2.2 Slick tyres

Vally7
Vally7 Posts: 120
edited July 2011 in Commuting chat
Hi,

I'm going to sign up for the Cheshire 100 but have a mountain bike not a road bike. Can anyone point me in the direction of some decent (but cheap) slick tyres to use for the event and maybe commuting?

Cheers

Vally

Comments

  • walkingbootweather
    walkingbootweather Posts: 2,443
    Firstly you don't need such fat tyres. There are loads of options for 26" tyres from 1.5" up (you can get even narrower, but I wouldn't go less than 1.5"). Personnally I use one of the many variants of schwalbe marathon There are faster rolling tyres, but not many harder wearing or more puncture resistant,
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  • warpcow
    warpcow Posts: 1,448
    Schwalbe Big Apples are nice and fat. You should be able to find them for £15-20 each too. I've had them on my commuter for over a year now with no problems.
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  • Vally7
    Vally7 Posts: 120
    Thanks - would a 1.5 tyre fit on a normal MTB wheel or be too small? It sounds like a good idea and I'm all for making them easier to roll on.
  • davis
    davis Posts: 2,506
    Yes, in general, a 1.5 inch tyre will fit on most MTB rims.

    Out of interest, how many long distance rides have you done? Also, the bike you're riding - is it a full suspension model?
    Sometimes parts break. Sometimes you crash. Sometimes it’s your fault.
  • Vally7
    Vally7 Posts: 120
    This will be my first long distance run and it will be on a full-susser. I can lock out my front forks but can't lock out the back. My plan is to fill it as full of air as I can so it is pretty solid and I don't bob on any hills.


    I'm going to try a 60 miler in a couple of weeks to see how I go with the distance.
  • davis
    davis Posts: 2,506
    Fair enough, a good plan. Try to get up to around 80% of the target mileage as a practice. If you can cope with that distance, then the final 100 miles is pretty much just going to become a question of shoving food in often and regularly.

    100 miles on a full susser, even with slicks and locked-out forks, is quite an effort. My first century on a road bike was pretty tough!
    Sometimes parts break. Sometimes you crash. Sometimes it’s your fault.
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    Vally7 wrote:
    This will be my first long distance run and it will be on a full-susser. I can lock out my front forks but can't lock out the back. My plan is to fill it as full of air as I can so it is pretty solid and I don't bob on any hills.


    I'm going to try a 60 miler in a couple of weeks to see how I go with the distance.

    seems very similar to what Yehaa did a month or so bake. He fitted some green Halo Twinrails to his Marin. will point him this way.
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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,666
    Yep, I fitted some Halo Twinrails to my Marin, initially to do the British Heart Foundation 30 mile charity ride, if I remember rightly. Been using them to commute to work as well since, and occasionally at trail centres in the dry.
    Frankly, they're amazing on roads and paths, and roll silently, quite eerily so. They are noticeable faster than even semi-slick knobblies.

    What's surprising is that they're actually pretty damned good on wet to damp conditions at trail centres, provided you stay away from slimy surfaces.

    And they come ins some ridonculous colours, if you want :D

    Oh, they're also pretty tough, and alarmingly resistant to punctures.
  • cloggsy
    cloggsy Posts: 243
    Vally7 wrote:
    Hi,

    I'm going to sign up for the Cheshire 100 but have a mountain bike not a road bike

    :shock: Can't you just borrow a road bike? :shock:

    100 miles on a mountain bike will be a killer, never mind locking out etc.
  • holiver
    holiver Posts: 729
    I have 1.3" Continental Sport Contacts on my MTB. I think they're a bit thin so will get the next size up (1.6") when they wear out soon.
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  • kieranb
    kieranb Posts: 1,674
    Long term you could get wheels with narrower rims to take narrower tyres - but whether narrower is better is another question. Keep your current wheels set up for off-road, it's easier to change wheels than tyres.
  • rf6
    rf6 Posts: 323
    warpcow wrote:
    Schwalbe Big Apples are nice and fat. You should be able to find them for £15-20 each too. I've had them on my commuter for over a year now with no problems.

    +1 on these. quick comfy and no visits from the pf in hundreds of miles.
  • Vally7
    Vally7 Posts: 120
    I'd love to borrow a road bike but everyone I know has a mountain bike. Anyone know anywhere around Manchester that hires them out?
  • optimisticbiker
    optimisticbiker Posts: 1,657
    you don't want to be doing your first 100 on an unfamiliar bike. I did London-Cambridge and back on Sunday, my first 100miler having done 60miles just a couple of times before. As has been said, if you can do 60 you can do 100, just a case of willpower, liquid and food - especially the liquid. Several people rode the 60miles to Cambridge on mountain bikes of various sorts, and many were quicker than me (well they overtook me on some hills, but whether they got there ahead of me I am not sure) so I am sure that 100 on a MTB is possible.
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  • Vally7
    Vally7 Posts: 120
    thanks for all the advice folks

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