Tyre recommendation's
Discussion
Okay, looking for some tyre advice. Ive recently bought a new mountain bike to help get fit and back into doing a bit of cycling which I used to really enjoy.
Now the bike Ive purchased is a pretty basic spec Giant and as such has some pretty basic spec nobbly tyres. Now the cycling I do is a bit of a mix, some road some off road, canal paths etc. etc. I;m finding that the tyres the bike currently has fitted are ok-ish on the muddy stuff, but they make the bike a bit heavy to ride on the likes of roads/paths etc. (not to mention they are a tad on the noisy side when on tarmac).
I spoke to the local bike shop that supplied the bike, however as they deal in a lot of higher end stuff I really get the impression a) they werent that interested in someone speccing up a bomb the base bike and b)looking at the tyre they had suggested (looked like a sort of semi-slik tyre with some water channels), would be an ideal tyre if I was riding purely on the road, but I very much doubt it would give any sort of grip on mud etc.
Now I;m fully aware (as my old college leacture used to say), that when you look for something to do 2 different jobs there will be compromise either way, so suggestions welcome.
Now the bike Ive purchased is a pretty basic spec Giant and as such has some pretty basic spec nobbly tyres. Now the cycling I do is a bit of a mix, some road some off road, canal paths etc. etc. I;m finding that the tyres the bike currently has fitted are ok-ish on the muddy stuff, but they make the bike a bit heavy to ride on the likes of roads/paths etc. (not to mention they are a tad on the noisy side when on tarmac).
I spoke to the local bike shop that supplied the bike, however as they deal in a lot of higher end stuff I really get the impression a) they werent that interested in someone speccing up a bomb the base bike and b)looking at the tyre they had suggested (looked like a sort of semi-slik tyre with some water channels), would be an ideal tyre if I was riding purely on the road, but I very much doubt it would give any sort of grip on mud etc.
Now I;m fully aware (as my old college leacture used to say), that when you look for something to do 2 different jobs there will be compromise either way, so suggestions welcome.
WTB graffiti UK
I do a lot of road miles but also a fair amount of mud plugging, and find the design of these to be perfect for rolling exceedingly well on the big flat blocks yet still biting in the gloop with the sharp edges. I searched for ages through too-slick or too-knobbly until I found these and IMO they are the perfect compromise:
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.WTB-Graffiti-UK-Race-Tyre_...
act quickly though as they have now been discontinued and stocks are drying up
I do a lot of road miles but also a fair amount of mud plugging, and find the design of these to be perfect for rolling exceedingly well on the big flat blocks yet still biting in the gloop with the sharp edges. I searched for ages through too-slick or too-knobbly until I found these and IMO they are the perfect compromise:
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.WTB-Graffiti-UK-Race-Tyre_...
act quickly though as they have now been discontinued and stocks are drying up
Edited by mat777 on Wednesday 2nd May 02:09
Edited by mat777 on Wednesday 2nd May 02:11
as much as i like the Fire XC Pro, its really slow on roads and similar surfaces and having used htem for a year or so, i have found the outer knbblies to be too weak and they fold in under cornering and tend to wash out the front.
I will probably go back to Maxxis Larsen TTs which are worth a look, as well as Kenda Small Block Eights
I will probably go back to Maxxis Larsen TTs which are worth a look, as well as Kenda Small Block Eights
2DDav said:
Okay, looking for some tyre advice. Ive recently bought a new mountain bike to help get fit and back into doing a bit of cycling which I used to really enjoy.
Now the bike Ive purchased is a pretty basic spec Giant and as such has some pretty basic spec nobbly tyres. Now the cycling I do is a bit of a mix, some road some off road, canal paths etc. etc. I;m finding that the tyres the bike currently has fitted are ok-ish on the muddy stuff, but they make the bike a bit heavy to ride on the likes of roads/paths etc. (not to mention they are a tad on the noisy side when on tarmac).
I spoke to the local bike shop that supplied the bike, however as they deal in a lot of higher end stuff I really get the impression a) they werent that interested in someone speccing up a bomb the base bike and b)looking at the tyre they had suggested (looked like a sort of semi-slik tyre with some water channels), would be an ideal tyre if I was riding purely on the road, but I very much doubt it would give any sort of grip on mud etc.
Now I;m fully aware (as my old college leacture used to say), that when you look for something to do 2 different jobs there will be compromise either way, so suggestions welcome.
Don't underestimate semi-slick-ish tyres. I bought some low rolling resistance Maxxis Crossmark tyres for my daily 30k commute and for dropping onto some forest tracks if I fancied a longer ride home. Yesterday, due to poor planning I ended up out in the Scandinavian forests with the crossmarks still on and was simply amazed by their abilities. We climbed a severely muddy trail that had been churned up by a tracked forestry vehicle, then climbed some singletrack with loads of wet tree roots and dropped down some mega-steep single tracks again with wet tree roots and loose pine needles. ALthough the confidence of the High Rollers wasn't there, I was overwhelmed with the way the crossmarks dealt with everything except the slippiest of surfaces.Now the bike Ive purchased is a pretty basic spec Giant and as such has some pretty basic spec nobbly tyres. Now the cycling I do is a bit of a mix, some road some off road, canal paths etc. etc. I;m finding that the tyres the bike currently has fitted are ok-ish on the muddy stuff, but they make the bike a bit heavy to ride on the likes of roads/paths etc. (not to mention they are a tad on the noisy side when on tarmac).
I spoke to the local bike shop that supplied the bike, however as they deal in a lot of higher end stuff I really get the impression a) they werent that interested in someone speccing up a bomb the base bike and b)looking at the tyre they had suggested (looked like a sort of semi-slik tyre with some water channels), would be an ideal tyre if I was riding purely on the road, but I very much doubt it would give any sort of grip on mud etc.
Now I;m fully aware (as my old college leacture used to say), that when you look for something to do 2 different jobs there will be compromise either way, so suggestions welcome.
I suppose it depends on how much on road and how much off road riding you want to do. I've got conti gatorskins on my hybrid and they cope OK with light trails and bridle paths and Panaracer fire's on my hard tail and they are a bit slow on the road but great off road.
You have to decide whether the on or off road bit is most important to you. One tyre can never be best for both.
You have to decide whether the on or off road bit is most important to you. One tyre can never be best for both.
If the OP is doing mostly road with a bit of light XC (towpaths, fireroads etc) I would highly recommend Schwalbe Sammy Slicks.
I currently have them fitted to mt CX bike and they are very good, low rolling resistance on the road but reasonably capable across fields, along towpaths and gravel surfaces etc. I would not want to ride wet or loamy singletrack surfaces on them, but then they are not desinged for that!
I currently have them fitted to mt CX bike and they are very good, low rolling resistance on the road but reasonably capable across fields, along towpaths and gravel surfaces etc. I would not want to ride wet or loamy singletrack surfaces on them, but then they are not desinged for that!
Thought Id update this as I finally managed to get some new tyres sorted out. Went for some Panaracer Mach SS's in the end (http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/panaracer-mach-ss-tyre).
Fitted them Saturday night and headed out for a cycle on Sunday, what a difference. The reduced drag was immediately noticeable along with the drastically reduced road noise. Even off road they werent too bad, only loosing grip in 2 boggy sections of a woodland path, Id highly recommend them.
Thanks for all the advice
Fitted them Saturday night and headed out for a cycle on Sunday, what a difference. The reduced drag was immediately noticeable along with the drastically reduced road noise. Even off road they werent too bad, only loosing grip in 2 boggy sections of a woodland path, Id highly recommend them.
Thanks for all the advice
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff