If you thought fat tires were already wide enough, then think again. Himiway’s newest fat tires are still packing a little holiday weight, and the company is not ashamed. Now it’s showing it off on its latest electric bikes.
Himiway has used typical 26.0″ x 4.0″ tires on its e-bikes for quite some time, opting for one of the most common fat tire sizes in the electric fat bike industry.
But the company has just announced that it is loosening up one belt notch to outfit its e-bikes with an updated 4.5″ tire. The tires come with more than just an extra half-inch of rubber width. They also have an entirely new tread pattern.
The new tires are Himiway-badged Kenda tires, specifically the Kenda 26 × 4.5 K1277.
This model replaces the previous 4-inch Kenda fat tires that used a knobbier design with a new wider and more multi-surface tread. The stud-style tread blocks of the old tires are replaced by a flatter tread pattern that still offers significant grooves but provides more rubber surface in contact with the ground.
The company explained that “the 4.0″ Kenda model comes with moderately sized knobs and moderate spacing that can’t offer the desired highly secured grip in extremely mucky and loose terrain. On the other hand, the new 4.5″ Kenda model has proven to offer the best service for extreme performance for an extensive and versatile range of riding styles and conditions.”
We’ve seen e-bikes with 4.5″ fat tires before, but they generally use that more pin/stud-style tread that is idea for traction in grass and dirt, as opposed to this hybrid-style tread for multi-surface riding.
The new 4.5″ fat tires will grace many of Himiway’s e-bike models including the Himiway Cobra Pro, Big Dog, Escape Pro, and Zebra.
I had the chance to review the Himiway Big Dog late last year, and you can check out that video below. Just try and imagine it with an extra half inch of rubber.
Electrek’s Take
I’ll be honest, seven or eight years ago when fat-tire e-bikes were first becoming popular, I thought it was silly. Those ridiculously large tires just looked dumb to me, and I couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to reduce their range with all that extra rubber or make the bike that much harder to pedal with a dead battery.
And then I started riding fat-tire e-bikes, and I instantly understood. It was just more fun to ride off-road. The massive tires with low air pressure allowed me to hit obstacles that I would previously have taken great lengths to avoid. They weren’t as nimble at mountain bike tires, but that didn’t matter for the type of recreational riding that most leisure riders do. And if you keep an eye on your battery consumption, you’re never stuck having to pedal those big tires back home.
In this case I’m not sure there’s a vast difference between 4.0″ and 4.5″ fat tires, but it certainly does add even more credence to the idea of floating over obstacles. The bigger difference here — and what interests me more — is that pseudo-urban tread pattern. Since so many people are using fat tire e-bikes for city and suburban riding, I’m betting this tread will feel better on streets than the typical pinny-style knobby fat tires that come on many electric fat bikes. Conversely, I wonder how well it will work for slippery terrain like snow, mud, or sand.
But there’s only one way to find out, and that’s to try them myself. Himiway, if you’re listening, let’s put these big ol’ fatties to the test, shall we?
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