Krystian

I am looking to put some Road tires on my MT bike. I don't ride trail anymore, haven't for years, and want to start riding to work and on some of the paved trails around my house. I have knobby tires on right now 26 X1.75. Looking to replace them with good road riding tires at a fair price.

Kayce

Im a big fan of the Vittoria Randonneur and Schwalbe Marathon

stapfam

Two types of tyre -Those will take High pressure-(100psi+)

And those that don't.

I used to do organised road rides on the MTB and tyres did play a part on performance. Started with 1.5's with a top pressure on the sidewall of 85psi but soon got onto Continental Grand Prix at 110psi. These are a thin road tyre like the roadies use and performance went way up. May have been a bit harsher but after mayt years of offroad and a stiff FS hardtail I never noticed it.

If you want performance then a narrow (1.3 or less) with high pressure will work. If it is a bit of comfort then the lower pressure 1.5s or larger are the way to go.

One point I will make though-You will be using higher pressures than your wheels have run for many years. If you see ant Bowing out of the rim- then get new rims.

Krystian

Thanks, I was looking at tires on line, and was wondering what the benefits of a 1.00 tire would be vs the 1,5.

from what you said, can i surmise that the 1.00 tire will be faster have less resistance but not as comfortable of a ride in comparison to the 1.5.

Also since I'm new to riding does the width affect the stability at all?

stapfam

Stability is not affected unless you run over rough ground. A wider tyre will take the rougher surface easier but on Asphalt with only a few potholes or rough surface- no problem.

I now ride road and MTB and my MTB mates do not like the idea of thin tyres. However when they "Borrow" my bike for a ride they do remark on how stable the bike is. And those thin road tyres give better grip in rain than an MTB tyre on wet mud so Don't worry about a tyre with a tread. It is the rubber that grips and not the tread pattern.

worldtraveller

Specialized Fat Boys

Burton

Bikes are a lot like cars in some respects. Tire selection and pressure should be based on road conditions and the total veichle load.

So the condition of the roads in the area. your weight, the maximum speeds you plan on driving and what you`ll have on the bike as equipment and payload, and some idea of your physical condition would help a lot.

AlmostGreenGuy

I like Serfas Drifters. Different widths are available.

Krystian

I'm only looking at commuting to work which is about 5 miles away. which doesn't sound far, but there are a crap ton of hills. Staying on roads, or in bike lanes the whole time.

Maybe doing some weekend warrior stuff on some of he paved trials in my area.

Conditions of roads are good, lots of hills -
my weight is 220
maximum speed - not very fast
my bike - Trek 4300 mt bike
Payload - my fat ass, maybe a backpack with clothes to change in to at work
Physical condition - Used to be a gym rat. Gained a few pounds after easing off the workouts. so i'm bulky and strong, but my endurance needs work. Thats why i'm biking to work.

Hope all the detail helps

Burton

Tires are available in a variety of widths. Based on your weight I`d personally suggest you look at something closer to a 26x1.9 tather than a 26x1.5 width. Not only will it give more protection against pinch flats - it`ll also last longer and give better braking performance. Also suggest you stick with a round profile rather than a square profile or any double center bead design. Tire performance will be more uniform throughout the life of the tire.

Your bike runs around $500 I think and sounds like you don`t plan on giving it any serious challenges so although flat protection might be nice - if the roads are in good condition you might consider it an option. Puncture protection doesn`t protect against pinch flats anyway - only tire size and adequate pressure does.

Vee Rubber makes some really excellent inexpensive tires that both last and perform well. The City Wolf and SuperSonic are both good examples of the kind of tread and tire profiles I`d suggest myself. If you opt for anything similar you can`t go wrong. I drive these as well as Schwalbe Marathons and have yet to have a flat with any of them in the last three years.

Plenty of companies offer similar tires and as long as you put on something over 26x1.5 in - you won`t have to babysit tire pressure every couple days and the geometry of the bike will be affected as little as possible. Tire size does affect ground clearance, rear ratios and wheelbase. Your own weight will be the biggest challenge climbing hills and working on your own personal power to weight ratio will improve your performance there.

ErnieAZ

A couple of years ago someone in the Forum recommended Serfas Drifters over the Continental Town and Country tires I was using. I made a note at the time to try them when it came time to replace the Conti's. Fast forward 18 months and 2,200 miles and I'm pleased to say I like the Serfas Drifters very much. They are heavier (thicker tread) and a little slower than the Conti's, but they've held up very well and show little wear for the amount of miles. About a third of my mileage is rough, rocky, off-road. They've performed well on both the street and trail. They get my vote.[IMG][/IMG]

Sixty Fiver

If you are not riding at racing speeds but want a tyre that blends speed with great ride quality and has some bulletproof construction the Schwalbe Hurricane is my favourite... there are a lot of myths about narrower higher pressure tyres being faster then lower psi higher volume tyres as it is is the tread pattern and casing that have the greatest effect.

Folks are pretty amazed that I can get the speed I do in those 26 by 2.0 Schwalbes and they have passed the 12,000 km mar for mileage and still look great, have never punctured, and have lots of life left in them.

They also work great on hard pack and light trails.

Sixty Fiver

These are some fast rolling tyres... pure slicks in a 26 inch size that can be run at 100 psi.

Ride quality is not as good as some but they are also pretty bulletproof.

ClemY

For pavement I put Conti Sport Contact 26x1.6" tires on my touring bike. There are 1.3" for those who are even more interested in speed.

fietsbob

Schwalbe Marathon Plus, a very puncture resistant tire. I have 26-1.75" pair
on a Bike , here.

shipwreck

I have Serfas Drifters on most of my 26 in wheel bikes. I have flatted, but over lots of miles thats to be expected. They are not high pressure, 40 to 65 pounds, so its good for a hand pump, they roll nice, as fast as I want to go on a mountain bike, and I have even used them for single track with no reall problems. Bought my first pair on a tour as replacement for the Schwalbes that were driving me nuts because they were so sluggish. Got a flat almost out the door, but stuck with them and was happy. I use the 1.5.

I weigh 220, and carry a lot of stuff on my utility rig.

MilitantPotato

Check your rim specs before getting a high pressure tire, many mountain rims max out at 65-85 PSI.

I'm 230lbs, and 32mm (1.25") @ 80 PSI tires are as narrow as I feel comfortable on, 1.5" @ 75 PSI being ideal, for me.

Doug5150

Short version: get the 2.3" wide Big Apples.

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Longer version: MTB's are geared shorter than road bikes already, because it is presumed by the product planners who decide what parts to put on that pedaling over any surface off-road will be more difficult than pedaling over a smooth road surface. A MTB is already going to be shorter in gear-inches than a road bike will.

Bicycle tires are also simple bias-ply tires, meaning they always have a round profile--and so a narrower tire is also always a smaller-outer-diameter tire as well.

What that amounts to is this: if you think you want narrower tires for on-road use, the problem with narrower tires is that they are also a smaller diameter, and make your MTB gearing even shorter than it is already,,,, which is considerably shorter than a road bike's is.

So get the fattest slicks that you can fit on the MTB. and for most, that is the Big Apples--whiose width just about matches the tread profile of a general-use MTB knobby tire.

An even fatter one is the 2.5" Maxxis Hookworm, if you know they will fit.

Sixty Fiver

Doug, You make a good point in that a small change in the OD of the bigger tyre does bump up the gearing a little just as a 27 inch road tyres adds about 5 gear inches over a 700c.

A lot of factors come into play when it comes to performance... although the engine is always the limiting factor.

The combination of a higher volume slick tyre and a few gearing modifications can give an mtb a decent road gearing without sacrificing much in the way of bottom end... with a 20-103 range on my XC bike (with 2.0 tyres) I have pretty much perfect gearing as if I need a lower gear I might as well walk and any higher gearing would only be needed for pacelines.

On the road that 24 tooth granny never gets any play and I swing between the 34/44 and that 11-30 block with most of my time spent in the 44... on a ride yesterday I was chasing this guy on a road bike and had spun out the 44/13 which meant we were cranking along in the low to mid 40's for a bit.

The drop bars also benefit by making the ride more aero which equals a little more speed.

Plutonix

I have a MTB setup more or less as an urban cruiser. I just put Continental Town and Country tires on it and so far I think they are great. At 1.9" they are wider than the OP was originally considering, but they make for a comfy ride.

I have a hybrid with CST (Chin Shen Tires) on it that have also worked out well - better than I expected. They make several commuter/street versions Selecta, Salva etc which have some tread but no knobs. Most the 26" MTB flavors are 1.75" so a bit less than typical MTB without being road bike slim.

One to avoid: Michelin City Tires - not durable at all