Worth getting a more narrow tyre?

Tuned In

I wish to use my MTB as a commuter. I changed the Continental Gravity knobblies (2.3) for a pair of Bontrager H2 (2.0) semi-slicks. Despite a reduction in noise I haven’t really noticed any other benefits.

I was primarily looking to see an improvement in rolling resistance. Living in Yorkshire - Aire Valley, not too many pieces of flat road - and lacking a bit of fitness ATM, I was hoping to make the hills a bit less challenging.

Would going onto more narrow slicks/semi-slicks make much of a difference? Perhaps something like the Michelin WildRun’R 1.4? I use a towpath quite frequently, which is largely hardpack. Would something this narrow give plenty of cushioning at the right pressure or would it prohibit this?

So, is it worth buying more narrow tyres? If it is, does anyone have a recommendation other than Marathons? Not that I have anything against them, I’d just prefer not having to shell out another £40+ if I can get away with it.

Thanks in advance for any help and guidance and apologies for probably asking a question that has been answered several times before.

ride_whenever

Just fit large volume slicks. Good grip and very fast.

Personally i like the Tioga FS100/skidrow great tyre, reasonably tough, not too heavy.

Stuey01

Semi-slicks are a pointless halfway house, in my humble opinion. Fine for summer cross country racing perhaps.

If you're using your bike on the road get some proper slicks. Say 1.5" max width. You will notice a difference in average speed. Not sure it's gonna be a magic pill for the hills though, gravity is gravity after all and rolling resistance less of a factor uphill at slow speeds.

AidanR

Rolling resistance is lower on wider tyres at a given pressure (despite popular opinion to the contrary). Wind resistance is lower with narrower tyres.

Personally I'd recommend wide slicks. I'm a fan of Schwalbe tyres - Kojak for low weight and speed, Supreme for more puncture protection and durability.

ride_whenever

Not on almost perfectly smooth surfaces like a velodrome or really really really good tarmac (obviously most of the uk tarmac is rubbish so wider is better!)

/pedant

Tuned In

Ride_whenever, Stuey, thanks for the quick replies.

I don’t think the Tiogas will be an improvement over what I have already but thanks for the input.

Consensus so far is to go for full on slicks.

Stuey01 wrote:

Semi-slicks are a pointless halfway house, in my humble opinion. Fine for summer cross country racing perhaps.

If you're using your bike on the road get some proper slicks. Say 1.5" max width. You will notice a difference in average speed. Not sure it's gonna be a magic pill for the hills though, gravity is gravity after all and rolling resistance less of a factor uphill at slow speeds.

Sub 1.5" okay for comfort over hardpack? Yes I do need to MTFU! :-D

snailracer

AidanR wrote:

Rolling resistance is lower on wider tyres at a given pressure (despite popular opinion to the contrary). Wind resistance is lower with narrower tyres.

Personally I'd recommend wide slicks. I'm a fan of Schwalbe tyres - Kojak for low weight and speed, Supreme for more puncture protection and durability.

Assuming similar tyre construction, that is.

A narrow slick is always fairly speedy (on smooth surfaces). A wide slick may or may not be, depending on whether it's designed to be fast, durable, puncture-resistant, low- or high- pressure, light, cheap, etc.

jeremyrundle

Stuey01 wrote:

Semi-slicks are a pointless halfway house, in my humble opinion. Fine for summer cross country racing perhaps.

If you're using your bike on the road get some proper slicks. Say 1.5" max width. You will notice a difference in average speed. Not sure it's gonna be a magic pill for the hills though, gravity is gravity after all and rolling resistance less of a factor uphill at slow speeds.

I agree to a certain extent, however I use my bikes on and off road, and often can not be bothered to keep changing wheels so two of my bikes have Wormdrives and are 5050 and very good.