Can I/Should I, put slicks on my hybrid?

[the snail]

Put on the heaviest, draggiest tyres you can find then get out there and train. Once you have spent the winter pulling around on those you will be STRONG and will fly on the new bike.

No need to thank me for dispensing this invaluable advice so freely

Indeed, and put a couple of bricks in the panniers.

 

[andyR00]

^Rocky style. Maybe your right. Build a turbo trainer out of washing machine parts. Which pro did that again, Obree?

 

[Nebulous]

^Rocky style. Maybe your right. Build a turbo trainer out of washing machine parts. Which pro did that again, Obree?

He built his bottom bracket on his bike from a washing machine bearing if I remember correctly!

There isn't nearly as much difference as you would think in bikes, parts, tyres etc. I've a cheap cross bike for commuting with pannier racks, flat pedals, 35mm marathon (not plus) tyres. I also have a decent roadbike with an aggressive position, spd-sl pedals and 25 mm grand-prix ii tyres.

Generally the cross bike is only used for short distances, but when I'm working away I'll take it on the roof of my car and go out for a ride in the evening or early morning. I can jolly it along and while there might be a 1mph average difference over a 35 mile ride I don't think there would be more than that.

It does feel good going back to the best bike after having done a ride on the commuter though.

 

[Vantage]

They do look good however 35mm is a bit thick. If they came in 32 then these look the best I've seen.

I've used those very same tyres for a couple years. They're so light and supple that their sizing makes very little difference in performance terms but the bigger you go the more comfy they are.
I eventually moved on to the 38mm versions for that reason and in the 8 months I had them I never had a single puncture. A great portion of my riding is off road canal paths, dirt trails through the moors and the occasional glass minefield through council estates. Very rarely did they lose traction. Only slippery mud, deep gravel and snow/ice were a problem for them.
You'll not find a better tyre imo.
I wish they did a 26" version for my new bike.

 

[DCBassman]

[QUOTE 5310644, member: 45"]My son has an MTB and a charity ride on Sunday. I've just bought a pair of Schwalbe City Ride tyres from Halfords. £13 less 20% C2W discount. Mrs P has had them on one of her bikes for years. Cheap, light and no punctures.[/QUOTE]
I have 26x1.5" gumwall City Jets on my old Trek MTB. Great tyres.

 

[Vantage]

I have 26x1.5" gumwall City Jets on my old Trek MTB. Great tyres.

I hate you.
Been trying to get those for my bike since I bought the frame. Now have two sets of the blackwall versions. Grrr.

 

[Alan O]

He built his bottom bracket on his bike from a washing machine bearing if I remember correctly!

There isn't nearly as much difference as you would think in bikes, parts, tyres etc. I've a cheap cross bike for commuting with pannier racks, flat pedals, 35mm marathon (not plus) tyres. I also have a decent roadbike with an aggressive position, spd-sl pedals and 25 mm grand-prix ii tyres.

Generally the cross bike is only used for short distances, but when I'm working away I'll take it on the roof of my car and go out for a ride in the evening or early morning. I can jolly it along and while there might be a 1mph average difference over a 35 mile ride I don't think there would be more than that.

It does feel good going back to the best bike after having done a ride on the commuter though.

I think there's a lot of truth in that.

I have a "road" bike in 531c steel tubing, with 25mm GP4000sII tyres, no rack, no baggage.

I also have a touring bike in 531ST (which is stiffer and heavier), with 32mm Gatorskins (sometimes with mudguards), rack and bag for carrying my food for the ride and an assortment of tools, more upright bar position...

And my speed with the two is not noticeably different. I mostly use the touring bike for practical reasons, but the road bike feels great for shorter rides.

I also have a hardtail MTB, currently wearing minimal-tread Sport Contact tyres for summer use on hard-ish surfaces, and my speed on that is only a couple of mph slower. The real difference with this is that I feel tired earlier, and around 40-50 miles is probably my limit with that bike when I can manage up to 100 on the tourer.

The bottom line for me is that for most recreational cyclists, there's far less practical difference between different bikes than the marketing business wants us to think. My last group ride, for example, included people on cyclocross, hybrid, my "city" MTB, full-on knobbly MTBs, and a Brompton. And we had a great day out.

 

[andyR00]

Have a look at this. There is also one, flat pedals vs clipless and conclusion is again not much difference though these tests are brief.

 

[MichaelW2]

In the olden days, thin slick tyres were better, faster, lighter than commuter and touring sized rubber. Now you can get high quality slicks in wider sizes.
Thin tyres are lighter in weight so accelerate and climb better. They have less air resistance so can go very quick with less effort.
Wider tyres deform less so have better rolling resistance and are more comfortable.

In practice, road racers are now using wider tyres, eg 25mm instead of 23mm.
For everday riding 28-35mm is good.
Your rims may limit the thinnest and thickest tyre.
A 28 or 32mm slick is often made to the same quality as a racing slick so you benefit from the construction and materials.
Tougher tyres such and Marathon and esp Marathon Plus will be more sluggish than a slick of the same width.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Let's not get carried away on this idea that somehow hybrids are slow, low performance utility machines, and road bikes are therefore automatically much faster. A rigid hybrid is not that far removed from a drop bar tourer at all, the main difference is the riding position.
When Raleigh built their first hybrid model that was marketed as such, the Gemini, what they essentially did is took a Reynolds 531 touring frame, and fitted it with a triple front chainring and 35mm wide tyres, rather than the double chainring and 28 or 32mm ones you might otherwise expect. These bikes were a slight adaptation of an existing style of bike, the Lightweight Tourist, that was typically a 10 or 12 speed derailleur touring bike but fitted with flat bars rather than drops. a lightweight rigid framed hybrid can easily be converted into a "road" bike by simply swapping the flat bars for drops.
If you look at the B'Twin Triban models sold by Decathlon they are available in both flat bar and drop bar options, but are otherwise essentially the same bikes.

 

[si_c]

For a hybrid bike I wouldn't want to be using tyres smaller than a 32c simply because it will look very odd, besides which there are a several of factors at play with respect to tyres, and the width of the tire probably has the lowest impact on riding speed and comfort than other factors.

Your most important considerations are the TPI of the carcass (more is generally better - makes the tyre deform better, meaning it's more comfortable and ultimately faster too), and the rubber compound being used. A lot of cheap tyres (perhaps including your current set judging from the brand name) use a very hardwearing and cheap rubber, meaning they are not particularly grippy and they are heavier as well as being slower.

A good quality 32 or 35c tyre will do wonders, the Vittoria Randos will be a good choice, but I'd also suggest looking at the Vittoria Zaffiro Pro tyres in a 32c. There are a lot of options out there though, and being realistic anything by Vittoria, Schwalbe and Continental will serve you well, albeit different people get on better with different brands.

Having said all that @I like Skol's advice is probably the best, stick with the heaviest, least comfortable tyres and ride as hard as you can all of the time, then when you get a road bike, put the best tyres you can on it and you'll feel like you are flying.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

I've ridden quite a few surfaces that may not be considered suitable for 'slicks'
Technique, gearing, letting the front end 'drift' slightly helps

So, yes, they are viable for most surfaces

Eg;
Probasbly about 1 in 8?


You can see the tyre-tracks here, I was defeated by the terrain, maybe a wider tyre (than my '28' would have offered flotation?

 

[User66445]

I currently use Mavic Yksion pro road bike tyres on my Bianci hybrid, 700x23. Seems fine, but I don't go off road with it. Will be putting on Hutchinson Fusion 5s at 28mm when these wear out, or I get sick of fixing punctures. If you're riding mostly on tarmac I wouldn't see the need for Marathons, fine tyre though they undoubtedly are.

By the way, I swapped the Marathons out on my Brompton and replaced them with Kojaks, primarily because Marathons are pigs to get off if you do get a puncture. Can't say I notice a heap of difference.

 

[andyR00]

This is the bike.
Dawes 401 discovery 1992. Still a decent bike?

What weight do you recon it is?

 

[raleighnut]

This is the bike.
Dawes 401 discovery 1992. Still a decent bike?

What weight do you recon it is?


View attachment 421298

Well the fork will add a bit, is the frame steel (4130 or similar) or Aluminium.

BTW CrMo (4130/520/525) is good.