Background: I ride xc on fireroads and mild single track (not very technical). I am thinking that some thinner tires (i have 26 x 2.1 now) might make sense for me. I have never tried anything thinner than what I have now so I just wanted to hear some pros and cons. How skinny should I go how much difference will it make ect....


thanks

Kenda Smallblock 8 1.95's may just be the fastest tire to grace planet Earth.

Personally I prefer not to go any thinner than 1.75 for off-road. Narrower tires than 1.75 will have shallow side walls which would make it more susceptible to pinch flatting over rocks. Really narrow profiles can also sink more over loose or soft soil which would then increase rolling resistance. I have 1.75 tires on one of my mtbs and the difference in "liveliness" is quite noticeable compared to 2.1s or wider tires due to less weight (rolling mass), and less rolling resistance from the narrower tread profile so it "feels" speedy. Feeling aside, I'm not entirely sure whether or not the bike would actually be freewheeling faster on the trail, although it seems to accelerate quicker.

Regarding tire width/profile/pressure/terrain relationship, I remember reading a mtb magazine article quite a few years ago where various myths were put to the test. I seem to recall that the results were quite the opposite of what everybody expected, and that fat tires with moderate pressures actually "rolled" faster even though the rubber at the bottom of the wheel had "squish" or flattened a bit - as opposed to rock hard tires with high pressures over bumpy terrain.

I've tried to look for this article because of another similar thread a while ago, but I just couldn't find it. The magazine may have been MTB Action, but I could be wrong. I've mentioned this article here hoping that someone else might remember where it was from and could post it (or a link to it). I certainly would like to read it again just to confirm if I processed the information correctly.

Anybody remember reading the same article?



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I would love to see that article^

As a follow up question would it be odd to ride with a thinner tire (1.95 kenda smallblock) on the back but leave my larger (2.1) tire up front?

I remember the article...yes, over really bumpy/choppy terrain...the bike will benefit from a little squish. If the trail is smooth/manicured/Summer Olympic's type course, then a hard, skinny tire will make ya faster. The extreme proof is that of a MTB compared to a road bike.

The rock hard skinny tires will forcefully smack every bump while the compliant tire will roll through the chop, conforming to the terrain.

Kinda like how I ride vs. B2B. He just runs like a BurlingtonNorthern smack into all the crap and I'm like the water...rolling through the earth smooth as a PIMP.

^ Like water rolling thru the earth?... somehow I always knew you had ninja powers chel.

I used to do that

Odd? depends on the riders you hang around with.

Old school BMXers wouldn't blink an eye-lid with a 1.75R-2.25F combo. It will "slacken" the bike posture a bit which can be a good thing depending on what sort of riding you're doing. In some circles you might get a slap in the face

I went back to same-size tires because of economy. I always wear out my rears first, so I relegate my "still OK" front to the rear and just buy one new tire for the front.

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Ha ha ha, funny how that smooth flowing water erodes bike frames, components, and wheelsets isn't it?