Big tires are fun in an exuberant, childlike way. Really big tires are even more fun.  The Fat Frank is a very big, shallow tread bmx-y/cruiser/street tire. The 26″ version is 2.35″/60mm wide, the 700C version is 50mm wide.

A big tire with heavy, stiff casing is no good, but one with a light, supple casing rides like dream.  The Franks fall into the latter category.  The large volume allows the tire to be used at lower air pressures and the tires soak up road bumps and irregularities rather than transferring those bumps through the bike and into the rider.

My daily ride is a Velorbis Churchill Balloon with 26″ Franks, and I use 25 psi rear as 20 psi in the front on a bike that regularly carries just over 200 pounds (me and my toddler). The tires make smooth work of downtown Wilmington’s cobblestone and poorly paved streets.

We regularly stock the cream 26″ version with reflective stripe, and 26″ black with no reflective stripe, which saves a couple of bucks. The 700C version is only available in cream with reflective stripe.

Black with no reflective stripe currently backordered from Schwalbe.

26×2.35″ (60-559)

700Cx2.0″ (50-622)