Triathlon - Mountain bike 29er for first Triathlon

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Crue4
09-10-08, 02:11 PM
Quick advice question guys... I am going to use my Gary Fisher Xcaliber 29er for my first Triathlon.. can anyone recommend a good tire to use in the Triathlon that I can put on it instead of my "knobbies" which are 29 x 2.1 size wise.. Secondly I do ride some sidewalks and some rough roads to train... so I would want something that is durable enough to handle that as well..

What type of time/speed difference would you guess that making the change from knobbies to "slicker" tires will make.. 10 sec/mile, 20sec/mile, 30sec/mile... ?

Thanks in advance..

C Law
09-26-08, 02:44 PM
is this an on road tri?

any 30mm road tire would work. just make sure the width is wider than the bead seat of your rim.

I would through out a guess that you would be talking about an easy 5 mph difference between a knobby MTB and a road tire
LAWMAN
09-26-08, 04:28 PM
it'll be faster & more comfortable, but no biggie if you don't want to bother, unless you are trying to win the thing. I did a run/bike/run duathlon once on a MTB w/wide bars & knobbies, just as a lark, & passed a guy on a ti tri bike w/aero bars, aero front wheel & full disc rear--he was not happy about it. it's all about the motor (wish I were still in shape like that!).

landshark1
09-26-08, 10:25 PM
What type of time/speed difference would you guess that making the change from knobbies to "slicker" tires will make.. 10 sec/mile, 20sec/mile, 30sec/mile... ?


~1.5 or 2 mph. Slap on a clip-on aerobar for another ~1 mph.
Crue4
09-28-08, 05:40 PM
Well I did a super sprint tri on it after changing the Knobbies to some slicks (700 x 32mm).. Improved over the knobbies by about 2mph average..... BUT the bike was still VERY humbling as there simply is no way to get the speeds that road/tri bikes can get (I actually road the course with a friends road bike and average a little more than 4mph over the course compared to even what I got on the "slicks on the 29er)..... (that is a HUGE difference in a race.) ... I am ready to buy a bike now before my first sprint next month.. now the serious search begins.. Going to have about $1500... any suggestions of those that I need to consider and try in person..