Road Tyres for a XC MTB

[justinb]

Hi ALL,

Two questions here :

Firstly - What tyre to people recommend to minimise rolling resistance, punchtures etc..

Secondly - Would you run slicks, or road tyres with some sort of grooves in it ?

I can't really see a bike aqua-planing like a road car with bald tyres.. but I am inexperienced in all of this so advice welcome

 

[GrubNut]

Depends on what youre riding on of course. For tarmac, get the narrowest slicks you can find.

Slicks have more grip on tarmac than any kind of nobbies.

 

[justinb]

Depends on what youre riding on of course. For tarmac, get the narrowest slicks you can find.

Slicks have more grip on tarmac than any kind of nobbies.

This is for riding to/from work on my Scott Scale 40

My XC tyre (currently Scott's) will be a CrossMark but I don't want to rip them apart on the road

 

[DaGonz]

This is for riding to/from work on my Scott Scale 40

My XC tyre (currently Scott's) will be a CrossMark but I don't want to rip them apart on the road

Conti do a 26"x1" full slick jobbie. or just leave your crappy xc tyres on for commuting and put your new ones on when you go racing...

Cheers
Gonz

 

[justinb]

Conti do a 26"x1" full slick jobbie. or just leave your crappy xc tyres on for commuting and put your new ones on when you go racing...

Cheers
Gonz

THe front went out from under me this morning in my carpark at work.. so hence the 'upgrade' to slicks

 

[Beej1]

My commuter is a Scott Scale 50. I run Conti Sport Contact tyres - 26 x 1.6. I love em - speedy as.

 

[RCOH]

I used Specialized fatboys (flat boys?) 26 x 1.25". Never got a flat, pressure up to 90psi. Fast & grippy on the road and pretty cheap ($30 each).

 

[Some Guy]

One thing you'll notice with smaller tyres is that it lowers your gearing quite a bit (smaller wheel = less distance travelled for each pedal stroke). I wouldn't go anything narrower than 1.5" for this reason.

 

[tjb]

Conti do a 26"x1" full slick jobbie. or just leave your crappy xc tyres on for commuting and put your new ones on when you go racing...

Cheers
Gonz

I've got a set of these, but actually prefer the Maxxis Xenith 1.5" slick, mainly as it is tough as compared to the Conti and also the gearing issue mentioned above (on an SS, so lower gearing is the last thing I want!)

The Contis require a smaller tube also which isn't so easy to find. Finally, as they are so small, the volume is very low, which makes for a harsh ride (harsher than a road bike), and also very pressure sensitive. They need regular topping up to at least 70 psi or I will pinch flat ....

YMMV

 

[Phil420]

1.5 inch maxxis detonators

 

[Cave Dweller]

WTB slickasurus. Been using them for a few years. Bit heavy but good puncture resistance from glass

 

[ScottD]

http://www.vittoria.com/index3.asp?lingua=en

Randonnuer pro

 

[alexb618]

Also with something like a 1.5 or less tyre you effectively lower the BB height a fair bit, I scrape the inside pedal on the road heaps while pedaling around corners, can be quite unsettling at speed. Something to keep in mind.

 

[Gonzo]

One thing you'll notice with smaller tyres is that it lowers your gearing quite a bit (smaller wheel = less distance travelled for each pedal stroke). I wouldn't go anything narrower than 1.5" for this reason.

Why is that a bad thing. It also may be that slicks are faster and lighter and therefore you are able to push a higher gear.

I ride continental gran prix 1" slicks. They weigh 205 grams each which is pretty much the lightest tyre you can get for an mtb. They are real fast, and i have never gotten a flat from them. Not as comfortable as a the large slicks but who really cares about that.

 

[oldbean]

I've been using 1.5" Bontrager Satellite Elite Hard Case

• Good width: not too skinny, not too fat
• Puncture resistance
• Light
• Fast
• Reasonably priced

They also have a subtle tread pattern, so if you're worried about aqua-planning, then it may help with that.

 

[wildlifeincambridge]

semi-slicks

I remember conti making 2" semislicks; think they were goliats. Not sure if they still make them.

 

[Cave Dweller]

i have never gotten a flat from them.

Really?? Im always getting chunks of glass in my tires causing slow leaks. Farking shits me.

 

[AngoXC]

I remember conti making 2" semislicks; think they were goliats. Not sure if they still make them.

Continental Double Fighters. I used them for a bit. Slick center but had knobs on the outside. They werent very effective off road, but on road, you definatly flew and the the knobs had a fair amount of bite on tarmac. They were still a very narrow 2"...Very light as well. I think they are still made...seen them on PhantomCycles.

 

[Mick01]

I used Specialized fatboys (flat boys?) 26 x 1.25". Never got a flat, pressure up to 90psi. Fast & grippy on the road and pretty cheap ($30 each).

I run these too and they are a very fast rolling tyre at 100psi. Good enough to keep up with roadies (with prodigious use of slipstreaming).
Only downside is, when new, the rubber is quite tacky and I got a couple of punctures from small shards of glass sticking to the tyre and then slowly working their way in. I regularly keep an eye on that now and pick out anything before it does any damage.


Mick

 

[Some Guy]

Why is that a bad thing.

Why is running out of gears a bad thing? Um... that should be pretty obvious I would have thought - it lowers your maximum speed.

It also may be that slicks are faster and lighter and therefore you are able to push a higher gear.

Weight has got bugger all to do with top speed, especially when we are talking less than a kilo. The difference in rolling resistance between a 1" slick and a 1.5" slick is going to be pretty small too, so realistically even before you run out of gears the 1" slick isn't going to be much faster.

Not as comfortable as a the large slicks but who really cares about that.

I sure do. We are talking about commuting after all.