Ice_Rich

Hi all,

I currently have a pair of full traction tyres on my mtb. Ive just been given a pair of scwabler city runner slicks. I do about 50% road 50% light dirt/gravel.

The plan was to replace both tyres with slicks but they seem so slick I think it may be best to keep 1 full traction tyre, what do you think?

Also, which wheel (front,back) would the slick be best on?

Thanks

Temeraroius

Well i personally dont use slicks, but if you ar riding road with some light gravel as well, im asuming that you are not making any big climbs through loose terrain. If i were you i would put the slick in the front and keep the traction tire in the back, because that is the one doing the pushing.

cryptid01

yeah, steering and braking are sooo overrated.

I say experiment with a number of different combinations and see what works best for you and the terrain.

mlh122

i had this problem a little while ago too. i had big fat knobbies on and ride mostly road, some trails, but the trails i ride often have steep muddy sections, sometimes i ride on steep wet grass too. but those tires sucked bad on road, so i went and got slicks. first i tried just the front tire, with a knobby on the rear, the bars vibrated less and it was faster, i didn't try anything that required much traction, but it seemed ok on the trails and stuff, so i switched the rear to a slick too cuz i wanted it faster. it was noticeably faster too, but then i started peeling out on uphills and braking on downhills i'd either get no power or just slide. then i was coming down a hill at a good clip and hit a muddy section at the bottom and both wheels slid sideways, i had no control, it was only a few feet long so i regained traction when i got out of the mud, but it was scary enough to put a knobby on the front for traction. i'd still peel out on any mud, grass, or anything wet that wasn't gravel or pavement. now i have what (i think) is called chevron tread tires, it has a continuous line down the middle with knobbies on the sides. they do pretty well on pavement (not as good as the slicks, but way better than the knobbies) and pretty well on trails (don't slide much, rarely peel out). they're called bontrager connection trails, they're stock on many trek bikes, i like them as my all around tire. though if i go on any epic offroad rides or anything really intense in the mountains ill put my knobbies back on. and if i go for any 35+ road rides i'll put the slicks back on.

DirtPedalerB

if your riding street and dirt on the same tire, get a tire with closely spaced knobs in the center to reduce the vibration / noise. You may consider a semislick that is lightly treaded... I like the semislick on the rear and a fast rolling knobby on the front.. probably a wider knobby on the front. A true slick off road is going to be a bad performer just like a widely spaced knobby on pavement. A semislick will be better and may be the best choice for some trails. A knobby on the rear will become a semi-slick if you ride it on pavement long enough anyway.

the bontrager connection trails mentioned will probably do good.. they are a knobby with the center tread connected think no knobs in the center.

J-McKech

Check out the Maxxis Holy Rollers.

WannaGetGood

My friend runs a slick on the back and a mountain bike tire on the front. So that he can slide his rear tire, while not sliding out his front.

plodderslusk

I have for many years used a rear tire with hardly any thread and a front with somewhat more. Most of my "off road riding" is on utilityroads. I have to go a bit slower on the steep downhills but aside from that it is just benefits. Put on an old Tioga City Slicker on my rear yesterday and rode on frozen gravel roads, worked out just fine.