Need new tyres - Week Day commuting plus weekend dirt

Fuzz Monkey Five

Anyone recoemmend a decent set of tyres for a 26" MTB which I can use both for daily commuting (15 miles round trip) and then at weekends when I take my bike of road, especiallty with all the wet UK mud that we have at the moment.

Sir HC

It will be worth your while getting two sets of tyres. Semi slicks for the commute then a set of knobblies for the weekend.

Splasher

You can use any tyres you like to do that but they'll either be brilliant at roads, brilliant at mud or reasonable on both. There is no tyre (I stand to be corrected) that is great on roads and wet mud.

So assuming you want a compromise that's reasonable on both, try something like maxxis ignitors, bonty ACX, kenda nevegals, Panaracer fire XC pros.

If you want to get smarter, you can put a faster rolling tyre on the back because most of your rolling resistance is from the rear tyre and if you lose it in the mud, the slide is more controllable on a rear than a front. So something like a Maxxis Ranchero on the back and an Ignitor on the front might be a good combo.

milese

I got some Michelin Country Rock tyres for my commute. I didn't want full on slicks but these are close enough, much easier and quicker on the road.

They'd handle light off road but I doubt they'd do much in the mud!

I clocked 47mph on these!

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... delID=8547

Fuzz Monkey Five

Thanks for teh feedback guys. I've been thinking about what Sir HC says with two sets of tyres, it's not a bad idea, and realistically its 5-10 mins to change over on a Friday evening and again on a Sunday evening.

Steve I

Are you using disc brakes? If so it would be much easier to have 2 sets of wheels. Swapping over tyres is messy and time consuming, takes me much longer than 10 minutes. You could still have 2 sets of wheels with v-brakes but the rims would need to be exactly the same width.

ride_whenever

I'd advise specialised fatboys for full on slick and either cinders or trailrakers depending on how muddy things get for you. You might want to look at twin rails though. Pump them right up for commuting and roll on the rails, let them down for off-roading and get a bigger contact patch and more grip. Also they are quite cheap.

Splasher

Twin rails in mud

andyturner28

2 sets of tires is the only way to go unless you are willing to compromise performance on/off road. I had the same dillema a while a go and have ended up with a garage full of tires! I have Maxiss Hookworms for road, Highrollers for when i tried (and failed) DH, Panaracer Fire XC Pro's for dry XC, and after strugling in the mud with these last week, have now got some Kenda Knarly's, which i only got yesterday so havn't tried them yet. I think the best compromise of those are the Pannaracer's, but like i said, they are no mud tire. The Hookworms are bloody brilliant on tarmack BTW, if a little heavy.

I was going to go down the 2 set's of wheels route like Steve suggested, but that is not only expensive, you will also be swapping between 2 different cassets, which will wear at different rates and cause problems with your gears. Of course if you do this you could also get 2 chains with Power links and swap them over as well. It all depends on how much you are willing to spend.

HTH,

Andy.

Anonymous

I use two sets of wheels already dressed.
Way easier than changing tires every time.

Iain W

You could follow the argument that the increased rolling resistance of fat knobblies means you are working harder on your daily commute and getting a better workout as a result, so go for the tyres better in the muck than on the road. I remeber Barry Clarke of Raleigh in the 90s saying that in an interview. Obviously it means you are slower and therefore get less time in bed of a morning :shock:

xcracer

Hi

I'm having a similar dliemma. Ideally I'd like two sets of dressed wheels or, even better, two bikes! But these are not affordable options. Not sure I can be bothered to change the tyres every Sunday evening after a full day in the saddle either!

My question is that if I do have two sets of tyres and change them every Friday and Sunday will that not damage the tyres?

ride_whenever

You might soften the bead slightly quicker, I'm not sure this even happens, but tyres do seem a bit easier to get on and off after a while! As long as you have good technique then you shouldn't damage the tyres or your rim.

I'd seriously consider specialised fatboys for commuting, they are ridiculously fast. As for changing them over, once you get practice it takes no time at all.