Commuting - commuting on my mountain bike

I am the owner of a single full suspension mountain bike. I use it to commute to work occasionally but most of its use is in the dirt. I have 2 questions.

1) Is there a decent tire that will fit on a mountain bike and works well on the road? Are there oversized slicks or something smooth in the center that is worth buying?

2) I have disk brakes so it would be a bit pricey to get a second set of wheels to swap out. Besides just being a pain for me, are there any major problems with swapping a tire once or twice every couple of weeks?

as far as tires go, I'm not partial to any brand but these have been good to me through the years:
IRC Metro
Avocet Cross
Ritchey Tom Slick
Michelin Wildgripper City (a little on the square side.)

I've settled on the 1.5 inch size after trying everything from 1.0 through 2.0 inch slicks.

Switching out the slicks for the knobbies often won't necessarily hurt a tire but it sure can be a pain. I'm sure that after a while you want to get a spare set of wheels to make things easier.

I use V brakes and got lucky and bought a set of wheels and tires from a garage sale for $5.00! Shimano Deore hubs with Ritchey rims! The owner replaced the wheels when the front one went out of true. He thought they were shot. Maybe I should have told him...nah. :lol:

Dang, I wonder if I could find a set of wheels with disk brakes on them at a yard sale for $5... hmm, maybe ebay. I guess I need to take a trip to the LBS and see what they have.

I would recommend the Michelin Wild Grip City's also 26x1.5, I have used these for about a year and they are fantastic for bitumen. I live in the hills and feel very safe with these tyres when the roads are winding and wet. I have also used Continental Town & Country, these are good also but tend to look a bit fat and heavy.

CHEERS.

Mark

The Michelins are only good for bitumen, they aren't a dirt/road tyre.

I tried Continental Town and Country last year and didn't like them. They didn't grip very well in the wet and the sidewalls didn't last very long either. Virtually any slick of 26x1.5" will do the job. You just have to inspect them regularly for signs of wear.

I use Vredestein Spiders which are basically a touring tyre, 1.8" but only the smooth central inch contacts unless cornering steeply or on soft surfaces. Okay on dirt roads as well as tarmac.

Keep meaning to try the Vredestein S-licks (1.3"?) but as I use the bike on and off-road most weeks, often in the same ride I'm not sure whether I'd cope with swapping tyres over on a regular basis.

Both come with a puncture resistant layer (1800 miles including riding over hedge cutting and broken glass without a puncture).

Richard

i had good luck with 1.5" high pressure slicks, but i found it a major pain to always change tires...

a decent compromise is a semi-slick on the front -- like the Panaracer or IRC or Bontraeger -- with decent pressure (55psi) only the flat center touches on pavement, but you have knobbies on the side for cornering and for off-road lower the pressure a little and work well unless it's really muddy (i originally bought mine for XC racing in hardpack - they're really fast off-road too!)

then for the back a semi-slick is more of a compromise... or you can run a knobby with straigh tread in the middle...

anyway, this way you can commute and then do some off-road rides w/o changing the tires and then only change them when you have a big or muddy ride.

i personally find it a pain to change tires more than twice a month!

i have used the semi-slick front for 10kmx2 daily commute for 1 year and only changed it out for a few muddy off-road rides. as i said, back is different b/c you need tread for off-road traction.