MTB Tyre advice.

Scrapis

Hi,
I have been road cycling for many years but have started using my mtb more and more. However I cannot remove my tyres from the rim if I have a puncture even using the Var levers I use on my road bike. Please could someone help with suggestions for new semi slick tyres 26x1.75 that are a more 'generous' fit, I can't keep phoning my husband to rescue me!

bikaholic

This is a difficult one to answer because there are unknown variables at play here, like the brand of rim you're using, the brand of tyre and your puncture repair technique.

Some rims which are marked as compatible for UST Tubeless tyres, for example, come with a thick rimstrip as standard to aid tyre sealing when they are pumped up. To use a tube and a standard (non UST) tyre on these types of rims, normally, you would need to replace the rimstrip with a thinner/narrower rimtape which will ease the fitting of tyres.

So, inspect your rims and see if it needs new rimtape.

Scrapis

Thank you for your reply.
I have ordinary cheap rims, not tubeless. What I would like is advice on the make/brand of tyres that others, with more experience than me, have found easy to remove at the side of the road. ..... without having to bleat down the phone to a grumpy other half for help!

Different manufacturers 559mm beads vary. eg Vredestein's Fortezza road tyres are considered to be towards the large end of the tolerance for 622 road tyres (so much so that Mavic at one time advised against fitting them to their rims). I'm after the equivalent in an mtb semi-slick tyre.

newbie_biker

I'm by no means an expert when it comes to bike components but I did have these tyres on my last bike and I didn't have any problems with them.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... plus-10686

It was a bit of a weird feeling at first when I first started using them but adapted almost instantly, I used them mostly on the roads when riding to and from work and they performed very well. Grippy, durable, little roll resistance and didn't have any weight issues unlike some. I used to do about 8 miles on them every day...... then my bike got stolen!

I also used to use the 'Slime' inner tubes and found them great for dealing with punctures.

bikaholic

Here is a small selection of the type of tyres I use for urban commuter bike builds:







Using an OEM Specialized front wheel with an Alex Rim DM20 (559-16, Doublewall) rim, the following tyres are ranked in order of ease of mounting:

Maxxis Xenith 26x1.5
Maxxis Detonator 26x1.5
Schwalbe City Jet 26x1.5
X-Rated Kevlar (found on Carrera bikes) 26x1.5
VRDestein S-lick 26x1.3
Schwalbe Marathon Plus 26x1.5
Specialized Nimbus Ex 26x1.5
DSI No Puncture Tyre 26x1.5
Michelin City 26x1.4

On the DM20, all could be mounted back onto the rim without the use of a tyre lever. However, on different rims, I know for a fact that tyres like the Specialized Nimbus Ex and the Michelin City can be extremely tricky without it.

Scrapis

Many thanks for the helpful replies, you've given me a lot to consider. I think I may buy some new rims too as I suppose they could be part of the problem.

I have to ride about 3 miles on the road to reach the tracks and lanes so, as they are often muddy I think I need the tyres to be fairly slick down the middle (for the road bit) with nobbles on the sides (for the lanes). I don't intend to do anything technical. Perhaps I'm looking for a combination that doesn't exist!

bartimaeus

If your road riding is to get to the trails, and it's only 3 miles, then I wouldn't bother with 'hybrid tyres' - I'd just get tyres suitable for the off-road conditions. MTB tyres are just a bit slow on the road which is no big deal, but decent tyres off-road make your riding fun. Folding tyres (with a kevlar bead) are usually easier to fit than wire-beaded tyres in my experience... and they are lighter!

newbie_biker

I really enjoyed my Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres while I had them and they are also kevlar folded.

I forgot to mention I used these inner tubes in my back tyre:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/slime-self-heal ... nner-tube/

They aren't a long term solution for a puncture but might help cut down the amount of phone calls you need to make to your other half, so just until you can get home and mend the puncture.

I also used a Kenda heavy duty inner tube in the front tyre. When you hold the Kenda tubes in your hand you can tell they mean business. Don't ask me why I used that setup combination but it worked for me and I never had a single puncture after I put in those tubes. However, I never used that wheel setup off-road so I wouldn't be able to advise in regards to that.

Hope you find the solution to your problem soon, let us know how you get on.

Scrapis wrote:

I think I need the tyres to be fairly slick down the middle (for the road bit) with nobbles on the sides (for the lanes). I don't intend to do anything technical. Perhaps I'm looking for a combination that doesn't exist!

^^^You might want to look into the Schwalbe Land Cruiser MTB tyre.

tarbot18

Try the continental travel contact s they are slick in the middle with knobbles on the edges , they are a lot lighter than the marathon plus s ie 500g a tyre, so roll a lot better and they have 2 layers of kevlar for puncture protection.
I do 100 miles a weekish on my commuter around the coast of wirral through sand, on bike paths and through an industrial estate and ive had 1 puncture in 18 months. Only downside about £35 a tyre.

cooldad

Bartimaeus wrote:

If your road riding is to get to the trails, and it's only 3 miles, then I wouldn't bother with 'hybrid tyres' - I'd just get tyres suitable for the off-road conditions. MTB tyres are just a bit slow on the road which is no big deal, but decent tyres off-road make your riding fun. Folding tyres (with a kevlar bead) are usually easier to fit than wire-beaded tyres in my experience... and they are lighter!

This. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
And forget slime tubes, heavy rubbish.

The Rookie

Schwalbe smart sam are a good compromise tyre and the centre knobbles form a near continuous bead, they also offer reasonable grip on light trails, they also go on and off fairly easily (my wife has them) one tyre lever and fingers off, fingers on.

Scrapis

Thanks all of you for your help. I've made a note of some of the tyres you've mentioned and will be off to spend some money shortly after Xmas.

bartimaeus

It's always worth looking at On-One and Merlin for deals on tyres, as well as checking out CRC and Wiggle.

raldat

+1 for the smart sams. I run them for commute and mild off road stuff and the are great. They are comfortable on the road and fast enough but are quite reasonable for normal xc off road stuff as long as it is not wet roots or mud. I did my first season of xc racing on the only. Now I have some more suitable racing tyres but still use these for commutes. Since I only have 1 bike I swap out tyres a lot and these have been fine on a range of generic rims and the Mavic cross rides I have. They are a bit tight on the Mavic 317 rim I have but everything I own is. I do all changes totally by hand, no levers if I can avoid them.

Only complaint about the smart sams is the life. Only lasted me 6 months but I did do about 2500 miles in that time so I guess that is ok.

newbie_biker

Bartimaeus wrote:

It's always worth looking at On-One and Merlin for deals on tyres, as well as checking out CRC and Wiggle.

Just want to add to Bart's post and say another two are Superstar components & Bike Discount, links to both of them are below:

http://www.superstarcomponents.com/

http://www.bike-discount.de/?lg=en&country=226&cr=GBP

omegas

If you mean the bead is sticking to the rim , dust the bead edge with talc .

The Rookie

newbie_biker wrote:

http://www.superstarcomponents.com/

Not (m)any tyres though!

Scrapis

Thank you all again.

The Smart Sams look good and reading the reviews, are the type of thing I have in mind, but I think they may be too wide, the tyres on the bike now are 1.75 width, the narrowest Smart Sams seem to be 2.10 so I need to think about clearance but my existing tyres are very nobbly!

It's not the bead that's sticking, it's just the tyres are so tight on the rim. It took my husband a lot of struggling and swearing to get the tyre off and back on again, I can change the tyres no problem on my road bike.

newbie_biker

The Beginner wrote:

newbie_biker wrote:

http://www.superstarcomponents.com/

Not (m)any tyres though!

There is always a chance she may see something on there that she wants for her bike, I took all of Bart's suggested sites and saved them in my bookmarks for future reference. One shop may have what another doesn't and another might be better on price etc etc, just good to have options is all.

DanDax1990

Just whack some knobblies on and changes pressure according to your riding?...