semi slick tyres

darrena8

hi every 1, i've just bought 2 semi slick tyres to try make my daily commute more smooth and speedy...

the guy in the shop recomended a smoother slick on the front 26/1.5 and a continetal double fighter 26/1.95 on the rear,

would you guys say this is right?

iam quite new 2 the sport,i would of thought the bigger of the 2 on the front 4 grip etc?

any advice please?

cheers
Darren

stubs

The usual thing is to have the larger knobblier tyre on the front for grip and the smoother tyre on the back for speed

darrena8

cool thanks,looks like iam going to change them back around haha

is there any advantages with a smaller tyre on the back or vice verser?

teulk

Ive just fitted Continental Sport Contacts 26x1.6 to the front and back of my bike, the difference it has made is amazing. I did my ususal 20mile route with them on and did it in 1hr16 and average speed of 15.8mph - ok that not may be fast to most but i normally do that route at an average of anywhere between 11.9 -12.5mph.

ride_whenever

why not large full slicks or slightly treaded slicks like the tiioga FS100

CycloRos

The only real reason to have a fat tyre on the back is to soften up the rear end, the higher volume acts as suspension but seeing as you're on a road for a commute then suspension doesn't really come into it.

I've tried semi-slicks on my commuter and they were quicker but not significantly so and I switched back to fast rolling XC tyres (mainly so I can hit some singletrack on the way home).

If your commute is pure road then I'd go with proper slicks and narrow.

wordnumb

As above - I can't really see the point of semi slicks. You wouldn't want to use them off road and the benefits on road are marginal. Like many compromises they are the worst of both worlds.

Another reason to have a wider front tyre is to gain as much grip as possible from the bit of the bike that hits stuff first and decides which direction you're going.

blister pus

I use a semi slick / cross over if I'm doing poorly maintained back roads, country lanes with crap on them etc, and some easy cross country riding. They can come into their own. But as above, if it's pure, well used, road then proper narrow slick would be the right choice.

andy46

has anyone tried specialized fatboys? i've got nimbus at the minute but wondered if these would be faster

deffler

I use Continental Town & Country's for my commute. No punctures so far & they have made a difference to my road riding. They are ok for bridleways light off-road use. Took them down a bit of very muddy singletrack last week, that was an experience :shock: