Road Tyres...

Angus Young

Now that I have the Kona the Trek 4300 is relegated to serving road duties. I've taken it to the LBS for a thorough fettling so it's all tip top and all that's left to attend to are the tyres. So, can you recommend a set of tyres that are slightly more road biased that will roll better than the knobblies on there at the moment? Wheels are 26" MTB. It's going to spend most of its time on the road but might occasionally venture off. Cheaper is better, but I'd still like something decent. Thanks.

scarthie99

http://nextdaytyres.co.uk/home.aspx

Angus Young

scarthie99 wrote:

http://nextdaytyres.co.uk/home.aspx

Yes, I know them, but that doesn't tell me good from bad.

rockmonkeysc

I have never found Next Day Tyres particularly cheap. Good service though.
Conti Gatorskin are good on road and very good puncture resistance.

Angus Young

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Conti Gatorskin are good on road and very good puncture resistance.

Will they work on 26" mountain bike wheels (Should have mentioned wheels size. Corrected)? They're listed as 700c and 23c, 25c, 28c and 32c for the width.

Chunkers1980

Yes you need 26" (559). Then the width in inches. An inch to an inch to an inch and half. Wider will have more volume but as you run them hard it doesn't really mean more comfort

BloggingFit

Bontrager H5 or Specialized Armadillo.

rockmonkeysc

Angus Young wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Conti Gatorskin are good on road and very good puncture resistance.

Will they work on 26" mountain bike wheels (Should have mentioned wheels size. Corrected)? They're listed as 700c and 23c, 25c, 28c and 32c for the width.

http://m.evanscycles.com/products/conti ... 6-ec001746

The Rookie

Schwalbe City jet are the go to budget option, very competent but not quite as lively feeling as more expensive tyres, up the budget to about £25 an end and look for Conti Sport contacts or similar from a reputable brand, there are few duds but the one I would suggest not getting is the Specialized Nimbus which simply is not as good as others at this price point.

For narrower, and lighter Decathlon do some 1.2" although I haven't tried them, or Contintal do a 1" but you really have to be keen to go that far!

Angus Young

BloggingFit wrote:

Bontrager H5 or Specialized Armadillo.

Both a little more than I'd planned on spending given this is now just going to be a commuter/fitness bike. Thank you, though.

RockmonkeySC wrote:

http://m.evanscycles.com/products/conti ... 6-ec001746

Ah... I was looking on CRC and all they had there was 700c.

Chunkers1980 wrote:

Yes you need 26" (559). Then the width in inches. An inch to an inch to an inch and half. Wider will have more volume but as you run them hard it doesn't really mean more comfort

I'm assuming that 700c is not the same as 26", given that it comes in both (see above).

The Rookie wrote:

Schwalbe City jet are the go to budget option, very competent but not quite as lively feeling as more expensive tyres...

At £11.99 a pop I'm going to give the Jets a try. At that price if I don't like them there's not much lost. Already ordered. Thanks for that.

Thank you all.

The Rookie

My daughter had CJ's on her hack bike when she was at Uni, they wear well (you can probably get 4000miles from them) grip is more than reasonable, but only downside was a slightly lifeless feeling which I only really noticed as my commuter has been on a few more expensive 26" road tyres (WTB Slickasaurus, Panaracer RiBMo, and the Conti sport contacts - the Nimbus are on my town hack bike now). For the price they are great value for money.

Angus Young

Don't care too much if they're a bit lifeless. Just want something that's not inappropriately knobbly and rolls decent, given that it's now going to spend 95% of its time on road. My other half is going to ride back and forth to the station on it and I'll be hopping on it to rack up the miles in-between proper riding. Having broken a rib some time back and then gotten busy at work I've not been getting off road quite as regularly as I'd like and I've noticed a corresponding drop in fitness so I have to start getting those miles in again. Hope the Jets work out as I do love a bargain!

Angus Young

The Jets are on and they're a very decent looking tyre considering they were only £12 an end. In fact, they're a decent looking tyre regardless of what they cost. And very easy to get on the rims after my last experience with a High Roller II on a Superstar Carbon AM rim. Unfortunately the rain's come out now and I don't fancy getting all mucked up just for the sake of a test ride so I'll have to wait to find out what they feel like. Thanks for the recommendation Rookie, from looks at least, we might be on to a winner.

The Rookie

A pleasure to help out, enjoy!

JodyP

Can you post your views when test ridden. I am in the market for some MTB slicks to use commuting and these seem ideal.

Angus Young

Well, the sun came out so I went for a quick spin.

They do, indeed, roll a little easier than the old tyres so it’s slightly less of a slog. Bike definitely feels a little sprightlier. It's not night and day but definitely noticeable. And they’re quieter, too. The ride is firmer, but that would be true of any tyre running at 60psi after knobblies running at 30 (Bontrager Jones - truly rubbish tyres!). Oddly, although the ride is certainly firmer, the bike is no more uncomfortable than before (it's a fully rigid TREK 4300). Although I wasn't pushing the bike too hard on my quick spin there was no sign that they lack for grip, despite the roads being very wet. That puts my mind at easy as it's my girlfriend who'll be riding the bike on dark early mornings and she won't be going round the bends as fast as I was. All in all I couldn't ask anymore of a tyre that cost only £12 and I wouldn't be questioning their performance if they'd have cost twice as much. As mentioned above, very easy to get on the rims which is a bit of a relief after the punch up I had trying to get a High Roller II onto a Superstar Carbon AM rim.

A proper bargain and recommended.

JodyP

Thanks. Will buy a pair when I finally get my spare road wheels sorted

gt-arrowhead

Cannot go wrong with a City Jet. I have used the 26 x 1.95s for a long while now, and never had a problem with them at all. Easy to fit, puncture proof as fook. I have been through shards of glass countless times. Only time ive ever got a puncture with them on was when i cocked up a bunny hop and smashed my rear wheel right on the edge of a curb. They have excellent grip too. Never had a scary moment on them in the wet. Also seem to be pretty hard wearing. Next to no wear on the front, and rear is still looking excellent even after loads of skidding!

Another great road tyre is the Michelin Wild Run`r at £10 a tyre. Super light, super fast (1.4 width), super cheap. And never got a puncture on them in 2 years. Still dont understand how. Ive removed many bits of glass and stones from the surface of the tyre.

cooldad

Drop the pressure a bit. What width did you get. I like fatter tyres at lower pressures. Like 40 psi or so.

Angus Young

cooldad wrote:

Drop the pressure a bit. What width did you get. I like fatter tyres at lower pressures. Like 40 psi or so.

1.95s. It says 65psi max so I pumped them to 60. Wouldn't 40 add some rolling resistance, or would it be marginal? Bear in mind that this is now going to spend almost all of its time on tarmac.

gt-arrowhead

Angus Young wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Drop the pressure a bit. What width did you get. I like fatter tyres at lower pressures. Like 40 psi or so.

1.95s. It says 65psi max so I pumped them to 60. Wouldn't 40 add some rolling resistance, or would it be marginal? Bear in mind that this is now going to spend almost all of its time on tarmac.

It is marginal in my experience. I run mine at 45 PSI. Still hard enough to give me low rolling resistance but i find it makes the ride just a bit more comfortable. Experiment and find what you like best.

cooldad

Much more comfy, so swings and roundabouts.

Angus Young

I think I'll drop it down a little before she takes off in the morning. Thanks folks.