jsatan

Hi all,
Let me start by giving you some info on my self.
I started out on a MTB when I was younger, to and from school and everywhere else (walking was for suckers, and slow).
When I was at uni bought my self a very cheap MTB for going to and from uni and work.
Now I'm back to my home land I've started to do bigger and better/longer distances.
I've ordered my self a new Giant SCR4 entry level bike (as I'm entry level).
I have a few questions with regards to getting into the swing of things as a roadie.

As I'm used to off road chunky beast of tyres and never had a puncher in the least 5 years (I know it shocks me too). Will I start to find more tyre related issues?
I know that I'm going to have to take corners slower then I would normal, is this correct?
I have a tube of that fibre/liquid slim stuff (comes by many names, the biggest brand is "slime") is this recommended to use?

Will I have to watch out for bumps in the road as much considering my weight (170IB I think in that measurement)?
Is there someone else like me coming from a total off road cycle style to roadie that can give me some advice?
What are roadies like in the wet when compared to MTB?
Silly noob questions I know, but not to ask would be sillier, wouldn't you say?

Any advice will be gratefully received.

Regards,
Jon.

BarracksSi

Let's see how many of these I can get wrong...

How do you mean -- punctures, wet grip, etc? Nah, I don't think it'll be any worse, just keep them inflated high enough for good speed and avoiding pinch flats.

Nope, you can corner faster with smooth tires than you ever could with knobbies.

Sorta, sorta not. Hardly anybody talks about Slime here besides the few that are running the new tubeless road setups. They don't use Slime, though, but another version that's better suited to high tire pressures (120 psi leaks fast, of course).

Not any more than usual. Do like you always did and lighten your grip on the handlebars & stand off the saddle.

I'm kinda in the same boat, really. I never rode truly off-road (never crossed a "bridge" made of a 2x4, never bombed downhill through trees), but I haven't had an on-road bike for very long, either.

The skinny tires grip pretty well. Some compounds stick better than others, as usual, but the conventional wisdom is that tread isn't needed -- the longitudinal shape of the contact patch (long & narrow, vs. short & wide like a car tire) slices through surface water well enough to prevent hydroplaning. Quite a few winter cyclists use skinny tires for the same reason, cutting through the snow & slush to reach the grippy pavement below.

Remember, this advice was free.

envane

You will get flats. The best way to minimize them is to get kevlar-lined, puncture-resistant tires.

The technical aspects of road cycling are much simpler than mountain biking. You'll eventually get a feel for how fast you can take corners, just don;t go nuts on the first ride. If you watch some pro-cycling, you'll see they don't stop when it rains, and they occansionally ride on unpaved roads. Road bikes are not as delicate as you'd think.