Sanyo89

Hey I'm looking for some road/bike trail tires. I saw some people had "semi slicks" on here. The majority of my ride is going to be on the road. Can anyone recommend some tires I will need for this purpose? I ride about 20miles a day on the road and would like to move a little bit faster! These huge treads are killing me!

Hanu

IRC Smoothies.

1.25" wide, 95psi and only $22Can each!

Highly recommended!

morea

I use 1.25" IRC Smoothies on my MTB for road/trail riding. Before that I had Bontrager 1.5" inverted tread tires, but I like the IRCs much better.

Here's another recent thread on the same subject:
https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cycling-discussion/329232-i-want-slicks-my-mtb.html

Sanyo89

My tires I have now are 26X1.2. Could you send me a link to a specific tire?

morea

https://www.irctire.com/tires/smoothie.html

Bike Lover

Yeah, but these are sweet!

Kenda Flame

DevLaVaca

Or you could go with the Nashbar slicks. I got mine for $7 US, and they work just as well.

They aren't fancy, though.

Podolak

a lot of these recommendations have been for slicks. Are you looking for slicks or are you looking for semi-slicks like the thread title specified?

Bike Lover

This is what I got caught up in. It doesn't seem like off roading is much consideration, but good question nonetheless.

jonbth

I love my Bontrager Hanks. They are fat and look cool.

Sanyo89

To answer the question. Im mainly using the bike for on road purposes only. What are the differences between semi slick and slick? Advantages/Disadvantages? How much faster will I move on slicks vs semi slicks?

Can anyone also recommend a good light under or just a tad bit over $50? Thanks a lot guys

jonbth

I've used both Bontrager slicks and Bontrager tubless Revolts on the road and I really can't tell the difference in speed. I travel down the same hills and am just as fast with either tire. I prefer the tubless tire because I notice the difference in weight and I feel faster with the tubless tires. The balloon slicks are more comfortable because of the higher air volume they hold.

Portis

Continental Town & Country's. Continental tires have the most flat resistant rubber compound of any i've tried and i've tried a lot. These tires are slick AND wide. This makes for a very fast ride and it is also smooth.

I have a road bike and have also tried skinny slicks on my mtb's but the fat smooth tires are simply the best for speed with the added benefit of comfort.

DirtPedalerB

i have a set of ritchey innovader folding tires.. they say 2.0, but are about 1.8 in reality.. they give the bike a fast look and roll real nice .. they do decent off road as I did my local xc trail on them before. only gripe is they are kind of noisy on pavement for a semislick. check into them if you can find them cheep.

I also have a set of kenda kross-plus tires they roll like crazy, but are a little heavy and not too good offroad

ong

It seems like the Tire Industry generally uses the term "semi-slick" to refer to a cross-country, off-road specific tire design that features smaller knobs with low rolling resistance -- it still isn't a great pavement tire, just more of a dry-conditions off-road tire for slightly higher speed.

You're probably looking more for a "city" or "hybrid" kind of tire. If you still want to ride on dirt at all, stay away from slicks. If you're just on dirt a little bit, you might look at an inverted tread tire, like the Avocet Cross II. I've had really good luck with those on pavement as well as a bit of tame singletrack.

You can't really get one tire that does both well, though -- the narrow (Performance house-brand cheapie) 1.25" slicks on my commuter bike are WAY faster than any treaded tire. I keep them at 80 psi or so, and they're feel very much like roadie tires. I guess just think about where you're really be riding, and if it won't actually include any dirt, look at a high-pressure slick. Otherwise, go for a "city" type tire with some tread, but a continuous center strip, like the Avocets or the Big Apples or any of the various cheapie house-brand whatevers....

seosamh

1.75 continental travel contacts i use when i'm not in trails... good on the road and you can get away with them for light offroad, tho watch wet roots and slippy things, cause your back wheel will spin if you don't unwieght the bike.....other than that pretty sound.

ghettocruiser

What?


I realize the OP was requesting semi-slick tire advice, but for the type of riding described, I'd go with a full slick, which work just fine on gravel roads and many hardpack trail surfaces.

paul emick

Hutchinson top slicks from Nashbar have served me well, and are inflatable to 100 psi.

seosamh

just saying they are fine for most riding and good on the road but in the wet you have to be a little more careful if you go off road and it gets a bit tricker...