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I started commuting to work and was wondering if it's worth getting some slick road tyres for a 560 rockrider Btwin bike.

It has a 26x2 mitcheline cross trail tyre that came with the bike which is good for off road but it feels sluggish and slow as, pretty much 9/10 cyclist on road or single speed bikes beat me easily.

I tend to have to pedal harder and faster to keep up!

Do I need to purchase exact same dimensions as my current tyre or can I purchase any 26 tyre?

Móż
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Jono
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    You certainly can replace the heavily lugged mountain/cross style tires you likely have with slick or nearly slick road tires. In many cases you will experience a noticeable improvement in speed/ease of cycling by doing this, though of course nothing guarantees you will blast others off the road. You generally should attempt, at the same time, to go with a somewhat narrower tire, though how much narrower depends on your rims, so the advice of a good bike mechanic is probably worthwhile. (And don't forget to increase tire pressure as well.) – Daniel R Hicks Jun 11 '16 at 20:53
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    Just to clarify - "slicks" means a tyre with less tread and often a smooth strip around the rolling edge. I've ridden on totally smooth tyres (thickslicks) which were truly horrendous at cornering at any speed if the road was anything other than bone dry. – Criggie Jun 12 '16 at 00:23
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    One important point. 26-inch tires are weird. If the tire is sized in fractions (26x1-3/4, eg) then the rim diameter varies with width (and you can't practically use different width tires). If it's sized in decimal (26x1.75, eg) then the rim diameter is fixed at 599mm. Check your current tires for an ISO size designation such as "51-599" and make sure that the second number there (the rim diameter) is the same on the new tires you buy. (The first number is the tire width in mm.) – Daniel R Hicks Jun 12 '16 at 02:17

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I can from recent experience tell you that if you ride on the road, slicks make a big and positive difference. Noise is reduced, speed is increased, handling is as good if not better. I feel safe and don't work as hard.

I went with wide ones just a bit less than the knobblies I replaced. But from what I have read, thinner ones are better, which makes sense since road bikes have thin brittle, scary looking tyres.

Kilisi
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  • In terms of size. Do i need to go with same width as my current one or can a smaller one do the trick? – Jono Jun 11 '16 at 23:10
  • I went from 2.2 to 2, but I could have gone narrower and probably should have. Make sure whatever you get will go in the rim properly (and stay in it), apart from that width is up to you. – Kilisi Jun 11 '16 at 23:12