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Can I put mountain bike tires on my hybrid and get a hybrid mountain bike?
Hello!
I want to get into mountain biking, but I don't have a proper mountain bike. What I do have is a hybrid bike with 700c wheels. Can I put some 29" knobby tires on my hybrid and make it into some sort of mountain bike on the cheap? This is my suspension fork, but how much MTB tire can I fit in it? And will it work turning a hybrid into a MTB with better tires, or should I just quit being dumb and fork out the money and get a real MTB? |
Can you post a link to your bike?
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It's a norwegian sporting goods store bike, so I can't find it online. I do have the list of the specifications though, if that's any help.
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You've really got 2 questions, first, can an MTB (29er) tire fit on Hybrid rims, the answer for this is probably, both are 700c, and dependant on the bike spec. the hybrid rims may be wide enough, all depends on what you have, if they will fit in the frame, that depends on your frame and how close th clearances are.
the second question, can you use a hybrid as an MTB, the realistic answer for this is no, the fork & frame you have will be fine for smooth tracks, but go off road properly, and it will show it's limitatons / start to fall apart quickly. If you want to get off road, get a purpose built MTB, but getting one which will do the job properly won't be a budget option. |
What's the name/model of it? And specs would help. Especially the kind of fork. Long story short, I expect if you plan riding rough trails then 700c hybrid wheels wouldn't hold up to the abuse. I would think you'd be truing them constantly until you finally folded them in half.
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The fork is a Suntour SF10-NEX4610 V2 MLO 700C and the rims are Weinmann XTB26. I will probably buy a proper(and expensive) mountain bike then and keep the hybrid as a cheap road and transport bike.
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Yes you can. Just make sure the width will fit, a local bike shop should be able to tell you. What you are doing is what they did to make the first Cyclocross bikes. I like the idea (in a way) of riding it hard until the fork needs rebuild/replace. By that time you will have a good idea whether or not it is for you. Particularly if its a dept store bike. Just be aware that if you put really wide tires on narrow rims, you will need to keep the pressure down so you wont crack the rim. Yes, I've learned the hard way. Good luck.
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I have done this. It was relatively hard to find a rear tire that cleared, which in my case I settled on the Bontrager 29-3 29x2.0" tire. It is well-known to run narrow, about 1.8", and doesn't have knobs that stick out to the sides.
The front was far worse because my bike has a 80mm Magura/Cannondale headshok fork that I believe was meant for a 26" MTB, not a hybrid or 29er at all. There is plenty of width, but hardly any room in the crown. I have a 19mm wide rim, which could be a factor as well. One would expect a tire to bulge upward slightly, increasing diameter, when mounting a tire on a narrow rim compared to a wider one. I couldn't even fit tires with a low profile knob, like a WTB Nano(raptor) 29x2.1, Kenda Slant Six 29x2.0, or Specialized Fast Track LK 29x2.0. Eventually I solved this with an oversized cyclocross tire: Schwalbe Smart Sam 700x45. The casing has less volume and even though it's pretty wide, the sidewall and tire diameter is less than any 29er tire. Having gone through a lot of hassle with the front tire, I would just buy a pair of the 45mm Smart Sam and call it good enough. They should fit most hybrids with a suspension fork. (If you have hybrid that's more like a flatbar road bike, like a Trek FX, they usually can't do more than 35mm cyclocross tires.) Now I'm saving up for a full suspension 29er. Salsa Spearfish, Giant Anthem X 29er, something like that. |
Originally Posted by Imperton
(Post 13812759)
. . . or should I just quit being dumb and fork out the money and get a real MTB?
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Originally Posted by dminor
(Post 13820884)
This.
But I do agree a hybrid with small 29er tires is not a long-term solution, or anywhere near as effective as a real MTB. |
Yes and no. The tire size would be limited by frame clearance but you could at least install cyclocross tires. The real issue is frame strength. Assuming you have clearance to fit 29er tires on your frame, a hybrid still isn't designed to take the kind of abuse that a full scale MTB bike is usually subjected to. So how well it stands up to use depends on how hard you use it.
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Suntour NEX 700c
Hi just want to ask if I can use my 29 x 2.1 tyre on Suntour NEX 700c suspension fork.
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Originally Posted by Marion0222
(Post 19811792)
Hi just want to ask if I can use my 29 x 2.1 tyre on Suntour NEX 700c suspension fork.
If those specs are correct, you can run a tire that's 79 mm wide. 79 millimeters = 3.1 inches. Based on that quick google search only and no personal experience, it looks like a 29 x 2.1 will fit just fine. |
While it will never be a serious off road Mtb, it can be capable of some beginner trails with better tires. Your suspension will then limit you more than the tire choice.
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Similar question - here's the exact bike
Here's my bike: cube nature 2015 hybrid (can't post the URL cos i'm new, need 10 posts according to admin). can I put mtb tyres on it to make it trail ready and ride it (almost) like an MTB? and if so which tyres would you recommend. Currently riding stock:
Specifications
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Geometry for mountain biking will be a little wonky. If you wanted a mountain bike...should have bought a mountain bike in the first place.
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Can I put 28mm tires on my mtb and tell my friends I'm riding a hybrid?
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my favorite topic (but I'm not an experienced MTB'er)
I tried using my hybrid for unpaved trails w/ beefier tires but kept pushing the envelope so eventually got mountain bike ( cheap one, used). much happier now. the hybrid was fine for most of the trails I wanted to ride, like unpaved rail trails, but some of the more rugged & unimproved, non-maintained trails were pushing my luck. once I got the mountain bike I discovered single track (the easy ones) which would have been even more of a stretch for the hybrid, even one w a front spring fork. so for me the immediate advantage was that front fork & even wider tires I would say if you know you want a mountain bike, just shop for one you can afford. if you're on the fence, then experiment with your hybrid. experimenting w diff. tires is fun! one can find trails that suit the bike or one can find a bike that suits the trails. I kinda mucked around w a little of both! my hybrid w rigid front fork was fine on this stuff w 45mm Riddlers https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...501d177437.jpg but for this I'm much happier w 2.25" Riddlers & a cheap spring front fork https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...52396cd533.jpg rode this trail twice, once w each bike. both were fine, but the MTB was better https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8bae1eb646.jpg this is a nice example of a wide tire hybrid trail https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a5a6231d8b.jpg this is borderline but your front shock would help. my hybrid did not have that, so it was kinda brutal https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c8e1f49d66.jpg got thru this softer sand section w the hybrid by airing down considerably, but the MTB handled it much more easily thanks to the wider tires https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0de55f97d4.jpg hybrid is fine for this kinda thing https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8e68ef66ab.jpg |
This thread is 7 years old.
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@safire resurrected it!
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