Reddit mentions of SCHWALBE Marathon GG RLX Wire Bead Tire (26X2.0)

Just for clarification with terminology:

Wheel = the whole wheel, with or without the tire
Tire = the outer rubber part of the wheel
Rim = the outer part of the wheel the tire fits into

>The front is seemingly new, but that may just be that the wear is more even.

It's normal for the rear tire to wear faster because it carries more weight and drives you forward. If you brake mostly with the rear brake it gets even more uneven wear.

>Anyway, I don't take this thing in any serious mud. I'm running it because it's what was in the basement when I went off to college, so I get that mountain bikes aren't the best, but it's what I got.

There's nothing wrong with an older mountain bike for this kind of use apart from the tires. Early 90s MTBs with rigid forks are more like modern hybrids and touring bikes than modern MTBs (apart from the tires).

>But, I do still run it through the grass because my college has some annoyingly poor sidewalk planning, so running street slicks isn't the best option.

Unless the grass is on a steep hill you don't need knobbly tires. Yes you won't have that much grip with slicks if the grass is wet (in the dry it will be plenty grippy enough) but if the grass is fairly flat that doesn't matter. Many people greatly overestimate the necessity of knobbly tires for offroad riding.

> I can get a 26x2.125 cruiser wheel for pretty cheap.

You would be able to fit any 26" tire between about 1.4" and 2.4" you don't have to get exactly the same width. Though 1.9-2.3 is the width that makes the most sense on a bike like this.

While that tire would fit it is totally unsuitable, it's meant for a beach cruiser bike (and I wouldn't recommend it even for that). Because of the square profile it would handle terribly if not ridden in a straight line and it would be extremely slow, wouldn't be surprised if they rolled slower than your current knobbly tires. The tread it has might give more grip on sand but it wouldn't help on wet grass.

If you can only afford $20 per tire or less I'd go for a set of these

If you can afford a bit more I would go for these

You have gotten a number of crappy recommendations in this thread, from my time here it seems like the average ebiker is a 260lb dude who only wants a fat bike and to never peddle.

I am 135lbs, use a BBS02 on a mountain bike with Low rolling resistance tires and a 48V battery and have no problem going 30 with max peddle assist and half hearted peddling on flat ground.

When you are small you can make a lot happen without too much power, getting a little more aero and peddling a bit can be equivalent of adding 50% more power for basically free.

I would avoid hubs motors as they really heavy and ungainly to work on for smaller people, I have not ridden one but I bought one and noped out before finishing my build with a mid drive. Also being light means that you are a lot gentler on your drive train, a main criticism of mid drives.

You will be able to get 20 miles of range out of any good battery that isn't a meme battery like the mighty mini. Even with a smaller 11 amp hour battery 20 miles is doable while riding the bike like you stole it. A bigger battery gives you a buffer for windy/cold/hilly days and lets you go multiple short rides without charging.

I would spend a little bit more and get a nice setup if I was you, I personally found ebiking to be much more enjoyable than I thought it would be and would have splurged a bit more in hindsight.

A parts list something like this.

Motor: BBS02 with 46 tooth bling ring. $450

Battery:52V dolphin pack. $590

Bike: Random chinese bike(one I used). $300

Tires/rear shifter(bike uses bifters and you are replacing the brake levers with ebike ones) other bits and bobs: $100

Total cost before tax: $1450

You can go cheaper by going with a used bike, most anything will work really. Or get an ebay hub motor if you really want, but I find a 50lb bike already kinda a bear to deal with and a hub motor would push that weight higher and put it in a more awkward spot. Lastly by going with a 48v battery saving like $90.

You are probably not going to ride around at 30, at 30 you start catching a little air off really bumpy pavement and intersections feel sketchy. 25 is really comfy and with a setup described here you can do that all the time even up hills and have a little "merging power" left in the tank for faster roads.

Good luck with your build!