Originally Posted by cyccommute

Everyone, including WestMass, seems to be missing the point. To remind you, look at WestMass's first sentence:



Yes, slicks would be more efficient on the road. Here in Colorado, I could ride trails with a semislick tire because most of my trails are dry with fairly hard surfaces. But I know from experience that trail riding in the northeast US are very different and wouldn't be amiable at all to a slick or even semislick tire. Roots, mud and wet surfaces are very common and those would only lead to many uncomfortable crashes.

If I were to ride a mountain bike every day on the road, I'd go with slicks. I'd suggest that anyone using a mountain bike for road riding do the same. However, if you use a mountain bike as a mountain bike on your commute or following your commute, the extra energy needed to ride the knobs on the road is worth the caloric cost, not to mention avoiding the medical costs.