Mountain Bike Tyres VS Road tyres

BoeingBonkers

I recently bought a Mountain bike with front suspension a cheap one to get me to work, it came with Mountain Bike tyres but I want to change then to the thinner road tyres. How much of a differece will I experience, I am finding the mountain bike tyres quite hard, i'm using low gears up hill but will it be easier with the thinner tyres?

Matthew

nicklouse

yes it would be easier with road suitable tyres.

Big n Daft

If your going on the road, yes.

Less tread, thinner contact patch and higher pressures generally mean the tyre will roll faster.

Similar effort for faster speed.

I have Schwalbe City Jets fitted to my MTB for commuting. 1.5" almost slick.

You can notice the difference.

brasso

When choosing some commuting tyres I would get something with a little bit of tread. Slicks can be lethal on a damp/ wet ride.

John Stevenson

brasso, I once spent a very entertaining evening riding round the centre of York in the pouring rain on a mountain bike with slicks. No problems at all.

You have to do something line 150mph to get a bike tyre to aquaplane.

Big Red S

I'd much rather be in the wet on tarmac on 23c slicks than 1.5" semis.

toasty

You don't have to aquaplane to lose grip, painted marks on the road can be very slippy when wet, as can other odd types of road covering you occationally encounter. Soap isn't slippy because your hands are aquaplaning off the side. :P

Saying that I've got City Jets on my hardtail at the moment as well, not only do you go faster but they seem very hard wearing, much more puncture resistant and they can still handle the odd bridleway.

ddoogie

I'm using WTB Slickosaurus tyres and some GEAX Road Runners. Both are super speedy on the tarmac compared to any knobly tyre. Never found them to have a problem with grip either.

alfablue

brasso wrote:

When choosing some commuting tyres I would get something with a little bit of tread. Slicks can be lethal on a damp/ wet ride.

Tread serves no purpose on tarmac (wet or dry) or other slippery road surfaces, other than reducing grip even further as there is less rubber on the road, and the knobbles squirm on cornering. The need for tread on the road is completely in the mind according to Sheldon Brown

Mog Uk

Toasty wrote:

Saying that I've got City Jets on my hardtail at the moment as well, not only do you go faster but they seem very hard wearing, much more puncture resistant and they can still handle the odd bridleway.

Another vote here for City Jets, I've done over 1000miles in all weathers with no punctures or 'accidents'. I've got full confidence in them in the wet...

brasso

Must just be me then, I've come unstuck more often with slicks in the wet than non slick tyres I have tried.