WebFootFreak

Hey guys-

Don't flame me too hard, but I have a quick tire question. I did do a search, and found all kinds of threads, but nothing specific.

My wife has an old Roadmaster Mt Fury (I think). She doesn't want a new bike at this point, so I want to make the one she has as comfortable as possible. The first step, of course, is tires. She has 24x1.95 knobbies right now, but I want to throw a pair of 24x1.75 slicks at it. Is it possible to use a narrower tire on stock wheels?

I will post pics when I get it done for her. After tires, I'm going to throw a new seat and handlebars at it and see how she likes it. She's shown interest in comfort hybrids and classically styled fixies, but I can't convince her to spend the money... yet.

Sixty Fiver

Should be no problem to run 1.75 tyres if the stock tyre was 1.95.

fietsbob

once you eliminate the extra rubber for the knob s , the casing may in fact measure close to the 1.75.

Basically, tire should be wider than the rim itself..

https://www.biketiresdirect.com/produ...h-tire-507-iso

WebFootFreak

Thanks guys... that's exactly what I was hoping for.

And thanks for the quick (and nice, lol) response. I see tire threads all over the place, but I couldn't find anything on 24s...

phoebeisis

Sure -wheels actually can take a very wide range of tire widths.
I'm occasionally a cheapskate
I have been known to SHAVE the knobs off knobby tires-
Use a utility knife-lots of Cheapo Harbor Freight spare blades-
cut away from you-careful you don't slice too deep.

dynaryder

Just make sure you get the right size;not all 24" wheels are the same:
https://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#fraction

The stock tire(and prolly the rim as well) should have an ISO number,that's what you want to go by.

GaIslander

Converting the mountain bike won't work all that well, however it will work. I converted an old Cannondale 3.0 series Mtn bike to a hybrid. I put a solid fork, smooth tires ( I also think the idea of shaving off the tire knobs is not really practical), fenders, and rack on the 'dale. It worked, but the frame geometry of the mtn bike is very different than a hybrid, very prone as they are set up for racing. I fooled around trying to raise the bars, but other than reversing the stem was not successful at it. Later I went to the Trek FX series with an '05 7500 and now a '13 7.6. There is a world of difference in the the bikes. The conversion will get you started and maybe work for a while, but your wife will enjoy riding more, and therefore ride more often on the better bike.

Delmarva

I think that switching to flexible slicks and keeping them properly inflated will reduce pedaling effort somewhat. Size change won't do all that much. You may also want to look at a seat change and adjust the handlebars for the most comfortable position. It will still have the geometry of and be geared as a mountain bike. So it's still going to be truck-like.

WebFootFreak

Again, thanks for all the replies. I have a set of slicks on the way as we speak. Making these changes to her bike is part of my little nefarious plan to help her enjoy riding more. I figure scouring around to make changes on the cheap will make her more willing to upgrade her bike and in the same stride, understand why I want to upgrade mine! Of course, the best part of all this is saddle time alone with her, and with the whole family! Matter of fact, I'm throwing a set of tubes at my son's bike while I'm at work today (painfully slow day) and giving it a once over to see if there's anything wrong with it.