Suggestions for "Urban Assault" wheels.
 

HI...newbie here. I've been out of the MTB scene for a while and need to come up to speed on new equipment.

I ride a Fisher Mt. Tam (2000) and have mostly lately been riding in and around town, so the stock wheels and tires have a bit too much drag for my regular biking. The stock wheels and tires are fine for the limited and light off road stuff I do nowadays.

I would like to build a set of wheels that are a little more street friendly, but am unfamiliar with what the popular hubs/rims/tires are for street duty on a mountain bike these days. I don't want a totally bald tire (do they even still make them?) because sometimes I have to evade through someones yard ;-)

Any suggestions or sources would be appreciated.

Thanx

****z

I used Michelin Wildgripper City on my mountain bike. "Slick" with "tread". Had 'em for 6 years, no flats, excellent wear resistance.

Continental makes the town and country, a rather nice tyre (local bike cops use that), also, Avocet and IRC both make decent street treads for MTB's.

body armour, HK MP 5, Glock 17, jungle knife, stun granade, combat boots, kevlar Line Helmet,
ahh what are we talking here the urban assualt like the police assault on a drug dealer den, or the bike assualt on a city street, now let go down to bussiness, I used to have Avocet Cross, its a slick tire, but I don"t know if they are still selling them now, It was like 15 years age, that I was using that when I still have a mountain bike.......

I used the Michelin Wildgripper City tires for a couple of years. I like them a lot, but with the glass laden roads I ride, the flats were frequent. Now, I have Specialized Nimbus Armadillos on the MTB and have not had a flat in the several months I have used them. I would think any 1.5" slick would be sufficient for most urban riding/commuting.

Given my very satisfactory experience with 700Cx28 Armadillo tyres on two of my road bikes, I would be inclined to try their 26 x 1.5" street tyres if I used my mountain bike exclusively on-road. Next time I need tyres for the mountain bike, I may try some sort of versatile on-road/off-road center-slick / side-knobby 1.95" tyre -- any recommendations out there?

I'm up to just about 2000 puncture free miles on a pair of Vredestein Spiders - slick centre, knobbles on sides, about 1.8". Puncture resistant layer (and having ridden over several broken bottles I'm happy). The knobbles don't touch the road when the tyres at near full pressure so roll well, unless you corner steeply. Off-road, I get plenty of traction on gravel, hard pack, sticky trails (I wouldn't use them in deep mud). Good on wet roads - the only time I've lost traction was on black ice. Wearing well.

Richard

Hello, I use a pair of Ritchey Cross Bite 1,1". They are with a little tread, but very good on roads. I use Mavic rim and old(1994) XTR hub. Have also good experience with my White hubs. Don´t know if the tyres are still available or discontinued, mine are six years old. I recomend Ritchey´s tyres.
Anders
Sweden

Touring on a 26" wheel tandem, we have had the best luck with either 1.9" Ritchey Cross Bites or Conti Grand Canyon. Hubs? Impossible to really improve on Deore XT's, even though they aren't maintainance free. For city-proof rims try Sun Rhino Lites or Velocity Aero.

I'll second the sun rims and XT hubs. A well built 32 spoke wheel with double butted spokes should do just fine.

I've put plenty of urban miles on my set-up:
Ritchey Vantage Pro 32 spoke rims, Shimano XTR hubs ('95 vintage), DT 14/15 gauge spokes and a variety of tires (currently IRC Metro 1.5's). I ride a rigid GT and spent most of the last few years at 180-200 lbs and this set-up has performed wonderfully.

I would say; Mavic D521, 36 Dt butted spokes and Xt hubs (disc version is stiffer) :D

just my two cents,

for trails and urban assult, i would go with a Sun Ryno lite. its strong without being too heavy and it doesn't cost a fortune. Its the rim of choice for many a hardcore rider. As for tires, my favourite for urban would be an IRC el-gato, or a TIOga factory DH, or Maxxis Mobster. Thats my 2 cents.:beer:

I'd put in a stron vote for the Continental Town and Country tires for paved surfaces. Our local police use them too. I'm delighted with their ride.

For a whole wheel I like (for urban) Chris King hubs (more control over the pedaling), Mavic 321d's (tough as hell), I haven't noticed a diff in spokes so look above for suggestions.

The wheel itself Maxxis hookworm 2.5

Hmm.. Urban Assault eh? If you mean Trials and Urban Freeride, get some Atom Labs Trail Pimps.. The Sun Mag 30 is not too bad, just make sure that your pressure is up, and the spokes are tensioned...

If you mean Riding on the road, get some Tioga City Slickers.. why, well they're 2.1 slicks.. so you're not stuck if you try and hop anything with a rim bending 1.25 tire.

Joe