop) which sell this tire : http://www.decathlon.fr/pneu-velo-enfant-14x195-id_8328470.html it offer the max PSI (50) that I have found and its off-road design is very nice for sand, but making too much noise on road. With its very low price, this tire saved my holidays and allowed me to visit Marseille during long ride across this famous city (on the south of France). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbulkow Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Will add that the Schwalbe Big Apple on an Inmotion v8, even though rated to the exact same size as stock, is slightly larger in profile and rubs. Did not work for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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