JShultz89

Hey guys,

I just moved to NYC and want to continue my riding but obviously won't be able to mountain bike. I won't have money to bike a new bike right away. In the meantime, I'm trying to find the best way to convert my mountain bike to an urban rider.

I have standard mountain biking rims. Can I replace the tred for a skinnier tire without replacing the rims?

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

PartsMan

I put road tires on my mountain bike last month. It made a huge difference.

Went from 2.10 wide knobbys maxed out at 40psi to
1.5 smooth tread with 75 psi.

JShultz89

They fit on your mountain bike rims? Which tires did you buy?

sknhgy 

Nashbar City Slicks 1.5" for under $10/ea. They will fit your rims and work well for your needs. The difference will amaze you.

Zephyr11

If you really love mountain biking, don't forget there's always the option to ride urban. Ledges, stairs, etc...the city is your playground!

But yeah, if you want to just use it as a commuter, there are plenty of cheap slicks that will fit your current rims.

Stealthammer

+1

Urban Assaults are some of my favorite rides! I actually built up my Fisher Opie with stair climbing/descending and ledge/planter hopping as a main part of my criteria in selecting the frames size and component choices, and off-road performance was really secondary. I love riding through college campuses and municipal complexes, and I still love to pull off massive stoppies and tailwhips even at 55 years old.

I use a compound seat post so that I can drop the seat to where it almost touchs the rear wheel and it has huge mechanical disc brakes, so in that configuration it is virtually a 26" wheeled trials/freestyle bike. But I also do 60-80 mile road rides on it and equip it with Nokian studded tires and use it as my winter bike as well. Just because you are in the city doesn't mean you are limited to commuting. Check it out:




My other "commuter" is a 17lb. Serotta T-Max MTB that has been fully converted for street use and just about everything on it that isn't XTR is carbon fiber. It has a 34/50t FSA carbon crankset and an 11-26t Ultegra casstte mounted on a set of 24h Spinergy Xyclone wheels with Maxxis Maxxlite 310 tires that I normally run at 65-75psi. This bike is such a blast to ride because it accelerates like a road bike and it is just so much fun passing a roadie and making then really work to pass me back.




With these two bikes I seldom ride either of my road bikes or the FG into the city at all. The mountain bikes are just more fun and versatile in an urban setting.

I would suggest to the OP that he opt for a higher pressure 1.95" tires rather than a 1.5" tires because there is very little difference in rolling resistance between these tires if the pressure is the same, but you could drop the pressure in the 1.95" tires and you would get better performance if you do any off-roading or Urban Assault rides, and I also suggest he get some barends to get more hand positions with the flat bars.

PartsMan

Yes my 1.5s fit my wheels fine.
I think the smooth tread and tire pressure are more help at the low speeds I go.

ColinL

Specialized and Continental both make 26x1.0 - 1.5 tires that work good for this sort of use.

Not a real huge fan of the ~1.95 balloon tires. They're heavy, and they actually don't roll that great. Better than an aggressive knobby, sure, but nowhere near what a 26x1.0 can do.

Stealthammer

Maxxis Maxxlite 310s are 310gr and Nashbar City Slicks 1.5" are 346gr, and because of the Maxxlite's profile their actual contact patchs are almost the same on the road. I have run the Maxxlites at 70-75psi for several year and I like the fact that I can drop the pressure to 35-40psi when I want to go off-road.

BTW: Maxxis also makes a Maxxlite 285 that weighs only 285gr, so weight is not an issue.....

SimonLee

if your rims are 26x1.5 get the panaracer ribmo=ride bike more lol logo on the tire but only 440 g its really light. https://www.panaracer.com/urban.php# they're light no more than 550g and not too pricey. https://www.amazon.com/Panaracer-RiBM...5+kevlar+black

Cache

Welcome to the Jungle. There's an interesting thread about converting older MTBs w/ drop bars here:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ar-Conversions
Thought you'd find some inspiration there. And FWIW, you misspelled Manhattan.

JShultz89

Just a Gary Fisher Wahoo. I've been struggling over buying a new MTB or Fixed Gear road bike. MTB is a stronger passion for me but my current mud tires are definitely not going to cut it in the city.

You are totally right! I fixed the spelling now. Thanks for the thread.

JShultz89

These are all great suggestions. Thank you so much!

I honestly don't know the first thing about urban riding and don't know how that would work in NYC. So far I'm trying to figure out the bike paths and Central Park.

Thor29

I run Maxxis Holy Roller 2.4 tires on my commuter (Surly Troll). They roll fast but still have decent grip if I ever hit the dirt. I keep the pressure nice and low (under 40psi) for a little cushion. If I remember correctly, NYC is pretty bumpy - fat tires are nice. They don't slow you down all that much. Just get something smooth to replace your knobbies and you're good to go.

proileri

What do you guys think - front shocks on a UAV or not?

I'm currently running an old cheap MTB equipped with slick 26x1.6's for mild urban assaulting, it has a cheap rigid front with V-brakes. I'm thinking a basic shock fork with a disc might be an upgrade.. but then again, I'm afraid I might break it if I give it any more abuse.

By the way, I think I wouldn't go much thinner than 1.3" for urban use. Plenty of cracks, pot holes and curbs to hit out there, a bit of cushion feels like a good idea. 1.6 is a bit thick for a slick, maybe 1.4 would be nice.

ColinL

don't bother adding a shock fork unless you can get it really cheap.


I ride brick roads and rough concrete & asphalt just fine on a road bike with 25mm/1.0" tires. anything that fits your MTB wheels will work great, and the type of tire matters more than the size. make sure not to overinflate your tires, regardless of their width. only very heavy riders need the max pressure indicate on the sidewall, and running even 26x1.95 semislicks at max pressure will not be good on bumps.

proileri

Yep, I think it's a matter of how often you want to climb up curbs and how much you abuse the wheels. If it's smooth sailing, no problems using a narrow tire. I think for suburban speed 1.6's might even be a bit thick. But yeah, slicks are definitely worth it on paved roads, they roll very nice.

I run 28 mm's on my road bike, but those are a bit too thin for sharp city bumps for my taste. I've hit a few nasty cracks when I had 23 mm's on the road bike, and it made me cringe. I'm 170 lbs. and as there usually is a few curbs to climb or jump, I don't take my road bike to the city center. That's what my MTB is for, and I think the 1.6" slick width is pretty good balance between handling abuse and some open-road speed.

Raging_Bulls

Front shocks on an UAV are great ... as long as the roads are bad enough to justify them, the forks are good (preferrably air instead of springs) and set up properly. Otherwise they're just unnecessary weight.

I currently have 2 UAVs. One Sbike 503 with rigid forks and a Bulls Copperhead 3 with a Reba that I've been fiddling with for weeks to get it just right.

The Sbike runs Schwalbe City Jets in 26x1.95". I run them at around 45 psi at the front and 55psi at the back. (30-65psi recommended) That one is mainly used on proper flat cycle paths and for just cruising around town.
The lack of suspension and the low handlebar makes it fast, but IMO it's unsuitable for the rougher stuff. It's the one I love most, but it's far from the best for where I live.

The Bulls is on Bontrager Hank 26x2.2" tires at 45psi at the front and 50 at the back. (35-75psi recommended)
It's my jack-of-all-trades. Long-distances, the famous Belgian cobblestones, rush-hour city traffic, sidewalks, roadworks, it handles everything just fine.
Sure, it's not the fastest on smooth surfaces due to the width of the tires, but for everything else it's just perfect.

I'd love a bike with 1.5" tires, but it just doesn't make sense here. I might build a full suspension UAV (with dual lockout) at some point though.

With regards to the fork :
I run mine at 100mm and use Rockshox' suggested pressure for my weight + 10%. Then reduced the positive by 5psi and added 5 psi on the negative end. I have the rebound set pretty high too.
IMO that's perfect for my style of riding and the (appalling) condition of the roads here. I only need to use the remote lockout when I feel the need to really stand on the pedals.

proileri

Now you got me thinking about converting my road bike to a CC, we have a zillion dirt roads around here. Thanks alot, OP!