Originally Posted by
okiride
Hi all,
I would like to change my 26" knobbly tyres to road tyres on my MTB. I currently have 26 x 1.95. This will be first time road tyre purchase. I am not sure whether to go for 26 x 1.5 or 26 x 1.95? Is it a trade off with grip and stability vs road resistance and speed?
Has anyone tried both widths? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks everyone!
I have had both sizes... the 26x1.95 were knobby like yours, and the 26x1.5 were slicks. They were on different bikes, but both bikes were 90s MTBs, so at least they were similar platforms.
Its been a long time but I think the 1.95s were basic knobby Kendas (think standard 1995 MTB tire) and the 1.5s were the Forte Metros from Performance. I think I gave $12 or $13 each for the Metros, and they held up pretty well. I put about 1500 miles on them before I sold the bike. I had no issues at all, running about 65PSI. They didn't ride too rough, and they made the bike feel like a rocket. For an old MTB, it handled well and was really fast. It had WAY more grip on the pavement with the slicks than with the knobbies I took off. I am going to buy the same tires again in a few days to mount on my current MTB for the winter commute season.