What size tyres?

chuckie said:

Hi guys and girls.

Any help for an uneducated novice appreciated!

I have a Peugeot mountain bike (second hand) which I occasionally thrash along the local cycle path. I got out last night night for the first time this spring to find the local council have very kindly laid tarmac along the 8 miles I usually travel.

My bike has 26" X 2.0 'nobbly' tyres and I plan to change to road tyres to suit the new environment. My question is - What width should I go for? I assume something narrower but how much is recommended?

A budget tyre will do fine as I only go out for fun, but is there anything I should avoid?

Thanks in advance,
Chuckie
(Scotland)

no issues with 1.5 or 1.25.

chuckie -

I'll tell you a great tire that I used to use on my MTB for road riding: the Vredestein S-Lick. Size is 26 x 1.3, and it was a pretty fast tire with great road traction & handling, and I never had a puncture flat on them. Bought a set for my wife's MTB as well, and she liked them once she got used to a narrower, non-knobby tire.

You can get them here: http://www.biketiresdirect.com/productdetail.asp?p=VRSLK but since you're in Scotland I'm sure one of your local shops has them or can get them.

All the above is perfectly good advice. I used Continental Sport Contact 26x1.3 @ 85psi on my old MTB.

These are the "extreme" of MTB/Road riding: http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/bicycle/themes/tires/mtb/grand_prix_mtb/grand_prix_mtb_en.html

See signature below for my new trekking bike.

I've used Specialized 1.25" slicks on my MTB in the past. They were rated to 100 psi. I pumped them close to that, ussually ~90, and they worked great. Not a road bike for sure, but a ton more fun on the tarmac than knobbies! 😉

I bought a second set of wheels and tires off a 26" road bike. I used washers to make up for the extra width of my mtb. Then when I get back on dirt all I have to do is pop the road tires off and pop the knobbys on.

The Continental Sport Contact 26x1.3 are what I used to ride on when I used the MTB for commuting.
Avocet Fasgrip tires are popular with the tandem community in the US. When we are there in a few weeks, I will be buying a supply to send back to Australia as they are unavailable here.
I dont know what the availabilty is like for Avocet in sunny Scotland.

Cheers

Geoff

boudreaux said:

no issues with 1.5 or 1.25.

one and a half inch - then you can still use your old tubes that you had in case of a puncture .

Quoted post said:

one and a half inch - then you can still use your old tubes that you had in case of a puncture .

Only in Scotland 😄

Thanks for all the responses. I'm now sorted with a very nice pair of slicks which are just the job.

Chuckie