As much as I'd love to splash out on a road bike it isn't going to happen, so I'm thinking about dragging my old 853 Rock Lobster out of the cellar and fitting some slicks to it for a bit of road action ... so my question is will a pair of slicks make a noticable difference and is it worth bothering ?

Compared to knobblies? Absolutely. Smoother profile, narrower tyre and higher pressures will make it roll a lot easier. If you want to go on and off road without you could always fit something like a Marathon Mondial.

'Tis just for road use (well apart from the half mile required to reach tarmac). I see that Mich' are doing some 200g 1.1" slicks designed for mountain bikes which sound like they might be just the job.

Currently running a cheap set of Michelin 700x35s on my 29er for triathlon duties and they make a world of difference. Noticeably quicker, easier to get up hills etc. Also noticeably more uncomfortable over bumps!

s8tannorm wrote:'Tis just for road use (well apart from the half mile required to reach tarmac). I see that Mich' are doing some 200g 1.1" slicks designed for mountain bikes which sound like they might be just the job.

Cor that's light, my 700x25c schwalbe durano plus (kevlar bead) I use for commuting weigh 380g!

Haven't you got a CX bike Stu that you could put slicks on?

Haven't you got a CX bike Stu that you could put slicks on?

I sold it last year Dan.

Cor that's light, my 700x25c schwalbe durano plus (kevlar bead) I use for commuting weigh 380g!

Maybe it's a misprint on the spec ... it does seem very light but saying that there is a rider weight limit of 90kg listed too.

I got some scwhalbe marathon supremes from bikecomponent.de for half the british RRP including postage, and I think bikediscount. de is having a bit of a sale at the mo. definitely makes a difference.

s8tannorm wrote:

Haven't you got a CX bike Stu that you could put slicks on?

I sold it last year Dan.

That's a shame.
Have heard good things about the Marathons. I'd give them a shot.

Knobblies to slicks probably equates to 1-2mph on the road which is pretty considerable over a 2-3 hour ride. Get the pressures nice and high....

You training for something Stu?

You training for something Stu?

No, not really. Just sometimes I want to get from A to B as quickly as possible.

I've just ordered a pair of Mich' Wild Run'R tyres but in the slightly heavier / cheaper 1.4" flavour ... we'll see how we go on. Got to be worth a punt for £10.50 per end.

I'm about to do something similar to mine, I still want to use it a bit off road though so am going to pop on something like small block 8s I think

I have a pair of Geax Roadsters in 1.5". They make a world of difference to the usual 2.2" Mountain Kings. Most notable point is when you have whizzed down the hill and then start to roll up the other side. You don't lose anything like as much speed as quickly as with knobblies... Far easier to maintain speed too...

Each to there own but personally for a 29" bike I'd put some cyclo-x tyres on before slicks, still get that speed increase and leaves your bike open for those cheeky shortcuts.

Each to there own but personally for a 29" bike I'd put some cyclo-x tyres on before slicks, still get that speed increase and leaves your bike open for those cheeky shortcuts.

26" in this case. I've tried semi-slicks in the past but in reality just seemed to have the worst of both worlds

Michelin country rocks are a great compromise tyre for 26". Fast rolling and good cornering on tarmac, but quite a difference in grip over slicks off road. Cheap too. :D

I have Small Block 8s on the 29er Genesis and so far haven't found them wanting.