Putting road tyres on a MTB

[SkinnyPete]

I’ve got a 2017 GIANT TALON which I take to the trails a few times each summer, it’s a cheap bike, but as someone who is an absolute novice at cycling, it does me fine.

Since lockdown, I’ve been cycling on the road for the first time, and I absolutely love it. I’ve always felt it would be too dangerous, but nobodies driving has scared me yet, so that’s good…

The only problem is, my bike is just too slow and requires too much effort at points. I think changing the tyres to something more road-focused would be an excellent short term solution before deciding whether or not to invest in a gravel bike after lockdown.

So knowing nothing about bikes, how much of a compromise in terms of traction, braking, cornering and mild off road ability (think wet, muddy shortcuts across fields) am I going to have if I switch from my current 27.5 (650b) x 2.2 MAXXIS off road tyres, to something like this:

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/schwalbe-big-b...

or this?

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/continental-sp...

The first example is 2” wide and not 2.2” that I currently have, does it matter?

Also, are self sealing inner tubes any good? Although I’ve been practicing changing them at home, I would really hate to get a puncture at night, in the rain, miles from home.

[Barchettaman]

Cheaper tyres available at Planet X:

https://www.planetx.co.uk/s?q=27.5”+tyre

Go for something with a slick/diamond Centre and a nobbly side.

No idea about self sealing inner tubes.

[GT72]

I’ve always used these on my winter commuter bike. Cheap, puncture resistant and pretty grippy.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/26x15-randonneur-refle...

[ou sont les biscuits]

OP, both the tyres you listed will be OK on dryish surfaces, but I suspect they won't do well in a muddy field.

As Barchettaman said something that's knobbly on the edges is what you probably need.

I use these in 1.75:

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Continental-Contact-Trave...

Which may work for you too. They are also pretty puncture resistant.

[SkinnyPete]

Thanks.

How can I determine what the thinnest tyre I can run is?

[MC Bodge]

SkinnyPete said:

Thanks.

How can I determine what the thinnest tyre I can run is?

You can probably go down to about 1.5".

[Davie]

What are you trying to achieve?

I ride a FS Boardman on its original Continental X-King tyres and whilst I'll actively try and avoid the roads as much as possibly, I have done a few miles lately and I also started getting frustrated at how heavy the bike felt and it's lack of pace. I did drop the pressures from ~35PSi down to ~25PSi and oddly, it seemed slightly better but ultimately I've since accepted it's a big, heavy MTB with high resistance tyres and thus it'll never be fast nor efficient but I rarely try and cover more than a few miles on tarmac and ths upside is, it's much like running dragging a parachute... you'll be getting a good workout in much less distance which is good, unless of course your goal is to cover distance quickly and efficiently.

[N111BJG]

I have Continental Speed King fitted to my MTB with slime tubes. The bike is a Specialized 2013 Stump Jumper Comp Carbon which I use as a hybrid / gravel bike, but I did ride it cross country today.
I regularly ride a 14 mile road circuit, about a fortnight ago, after swapping to Speed Kings from off road tyres my time for the circuit dropped by 10%, no other changes made.
They are more prone to punctures, hence the slime tubes.

[SkinnyPete]

N111BJG said:

I have Continental Speed King fitted to my MTB with slime tubes. The bike is a Specialized 2013 Stump Jumper Comp Carbon which I use as a hybrid / gravel bike, but I did ride it cross country today.
I regularly ride a 14 mile road circuit, about a fortnight ago, after swapping to Speed Kings from off road tyres my time for the circuit dropped by 10%, no other changes made.
They are more prone to punctures, hence the slime tubes.

Thanks for sharing.

What slime tubes are you using? I don't think I've seen any that fit the Continentals 2.2" width.

[Pupp]

Might be a step too far but when I fixied my faithful old Orange C16R, I laced up some 650c Velocity V rims and now run 23mm Vittoria Rubino tyres. No off road capability whatsoever but the thing flies, and the rims are fine with the original SLX-RC cantilever brakes.

[darreni]

I used to run specialized 1 inch slicks on my old Klein attitude, that really made a difference.

I’m looking at a pair of Kojak slicks for my mtb at the mo, though the city jets seem to have widespread good reviews.

[N111BJG]

SkinnyPete said:

Thanks for sharing.

What slime tubes are you using? I don't think I've seen any that fit the Continentals 2.2" width.

I found the box they came in