Commuting - MTB slick question.

i did a search and came up with nothing, but will a MTB 1.00", 1.25" or1.50" tire hold up as well hitting potholes, curbs, riding down stairs, and general abuse as well at my 26x1.95 knobbys. I need a durable tire for my urban commute

I just bought 1.5 slicks to replace my 1.75 knobbies, so I'll tell you in a few months. The feedback I have had so far is that they should. I am not sure, though, how narrow you can go on your existing rims.

umm, i didnt know there was a limit on how narrow i can go

In a word, yes. Pump them up regularly to keep the recommended pressure in them and you shouldn't have problems. I don't ride down stairs on my bike, because I have zero desire to do it, and even if I did my mudflaps would scrape :D . I don't advise going too narrow if you plan to do stuff like this unless you enjoy trashing your rims.

I did a lot of shopping around when I finally wore through my rear tire and just decided to go with Specialized Fat Boys again (26x1.25). With some tire liners I have had zero problems with flats, they're cheap, and they're rated to 100psi. Most mtb slicks are only rated to 80 or so.

I run my specialized nimbus 1.5 semi slick on my cannondale f700 at 70psi (recommend 80psi) with tire liner. I have no issue jumping off curbs and running over potholes and the rims are still pretty true. I think the key is not running at the max psi and you should be okay.

thanks, i dont ride doen whole flights of stairs just a few sets of 5 stairs

Serfas Vermin. 1.9 Kevlar mat semi-slick.
Say 25-29$.
Wicked good tire, I've hit some pretty wild wet urban with it.
Works good as a dry offroad tire as well. Best of both worlds.

Schwalbe Big Apple. Go to Schwalbe's site and read up about it. I bet you'll buy a set straightaway.

I would say it would survive but like what the rest said. It has some limitations. If the wheel is built right it will go a long way. I ride my cross bike offroad(was my main ofroad bike for the longest time) and I use Conti Twisters in a 38(35 in the real world) and the wheels only needs to be trued every4-6 months. Not bad for some skinny tired offroad bike.

thanks, i dont ride doen whole flights of stairs just a few sets of 5 stairs
I have IRC Metros on my mtb and I don't ride down stairs. I jump them! I also ride on some pretty chewed up streets everyday as part of my commute. Think of gravel that's been chewed up and spit back out by something really big and left like that w/ no smoothing over. That's what I commute over, plus stray gravel, pot holes, sewer gratings, etc. I flatted once in more than 6 months. Just keep the tire pressure up and you should be fine. Throw in tire liners if you want some extra security.

Marathon Slicks 26x1.35. These roll pretty well and will hold up to about anything you throw at them.
Stelvio 26x1.0 are the fastest MTB tire but are much more fragile. Similar to a racing road tire.
Marathons and Marathon Pluses are also available in several widths for 26" wheels.
Craig

ask Rykoala ... he does not do the downstairs riding but he puts a good number of miles on crappy roads on them

I have Specialized Nimbus (with Armadillo technology, no less ) 26x1.5 with a tire liner. Run them at 80 psi (mas recommended...) Have less than 100 commuting miles on them, so time will tell how good they are, but the front tire took a pretty hard slam on a 4"+ rock on the shoulder the other morning with.

BTW, does anyone else find it ironic that these things have "Armadillo" technology? I'm sure that's supposed to refer to their "armor" and all, but the only armadillos I have ever seen are dead on the side of the road - not exactly what I'm hoping for from my tires... ;)

I have Specialized Nimbus (with Armadillo technology, no less ) 26x1.5 with a tire liner. Run them at 80 psi (mas recommended...) Have less than 100 commuting miles on them, so time will tell how good they are, but the front tire took a pretty hard slam on a 4"+ rock on the shoulder the other morning with.

BTW, does anyone else find it ironic that these things have "Armadillo" technology? I'm sure that's supposed to refer to their "armor" and all, but the only armadillos I have ever seen are dead on the side of the road - not exactly what I'm hoping for from my tires... ;)

They are dead but NOT flat :D
You ride with tire liner and armadillo!! You ain't never gonna get a flat. I rode just the Nimbus Armadillos and had only 1 flat in 5,000miles. Huge hunk a glass, barely made it through.

i ride on continentals (about 1.25'' wide) so far ive gotten 2 flats when bunnyhopping and landing with the back wheel on the corner of the curb. dented my rim real bad on the first one, nothing a little trueing wont help.

You ain't never gonna get a flat.

That's the goal! Had to replace the toobs (8 years old, original, and apparently lacking integrity) when I started this commute thing. Those tires are a bear to get off the wheels (sidewalls are REALLY stiff) in the comfort of my own garage - sure as heck don't want to be doing that on the side of the road...

I use vredestein s-licks, 26x1.3. I've worn out several pairs without ever having a flat.

I have the Conti sport contacts - 26 x 1.3 and they are impressive - light, narrow and fast but quite puncture resistant- the only flats I have had were caused by long pieces of metal like nails that most tyres would find hard to repel. They look quite fragile being very narrow but I have ridden them often and quite hard on rough stony tracks and they stand up to my 200+ lbs with no problem

I've run Richey Slicks (1.4) and Geax Roadsters (1.6) with very good luck.

I have a 15 mile daily commute with four miles of crushed limestone and have been using the above tires for two years.

The Geax wear like iron and the Richey has very low rolling resistance.

Schwalbe Big Apple. Go to Schwalbe's site and read up about it. I bet you'll buy a set straightaway.

26 X 2.35! :eek:

You can get 1.95 slicks & semi-slicks, take a look at the tread on BMX street tyres and go for something similar. I wouldn't go totally smooth if you're planning on jumping things, you'll sometimes find a it of 'bite' helpful; i run Maxxis 20x1.95s on my folderupper; it's now faster than it was with the stock specialized nimbus 1.5s, for some strange reason. Probably because it happily bounces over things now, instead of bouncing off them...

ask Rykoala ... he does not do the downstairs riding but he puts a good number of miles on crappy roads on them

Hehe, you saw me coming! Yeah I ride the 1.25's on my fixed gear Rock Hopper. And I love them. I've pined over 1.9's in the past but keep loving the pure speed I can get out of the 1.25's. They are just the cheapy performancebike.com 1.25's. I think I paid $8 each for them. I'd get kevlar next time, but as it is I rarely get flats. I don't do anything outrageous with them like huhenio said, but along with some strong wheels they've taken some pretty big hits on potholes that I didn't see in time and survived. And I'm a 300lbs guy, so its not like I'm easy on wheels and tires. Like everyone else said, just keep the pressure up :)

I commute on 700x38 (1.50") tires and have little trouble doing light single track on the way home. Fully loaded the truck scales at work weighed me at 260 lbs (pounds not local bike shop :p ). While I do not go out of my way to hit potholes I won't avoid them if the alternative is getting hit by a car. I just slow down. Just keep the presure up, even a little high.

26 X 2.35! :eek:
They also come in 2". And importantly, they have extremely low rolling resistance - lower than a narrow slick.

but the only armadillos I have ever seen are dead on the side of the road - not exactly what I'm hoping for from my tires...

dead... but are they flat?

I'm running kenda 1.25 semi-slicks on my mtn bike. Works great for the winter conditions 'round these parts. Can't hit the road hazards the same as when running 1.95 knobbies but the thin tires roll a lot easier. Maybe you need a fat slick to protect your rims and get (somewhat) lower rolling resistance.

Finally got to test my IRC Metro 26 x 1.5's today, and they were great. Faster ride (shaved about 5 mins of a 8km ride) and I reckon with less effort. Love 'em.

I have Specialized Nimbus (with Armadillo technology, no less ) 26x1.5 with a tire liner. Run them at 80 psi (mas recommended...) Have less than 100 commuting miles on them, so time will tell how good they are, but the front tire took a pretty hard slam on a 4"+ rock on the shoulder the other morning with.

BTW, does anyone else find it ironic that these things have "Armadillo" technology? I'm sure that's supposed to refer to their "armor" and all, but the only armadillos I have ever seen are dead on the side of the road - not exactly what I'm hoping for from my tires... ;)

I have an older version of those tires with "Flak Jacket" technology. Haven't taken a bullet yet.
:D

Seriously, I find 26x1.5 street tires to be a nice sweet spot for commuting.

I use Geax Semislicks Kevlars. I swear by those. I mean, come on, 3000 miles plus through South and Central America, through 7 types of terrain, fully loaded without a puncture flat (I did get a pinch flat though from my Mr. Tuffies.)?!!

If they can survive the crap I put them through there, they can survive ANYWHERE. I LOVE those tires!

I purchased my Marin Muirwoods with WTB Slickasaurus 26" x 1.5" tires on it. I inflate them to 75 psi (max is 80). I have ridden 950 miles on them and not yet had a flat.

There was construction along my route last summer and twice I rode over lumber that had been left laying across the bike path -- perhaps placed there by our local children engaging in thuggery? One of pieces of lumber was a 2x4 the other was a 4x4. I did not see either of them before I hit them -- quite a shock to the arms, since the bike has no suspension. Despite these hits, my wheels are still true and my tires are still flat-free.

Can you really see a speed difference when you switch from say 1.95 knobbies to a slick tire on a mountain bike commuter?
Is it worth the money to spend to swap out tires for say a 10 mile commute each way?
In another words will I actually see the commute take less time and make me less tired overall?
If it will, then I would say it is totally worth it for me.
What do you all think?

PinkDirt: By all means, yes! Go to a 1.5" slick and its like night and day. Even a 1.9" slick will be a huge difference, although the smaller tire is lighter and is a bigger difference. Let me put it this way: My commute is only 5.5 miles each way and it makes a good 10 minute difference on my ride.

Go for it, and don't look back. These are a good place to start:
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=2311&subcategory_ID=5425
They're cheap, they're fast, and they can take 90psi (the highest I've seen a MTB slick...)

Can that one be used if I have a few gravelly or grassy sections to get over --not much, maybe a block?

Yeah a block of rough stuff won't hurt it. Grass is no problem, even dirt roads aren't a problem. They aren't optimized for it obviously but they will still roll just fine.