Road Performance on Hybrid - Should I fit slicks??

paulsjdale

I have a Scott Sportster P4 2008 version, with the following spec;

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/sco ... e-ec001316

The tyres are 700c and are knobbly. I was out cycling at the weekend (all on road) and swapped bikes part way with a friends Kona Hybrid. The effort required for the Kona seemed significantly less.... would this be due to the fact it has slicks?

I am shortly going on a c.120 mile road cycle trip over a couple of days, which will be fairly hilly. Would I be well advised to buy some slick / semi slick tyres?

If so, any advice as to which I should buy? I am purely concerned with the on road performance, and will not be going off road.

Many thanks in advance!!

spaniamania

Fit a slick?
Only if it is lighter than what you already have

brin

Not necessary to fit slicks, but would definitely change the nobbly tyres for your road ride, conti gators or spesh armadillos should do the job, go for a smaller width size to what you are using too,maybe 25's?

brin

just read spec of your bike, 25's might be to big a drop, maybe 27's would be better? your LBS should advise

sungod

knobbly tyres will waste energy and squirm/lose grip on tarmac, especially if you try to corner at speed

slicks will be more efficient and give far better grip

what you can fit depends on how wide the rims are

have a look at these, try the 28mm, but they're available in other widths, the price includes the tube...

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Conti ... 360008375/

skyd0g

If they're the original tyres that were supplied with the bike - Conti Double fighter 2 700x37C - they're pretty heavy (650g) but very robust. Fine for general commuting and light off-road (canal paths etc), but not designed for speed.

For a faster, lighter tyre you could try the Michelin Krylion Carbon 25mm - still pretty robust, but alot lighter and will roll better. (You may need some new tubes also)

daviesee

Another thing to consider is tyre pressure.

A low pressure tyre will absorb energy which you could do with being transmitted directly into motion. I would look for tyres around 80+ psi.

Lycra Man

I agree with SunGod. I fitted Conti SportContact 28c, and used them for 2 years on my hybrid, for Audax rides up to 300k.

They are lighter and roll MUCH easier than knobblies.

Definitely fit a smooth road tyre for riding on the road.

Lycra Man

paulsjdale

Lycra Man wrote:

I agree with SunGod. I fitted Conti SportContact 28c, and used them for 2 years on my hybrid, for Audax rides up to 300k.

They are lighter and roll MUCH easier than knobblies.

Definitely fit a smooth road tyre for riding on the road.

Lycra Man

Thanks for all the help. My current tyres are 700x37... would 700x28 be too much of a drop?

Would there be any benefit going for a 32 or 37?

skyd0g

700c X 28 would be fine.
32's or 37's would give a slightly comfier ride at the cost of weight and would be slower than 28's.

AidanR

OK, you want speedier tyres. There are 3 factors affecting this:

Weight
Rolling resistance
Aerodynamics

And then other factors:

Comfort
Durability
Puncture resistance
Grip
Price

If you're just on roads, slick tyres will roll and grip better. Wider tyres will be less aerodynamic (not really a factor on a hybrid anyway) and will be heavier than narrow tyres. However, their rolling resistance is lower than narrow tyres for a given pressure*, and you can run them at lower pressures than narrow tyres without risking pinch punctures (though there's obviously a trade-off with rolling resistance).

Rolling resistance and puncture protection is another trade-off, as well protected tyres are less supple. Weight and puncture protection is another trade-off. Grippier tyres are generally less durable. Cheap tyres often have a wire bead as opposed to a kevlar one (folding tyres) and this makes them heavier.

So it depends what you're looking for. Personally I'd stay with the same width tyres, or slightly narrower. I'm a fan of Schwalbe Marathon Supremes as a good trade-off of all the above, but they are a bit pricey.

*http://www.schwalbetires.com/tech_info/rolling_resistance

cpk

I have a similar question.

I've got a Kona smoke with Duro Beach Bum Tyres

http://durotire.com/productdetails.php?productid=659

26 x 2.125

Would it significantly increase my efficiency and speed if I went for a thinner city tyre like the continental? I am planning on doing a short cycling holiday too.

Thanks in advance

AidanR

If your rims are designed to take a tyre as wide as that, I wouldn't go much below 1.8" wide... possibly 1.5". Something like this would be about right: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=35796

Given your current tyres weigh a massive 1.2kg each, this alone should give you a good efficiency saving. I imagine the rolling resistance will be much improved too.

cpk

Thanks for the reply

It seems my wheels are 26 x 1.5. Could anyone advise which size continental to get, is the 1.5" possible?

Cheers

npowell28

I fitted 700 x 23 continental sports to my GT Transeo Hybrid. It made a world of difference to be. Knocked a good 10 minutes off my 11 mile commute to work. I've had no problems with the rim width etc etc.

It does make the ride a bit harsh though with the aluminium frame.

bsc8180

cpk wrote:

Thanks for the reply

It seems my wheels are 26 x 1.5. Could anyone advise which size continental to get, is the 1.5" possible?

Cheers

Yes, narrower is better though.... , i run these

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Conti ... 360021704/

on my 26" mtb rims. They made a huge difference on my commute of 7 miles each way (now down to ~23 mins each way from 35 on knobbilies)
I didnt change the inner tube either.

Cheers

balthazar

cpk wrote:

Thanks for the reply

It seems my wheels are 26 x 1.5. Could anyone advise which size continental to get, is the 1.5" possible?

Cheers

How about Conti Grand Prix in 26x1 1/8:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Conti ... 360041128/

or Vittoria Rubino in 26x1.5":

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Vitto ... 360035181/

Both are decent light slick road tyres, which will fit on ordinary MTB rims.