Slick tyres for my MTB

Hidden Hippo

I've been partially roped into taking part in the London-Brighton bike ride in 6 weeks, but I'm currently riding the stock tyres on my Merida.

I'm thinking that the tyre son it at the moment aren't really that suitable for it, so was thinking of spending £50 on some cheap slick tyres. However, I've no idea what tyre I need. The tyres are currently Merida Race 2.1" and the wheels are Matts Disc rims.

Thanks in advance for any help/advice you can offer.

estampida

there are loads of slicks out there

halfords and bike shops will have a few (go and have a look, ask some questions)

then buy from chain reaction

thin, with a central pad and small sipes (the bits that let water out of tread), you can buy full 26" slicks but if it rains... could be a handful

Hidden Hippo

I was thinking of getting something like this:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=24625

Is that the sort of tyre you mean?

YeehaaMcgee

estampida wrote:

there are loads of slicks out there

halfords and bike shops will have a few (go and have a look, ask some questions)

then buy from chain reaction

thin, with a central pad and small sipes (the bits that let water out of tread), you can buy full 26" slicks but if it rains... could be a handful

Actually, full slicks are fine in the rain, the contact area is small enough to make aquaplaning impossible.
However, tread can help with that weird "slime" you get on some roads.

70\ʹspenguin

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

estampida wrote:

there are loads of slicks out there

halfords and bike shops will have a few (go and have a look, ask some questions)

then buy from chain reaction

thin, with a central pad and small sipes (the bits that let water out of tread), you can buy full 26" slicks but if it rains... could be a handful

Actually, full slicks are fine in the rain, the contact area is small enough to make aquaplaning impossible.
However, tread can help with that weird "slime" you get on some roads.

True indeed!
You may want to look at the continental sport contacts 1.6. Very durable, comfortable, slick, grippy and fairly light. Around £20 per tyre and you get free tubes and a 1 year guarantee against punctures.

Hidden Hippo

Reading around the Continental seems to be very slippery in the wet. Obviously I know that I'm not going to get the same grip in the wet. Would something like this be reasonable?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=12607

Long_Time_Lurker

The conti sport contacts are fine (I use them).
You just have to remember that while they are great in a straight line, you need to be a bit more careful at corners and when braking - it's the same for all slicks.
My mate has been using them for all year (he's too lazy to change them), on the local trails with minimal trouble.

djb1971

Take a look at schwalbe city jets. They're cheap, roll well and inflate to about 85 psi. I see lots of people with these fitted.

allthegearnoidea

ifd your after Cheap, then i put some Nutrak slicks on the wifes commuter, am pretty sure they were around £15 the pair for std wire bead,

The Rookie

City Jets are the best budget slicks you'll get, pump them up hard and they roll really well, there are more expensive but suggest you need not pay more given what you say.