I want to buy a bike with fat wheels out of fear of getting stuck on the tram lines. Does anyone have any bike recommendations for this? And are there any drawbacks to buying a bike with fat wheels riding through the city? Like are they slower?
Thanks
C
Just use a normal bike. The chance you fall because of tram rails is not so big if you pay a little bit attention.
They are slower than ultra light long distance street bikes...but unless you are looking to be a bike courier, it won't slow you down too much.
Also let it roll out compared to road race bike is huge difference.
If I lived in the city, I would seriously be looking into one of these: https://garth.at/
There are city bikes that have wider tires 3.5-4.5cm like this one ( https://www.canyon.com/de-ch/hybrid-...-5.0/1955.html ). It's a nice compromise between tires wide enough to be comfortable on the city, relatively low rolling resistance, and it has mudguards to keep your rear dry. The only downside is the price, they offer more or less the same as mountain bikes but usually at twice the price.
That brings us to modern mountain bikes that have tires between 5-6.5 cm width. A bit more rolling resistance that a city bike but also more comfortable because tires work at lower air pressure. Mountain bikes also brake better in the wet, you don't have to be a expert in braking to avoid sliding and falling. They're also cheap because everyone is selling one that has been forgotten on the cellar. Another upside of a MTB is you can bring it to the dirt any day, no worries.
Finally, rent bikes and test them until you find the right one. There are bikes for rent in local shops, train stations, bike fairs, etc.
Alternatively, just get used to riding near tram tracks. To be honest, after a bit of time, in a city, you'll realise they're the least of your worries.
Make a rule of only crossing them at near-right-angles.
Also consider how you will transport your stuff while on a bike. I personally hate having anything on my back. I have a rear rack on which I can mount panier bags, but some people like having an rear-mounted basket in which you can throw e.g. your laptop back or handbag.
Of course, this is not to say that wider tyres are faster, as this will also be determined by a number of other factors, notably, rotational mass (a wider tyre not only requires more material, but also a wider rim), tread pattern and rubber compound.
As for the type of bike, the world's your oyster. Depending on your riding style, at one end of the spectrum, you could go for a classic Dutch bike (they typically run fairly wide tyres), you could get a mountain bike and fit it with slick tyres (which will still be wide), or you could even get a 'gravel' bike which is essentially a road bike with wider tyres to cope with a wider variety of terrain. You'd be looking at 1.5-2.5" tyre width in most of the above-mentioned cases. Of course, you could go extreme and buy a fat bike, which will come with 4-5" tyres (you can actually get replacement slicks for those as well), but that will of course be complete and utter overkill.
The bottom line is that anything over 1" in width will be more than capable for riding on bumpy city roads, but 1.5-2.5" will give you better comfort and traction. As for the tram tracks, just look ahead and approach them as square on as possible. I'm sure that your fear will dissipate after a few rides.
Nah, how about one of these :
https://www.velomobiel.nl/alpha7/
50 km/h sustained, on human power alone, and no fear of tramrails !
OP, if you want to feel safe, have you thought about a bike with 4" wide tires and an electric motor ?
inflate mountain bike tyres to the max (maybe less in winter)
adjust front suspension to fairly rigid (still useful for bumping up and down kerbs.
rear suspension a waste of energy
use studded winter tyres - I use one on the rear wheel all year long, is this logical?
There has been a trend to widen tyres and lower pressures over the last 15 years with the 21's being replaced by 23's, then 25's and I think the current TdF bunch are mostly running 28mm width. There is some stirrings to go wider again as with disc brakes there is less of a clearance issue for brake calipers.
With regards to rolling resistance, in lab conditions on a smooth wheel higher pressure skinny tyres work well, on rougher roads lower pressure wider tyres work better. So if you're in the velodrome you can run your 23's at 150psi, on the road you'd be bouncing around all over the place.