tyres

jonboy22

hello all, goona be using my mtn bike for work during the winter months nad was wondering if it would be possible to fit narrower tyres on to it, if so how narrow can i get with standard 26'' wheels. Hope someone can help cheers

northstar

Semi-slicks work pretty well in the winter weather on roads and you can still go off-road when you feel like it.

jonboy22

thanks northstar already using semis just wondering how narrow i could get but when i think about it wider is probably better in the winter eh!!. Also im lookin to buy some proper full mudguards if u know of any decent makes. cheers

nicklouse

jonboy22 wrote:

just wondering how narrow i could get

well what are your rims? or what are their width?

missmarple

I think the minimum you can get is around 1.5". For this size I'd recommend the Schwalbe Cityjet, a cheap but durable tyre with plenty of promising reviews.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=24629

If you'd like to fit the tyres yourself and you don't understand how: http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=160

You may need to replace the innertubes, in which case I'd suggest something along the lines of: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=20475

If you'd like a Bike shop to fit the new tyres you're looking at a price of roughly £5-10.

Also if you want to fit the tyres yourself you need some Tyre Levers which can be picked up from your LBS* for around £3-5

*LBS = Local Bike Shop

Hope this helps.

ride_whenever

you can get fatboys in 1.25" seriously fast and durable.

northstar

jonboy22 wrote:

thanks northstar already using semis just wondering how narrow i could get but when i think about it wider is probably better in the winter eh!!. Also im lookin to buy some proper full mudguards if u know of any decent makes. cheers

Yeah I think it's best to stick with semis for the winter I think, especially if you're riding on the road.

This is my front mudguard http://www.evanscycles.com/products/topeak/defender-fx-front-ec004905

and my rear: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/sks/x-blade-mtb-mudguard-ec005804

Can't fault either of them really.

ride_whenever

if you're on the road you'll have more grip with a slick than a semi...

northstar

Not really, Semi-slicks work for me.

ride_whenever

Sheldon Brown wrote:

Tread for on-road use
Bicycle tires for on-road use have no need of any sort of tread features; in fact, the best road tires are perfectly smooth, with no tread at all!

Unfortunately, most people assume that a smooth tire will be slippery, so this type of tire is difficult to sell to unsophisticated cyclists. Most tire makers cater to this by putting a very fine pattern on their tires, mainly for cosmetic and marketing reasons. If you examine a section of asphalt or concrete, you'll see that the texture of the road itself is much "knobbier" than the tread features of a good quality road tire. Since the tire is flexible, even a slick tire deforms as it comes into contact with the pavement, acquiring the shape of the pavement texture, only while incontact with the road.

People ask, "But don't slick tires get slippery on wet roads, or worse yet, wet metal features such as expansion joints, paint stripes, or railroad tracks?" The answer is, yes, they do. So do tires with tread. All tires are slippery in these conditions. Tread features make no improvement in this.

From the authority on the matter

northstar

As I said, semi-slicks works for me, I'm not fussed who you think the authority on the matter is tbf.

Splasher

Tread patterns do not affect friction and so have no bearing on grip in normal wet conditions.

Very narrow tryes have a long, thin contact patch and so are unlikely to aquaplane, and so again have no need for tread patterns. Wider tyres, have a shorter, wider contact patch and so are more prone to aquaplane without a PROPER tread pattern.

weeksy59

Splasher wrote:

Tread patterns do not affect friction and so have no bearing on grip in normal wet conditions.

Very narrow tryes have a long, thin contact patch and so are unlikely to aquaplane, and so again have no need for tread patterns. Wider tyres, have a shorter, wider contact patch and so are more prone to aquaplane without a PROPER tread pattern.

Well that's not strictly speaking correct is it.

For example racing wets on both cars and motorbikes have a hugely increased treat pattern, this is for 2 reasons.

1. Water displacement
2. to allow the 'blocks' to move/flex increasing heat.

The byproduct to both heat in the rubber and water displacement is GRIP. Although the actual rubber is not 'grippier' than it previously was, the tyre is indeed gripper than if it had no tread.

Splasher

weeksy59, sorry I thought the question was about push-bikes.

Car's and motorbike tyres, are wider tyres and hence need proper treads to displace the water and prevent aquaplane as I said.

I also agree with you other point, but practically, there is no chance of generating enough heat in a standard push-bike tyre to materially affect the coefficient of friction.

Whilst on the subject of friction, an engineers joke: two cats sliding down a roof, which slides faster? The one with the lowest mu!

jayson

Just be a real man and use ur knobbly tires like i do, u have to wrk harder but that just means better fitness and saves alot of assing about at the weekend changing tires when u want to go riding proper :P