How to choose tyres?

soy_sauce

I have been commuting on road to work for the past few month with those standard MTB tyres and now I am after a pair of slick tyres for commuting use.

I heard that a pair of semi slick tyres would be a better choice since i can also use them for abit of off road, so im wondering should i go for the "full" slick or semi slick?

i don't mind of changing the tyres each time i go off road. also could someone explain to me what the different (good/bad things) between wire beaded and folding, please?

i guess that it would be more difficult to change tyre with wire beaded but is that right?

ride_whenever

Folding are lighter, and generally the tyres are made better (ie better quality construction)

For commuting, go full slick, but get high volume ones, I'd recommend tioga FS100. Really grippy but very fast rolling, also pretty tough, i keep mine pumped right up and so far I've only punctured them with a nail!!!!!!

Daz555

Not a fan of fully slick myself. They feel nasty on very wet days.

I like Specialized Nimbus. A puncture resistant 'armadillo' version is available for a few quid extra.

soy_sauce

ride_whenever wrote:

Folding are lighter, and generally the tyres are made better (ie better quality construction)

For commuting, go full slick, but get high volume ones, I'd recommend tioga FS100. Really grippy but very fast rolling, also pretty tough, i keep mine pumped right up and so far I've only punctured them with a nail!!!!!!

thank for the recommendation. just checked them out and it def in my short-list.
the site say its steel bead, so is that same as wire bead? and are they easy to change? cos i use the same bike for off road and commuting so i would prop need to change it alot.

soy_sauce

Daz555 wrote:

Not a fan of fully slick myself. They feel nasty on very wet days.

I like Specialized Nimbus. A puncture resistant 'armadillo' version is available for a few quid extra.

i was looking at this
one for semi slick, before i posted the topic. is that a good choice? came across the one you mentioned earlier but the site don't have the right size that im looking for (26" x 2.0).

how much faster between fully and semi slick?

blister pus

If you're doing solely road commuting and the roads are reasonable then get something like the Schwalbe Marathon (or plus). If the roads aren't so good and you need to go off road and do some bridleway riding then you need a more robust semi slick design like the new Conti Traffic 09 (1.9), I've found them to be a decent value all-rounder (so far), excellent handling on wet roads, quiet, low rolling resistance.

henry_ho_yin wrote:

how much faster between fully and semi slick?

Depends on the design of the 'semi slick' they vary so much.

sicknewt

I've got some schwalbe marathon plus that I commute on. Had them for about a year and half now and got on with them reallly well. Not had a single puncture and they are hardly showing any wear...