Jaywalk3r

Can you think of any other change that will result in a similar increase in speed on a street ridden mountain bike? Going from knobbies to street tires will make a pretty huge difference. It's easily the lowest hanging fruit.

tjspiel

An electric motor?

I'm not suggesting there's another (easy) change that would make as much difference. I'm only saying that after reading all these testimonials about how great slicks are vs knobbies on roads, the OP might get the impression that it makes a bigger difference than it really does and be disappointed.

I prefer slicks when riding on streets too. However, there is one bike I ride with knobbies, slicks, or studded tires depending on the season and it's not like my commute time gets cut in half if I switch from knobbies to slicks. It does make a difference, I'm just saying that if your expectations are realistic, you'll be happy. So keep the expectations realistic.

no motor?

I've used the Performance versions of these for over 5 years, and putting them on after taking off the Continental Town and Countries did the same for me as they did for RubeRad. The Continentals were good tires, but not the right ones for me. I did get one flat on the slicks while riding, and that was due to running over some clear glass one dark, cold, wet night. The other flats I've got with them was due to the tube failing, one due to Performance not installing the rim strip when they sold me a new rear wheel and switched the cassette and tire over for me, and the other tube failed due to fatigue at the stem hole - neither of those had anything to do with the quality of the tire and happened when I wasn't riding.

These made me faster by a gear or two, and allowed me to ride further than I'd been able to before I put them on. You're still going to have to pedal and deal with the wind and hills, but it's going to be noticeably easier with them on. There are a number of us that use these on rigid mountain bikes, and I'm one of the ones who plans on using them until something better comes along.

tjkoko

+1 +1 +1 with the above quote. I share the identical experience after swapping out my Continental T & C's for WTB slicks, size 37-559.

Cycle_of_life

Hello again, everyone.

I rode to my local bike shop, talked with them about what I was reading here, and they sold me two of these:Specialized Bicycle Components

I went home, went back and picked up my bike about an hour later, and rode it home.

About 4pm, the skies cleared enough to take a ride.

Here are my first observations:

1.) The bike accelerates a little faster.
2.) The bike was pretty quiet with the other tires, but now it doesn't make any noise at all while rolling.
3.) The ride is noticeably smoother.
4.) I have gone from mostly using 4th gear in back to using 5th gear. 38 sprocket in front.

4th gear used to get to about 10mph not pedaling hard on flat ground, now it gets me to about 12mph.

When I use 5th gear, I can get to about 13.5mph with the same effort. Naturally, starting off the line is a little slower, but after about 50 feet, the bike accelerates quickly.

So far, most of what many of you have said is true: the ride is smoother, and the bike is quicker.

Bear in mind the streets were still wet, and I couldn't even try to put the bike through its paces, but I am very pleased.

The two tires installed, and brakes adjusted, $93.00.

I will give a more in depth report as soon as I can.

Thanks to everyone who offered advice.

Mike

noglider 

Being able to shift up a gear is an indication of a very big difference! See, we told you so!

Fishy Hunter

I like the WTB slick with flat guard. 26x1.5. Nice ride with no issues for a daily rider. I tried the Continental T&C but I would get a lot of flats on them. I also run the kevlar liner. If you use the slim tubes...they might throw the wheel balance off on high speeds.

alan s 

List price of almost $117 per tire for the tubeless 28 x 2. Seriously?

Darth Lefty 

Yeah, that's bizonkers. It doesn't say UST, either. It's hard to imagine what they could have done to the tire to make it cost that much. There are motorcycle tires that don't cost that much.

I've learned enough about tubeless to want to try it now. It does seem that there are things about tubeless-specific tires and rims that help. Tubeless specific rims and tires don't weep at first, seat easier, and are more resistant to snakebite at very low pressure. But I had been unable to find any tubeless-specific slicks in commuter sizes. Now I know of... this one. However, it's perfectly possible to rig up nearly any blackwall clincher tire and rim tubeless, so long as it's not at road bike pressure that would make it pop off. I've found a few people reporting that they're running Serfas Drifters tubeless. That or similar sounds like a good bet.

Cycle_of_life

I went on a 20 mile ride yesterday, and a 10 mile charity ride today, and these tires are great.

Let me restate what I said in post # 55, and add a couple of things.

The bike accelerates more quickly, and I have gone up from 4th gear to 5th gear with only a little more effort starting from a stop.

Not only does the bike accelerate more quickly from standing still, it also accelerates more quickly in the 10 to 15mph range, something the knobbies were very sluggish at.

Not only do street tires give a smoother ride at low speeds, they give a smoother ride at higher speeds; it's here that I really noticed the lesser rolling resistance.

The fastest I had my bike going on flat pavement with the knobbies, was 17.2mph. With the steet tires, I got my bike up to 18.5mph with less effort, and I know I could have gone faster. This was done on a dedicated bike trail with no one around; I would never attempt this kind of speed near people.

I am very glad I bought these tires, and would recommend changing knobbies for street tires to anyone who knows they're not going to do a lot of off-road riding.

Now, a question:

The recommended rating for the new tires is between 50 and 100psi. My bike shop gave them to me at 50psi. Since then, I've read that it's usually better to run a street tire at or near its maximum rating. I now have them at 80psi front, and about 95psi rear. Is this OK?

I'm 205lbs.

Thanks.

Mike

energyandair

On smooth roads I'd run those near the upper limit so that they run primarily on the unbroken rubber at the center of the tire. It the surface is rougher, I'd expect them to work better at somewhat lower pressure.

LesterOfPuppets

I like to run them as soft as possible for maximum comfort but not so soft that pinch flatting on a driveway lip becomes likely.

noglider 

A guide to pressure. Note that the weights are per wheel, not per bike.


https://www.bikequarterly.com/images/TireDrop.pdf

Cycle_of_life

Energyandair says to run them at high pressure, LesterOfPuppets (cool name ) says to run them lower, and noglider's chart seems to advise a middle of the road approach. No pun intended.

The chart ends at 37mm tires; mine are 1.75" tires, so that translates to 44.45mm.

My tires have a range of 50 to 100psi, but they're wide, so I'll try running them at about 75 to 80psi, and see the results.

Thanks for your replies.

Mike

RubeRad

Yes, the chart ends at 37, that is why I did this attempt at a formula to estimate recommended pressure as a function of load, for any width tire. But in the end, any mechanical process only gets you to a starting point; you then have to adjust it for personal preference, comfort, ride quality, etc.

Cycle_of_life

I am running the tires at about 75 front and 80 rear now, and the ride is smoother.

I have a $25 pump with a floor gauge, so I don't know how accurate it is. I read that inexpensive pumps with gauges tend to under inflate, so I'll have to get a decent tire pressure gauge.

Thanks for the link.

Mike

jpietri

I put a pair of Continental Gatorskin 700x32 in my Hardrock 29er...it was a very good change.