Tires

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by davidputty
Hello I just bought myself a trek 4100 mt bike a couple of weeks ago. I mainly ride in residential areas down streets and stuff. Should I change my tires to street instead of the off road ones. Would I notice a difference. About how much will they cost.

Probably,probably and it depends.

If you always ride on pavement, you'd definitely notice a difference if you went to a skinnier tire with a smooth tread. I took the stock knobbies off of my wifes Specialized MTB and replaced them with a pair of 1" Ritchey Tom Slicks (she rides on the road almost exclusively). She went on and on about how much easier they rolled.

i did want a smother tread but im not sure about skinnier one. Are you talking like those 700 ones.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by davidputty
i did want a smother tread but im not sure about skinnier one. Are you talking like those 700 ones.

You can get slick tires in a variety of widths. The one I was talking about (that I put on my wife's bike) are nearly as narrow as the 700c tires that you're probably thinking of. The narrower the tire, the less rolling resistance there is.

I wasnt planning on changing the rims just the rubber to a smoother tread but thanks for the help.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by davidputty
I wasnt planning on changing the rims just the rubber to a smoother tread but thanks for the help.

You don't have to change the rims. Just the tires and tubes. You can run any width tire on a 26" rim as long as it's a 26" tire. 26" tires vary from 1" to over 2.5"!

that just shows im a newbie thanks for the help.

MOst people really notice the difference. I got an instant 2 mph from going from 38cm to 28cm tires. Came in handy on those group rides -- I didn't have to pedal quite as much wihle they coasted.