MTB Road tires

[davepen]

Hi all,
I am a bit of a novice when it comes to cycling but am trying to alter my mountain bike for road use.
I am interested in getting mountain bike road tires but, to be honest, im not really sure about sizes.
The mountain bike is fairly old but i managed to find a spec for it saying that the current tires are 26" x 1.95 and when i look for MTB road tires i seem to only be able to find 26" X 1.75 or lower.

I'm just unsure what the 1.75/1.95 etc means really.
Any help is much appreciated.
Davepen

[xerxes]

26" is the wheels diameter, 1.75, 1.95, 2.10 etc. are the tyres width in inches. Slightly narrower 1.75" wide tyres are fine on the road.

I just recently fitted a pair of 26x1.75" Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres to my "road" MTB and I'm quite pleased with them. They are a little heavy at around 950g each, but they feel nice and grippy and are supposed to last really well and be very puncture resistant. They do have some tread and I've found them to be fine on hard packed trails and cinder paths etc.

[davepen]

(05-31-2010, 01:23 PM)xerxes Wrote:  26" is the wheels diameter, 1.75, 1.95, 2.10 etc. are the tyres width in inches. Slightly narrower 1.75" wide tyres are fine on the road.

I just recently fitted a pair of 26x1.75" Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres to my "road" MTB and I'm quite pleased with them. They are a little heavy at around 950g each, but they feel nice and grippy and are supposed to last really well and be very puncture resistant. They do have some tread and I've found them to be fine on hard packed trails and cinder paths etc.

Thats brill! thanks very much!

[GeorgeET]

Check out Nashbar, (if you are in the USA-hint) they are currently selling good tires for $10.
I just bought two different sets for my bikes. The Urban, and Streetwise. The 26X1.5 is about as narrow as you can go. The streetwise look good for pavement.The urban a bit of a mix.

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/SubCategory_10053_10052_200518_-1_200276_200327

BTW 26 is the wheel diameter, the 1.5 is the tire width, the bigger # the wider.

[davepen]

(05-31-2010, 01:46 PM)GeorgeET Wrote:  Check out Nashbar,(if you are in the USA-hint)they are currently selling good tires for $10.
I just bought two different sets for my bikes. The Urban, and Streetwise. The 26X1.5 is about as narrow as you can go. The streetwise look good for pavement.The urban a bit of a mix.

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/SubCategory_10053_10052_200518_-1_200276_200327

BTW 26 is the wheel diameter, the 1.5 is the tire width, the bigger # the wider.

Thanks but im in england. would a 1.4 tire width be ok or to thin? cheers

[GeorgeET]

Check the measurements on your wheel rim. Ideally the tire should not be narrower than the rim.

Thats why posting location in your bio is useful.

[xerxes]

Quote:Thanks but im in england. would a 1.4 tire width be ok or to thin? cheers

A 1.4" will probably fit, but I found that when I put really thin tyres on my MTB it reduced the overall diameter of the wheel to such an extent that it alters the steering geometry slightly and made the handling a bit twitchy. However if your bike has quite a lazy head angle, or your stem is pretty short this may not be an issue for you. I also prefer the added comfort of a higher volume tyre on the poorly surfaced and potholed roads around where I live.

[trevgbb]

The important dimension is 26", this is the wheel diameter, the width can be anything from about 1.5 to wide tyres at 2.5", but the designation is now more properly given by the etrto no. which for 26" x 1.75" mtb is 47 x 559. (note there are several other 26" tyres which will not fit mtb, so it pays to be precise), you will also need to take your rim width into account.

Have a look here at the tyre catalogue and the tech info.
read what it says about rolling resistance and tyre widths!!
http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/c-downloads-schwalbe-catalogue.html

[buzz]

I changed the tires out on my old Trek Antelope. First I took the knobbies off and went with 1.95" and it was an improvement. I then went down to 1.5 and it worked fine and noticed it was a little less rolling resistance. I really would not go below 1.5", but that is my opinion, and it may be hard to get anything smaller on the rims, too.

[davepen]

Ok thanks guys, i think i'm going to go with 1.5 or 1.75... but it all depends on what the rims measure at! I'm going to get it sometime this week hopefully! Ill keep you all posted!

[GeorgeET]

Look at your rims carefully. They should have size stamped on them.

My tires should arrive this week so I'll see how that goes.

[nfmisso]

Hi Dave;

I just put Michelin City tires on my Raleigh. It originally had 26 x 1.95 tires on it, then due to rear wheel issues, I put a wider (and much stronger) rear wheel on it with a 26 x 2.25 tire. I just switched to the Michelin City tire, 26 x 1.4 on the front an 26 x 1.85 on the rear. They work very well, and with 87 psi (6 Bar) max pressure, they roll.