Seperate wheel set for trail?
 

Hi Everyone,

I have a hyrbid, and I'm wondering (when spring arrives) if I wanted to do some trail riding if I would need to get some suitable tires, and what would be involved. I'm very new to all of this.

My bike has 700C wheels, and the stock tires are 700Cx32.

My main concern is with the brakes. I have direct pull "v-brakes" that are mounted to a specific point on the frame/fork. Obviously smaller wheels in a typical MTB size aren't going to line up with the brake mounting points.

What is the typical solution to this? Buy MTB tires in 700Cx32? Switch to another type of brake? Buy a second bike?

(Thanks - remember I am a n00b :D )

What kind of trails are you riding on? Either way, a new wheelset wouldn't be necessary.

If its just simple gravel trails, the 700x32 slicks would be fine.

If you're gonna do more MTB trails, look at some of the cyclocross tires, or 29er tires. Should be able to find a good set of tires to fit those 700c wheels of yours.

Largest issue is clearance - you need to make sure your bike has clearance for larger tires.

What bike do you have, btw? That would help us out easier in helping you pick tires.

This is the bike I'm thinking of.

http://www.diamondback.com/bikes/per...ht-1-09/#specs

Thanks!!!

What kind of trails?

You can get wider tires and/or different treads and put them on your 700c wheels. Depending on your rims, you can get pretty wide tires on there. Cyclocross or 29er might fit the bill. Frankly, depending on the trails, your stock 700cx32 will might be just fine...no need to over-invest.

You probably don't need a new wheelset at all, although if you have the money and you want to swap the tires all the time you could buy a new wheelset just to facilitate changing the tires with greater ease.

If desired you could get "mountain bike wheels" in a 700C size. I'm currently talking to my LBS about doing exactly that, since my commute has led to popping several rear spokes (which I'm starting to get sick and tired of). I think they said something like 700C Alex DA19 rim with a Deore hub. for less than $80 (rear only).

Thanks for the advice. In terms of trail, I'm thinking dirt and gravel - nothing extremely rocky in the places I know of to ride.

It sounds like most of you feel my current setup will handle this fairly well, I'm glad for the input - thank you, everyone. I wouldn't have guessed that, being a newcomer and looking at the tires on sight (the stock ones have a fairly smooth profile) , but I'll experiment with them and see if I really do need anything more aggressive.

Thanks and I look forward to interacting with you more in the future!:thumb:

Dirt and gravel should be no problem.

If you do want some more traction, ask for some cyclocross tires. They'll be great.