Hybrid/road tyre recommendations for mountain bikes

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bobcat3

New Member
Hi all,

First-time poster so I'll start with a bit of background. At the start of lockdown I figured it would be a great time to buy a set of bikes for the missus and I; the roads are never likely to be quieter so it made good sense.

However, neither of us had ridden a bike for over a decade (closer to two!), and we simply don't know much about bikes.

A friend of ours does a lot of cycling, so we turned to him for advice on what to get. We live in a very hilly area, and plan to ride mostly on tarmac lanes and gravel paths, keeping away from cars as much as possible. He suggested a mountain bike as the best bet for overall comfort, and in the end we settled on getting a pair of Marin bikes:

Bobcat Trail 3 for me: https://www.marinbikes.com/gb/bikes/20-bobcat-trail-3
Wildcat Trail 3 for the missus: https://www.marinbikes.com/gb/bikes/20-wildcat-trail-3

We really like the bikes and have had a great time getting out exploring, but it is hard work at times, particularly on the steep climbs. Our friend advised that the bikes we picked would suit us due to the low gears (he said something about ratios that didn't mean a lot to us) but he must have been right; that lowest gear is vital and we definitely wouldn't make it up some slopes without it.

I was worried the other half would take some convincing, yet while she is still nervous when stopping and starting, or when cars are about, she is genuinely enjoying going for a ride. More often than not it is her suggesting 'shall we go on the bikes today?' We started off on short trips, staying close to home in case of any problems, but have gradually become more adventurous. A month later and we went on our first 35 mile journey the other day! Thoroughly enjoyed it, however I am starting to wonder if a change in tyres would make things a little easier.

The tyres we have are very knobbly, which I understand aren't ideal for the sort of terrain we're covering. Here are some Google-map examples of the types of paths we frequent:

2.png

...most paths are like this.

1.png

...but there are a lot of steep climbs. This one's a real bugger to get up!

3.png

...less frequent, but we would also like to be able to ride on paths like this, with looser gravel and some grassy sections.

The caveat to new tyres is that I really like the tan walls of the tyres already on the bike, so I'd ideally want a new set with the same retro effect. What do you expect from someone who knows so little about cycling?

Cutting to the chase, that brings me to questions: Are hybrid/road tyres going to make our rides noticeably easier? If so, can anybody recommend which tyres we ought to be looking at? And is a tyre change something we could do ourselves?

Bear in mind I'm partial to a tan wall, and good protection against punctures would also be really important to us. According to the specs, the tyres on my bike are 29x2.25" while the missus has 27.5x2.25".

Thanks in advance for the help and advice.
 

Rickshaw Phil

Overconfidentii Vulgaris
Moderator
Hi and :welcome: @bobcat3

That last picture looks extremely familiar so I'm guessing you are Shropshire based?

A different tyre should make a difference and my suggestion would be a touring tyre of some sort as these are made to roll well on the road but will cope with gravel trails (including the specific one pictured) and light off-roading just fine. I like Schwalbe Marathon Greenguard which is a great general purpose tyre and very good for puncture resistance but it doesn't come as a tan-wall version. Schwalbe do another tyre called Road Cruiser that's cheaper and more basic as far as puncture proofing goes, but is available as "amber wall". Have a look here: https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tyres-large/

I would say that, yes a tyre change is something you could do yourself and is something you should make a point of being able to do yourself as even the best puncture-proof tyres can be defeated. Halfords do a repair kit that includes a couple of decent tyre levers which is a worthwhile thing to have to hand.

Edit to add: Tyre sizing is a bit of a minefield. It's useful to know that 29" and 700c wheel rims are the same 622mm diameter and 27.5" uses the same 584mm diameter rims as 650b. We're always open to questions when you need to know more.:okay:
 
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2.25 inch wide tyres are 57mm. Those are pretty wide by road standards, but pretty standard by MTB standards. They mostly come with spuds all over the tyres at that size, so you’ll have a job finding ‘soft trail’ tyres with less spuds on them. Vittoria do make some less knobbly tyres that are nicer to ride on light trails / roads.
 
D

Deleted member 26715

Guest
I like Schwalbe Smart Sam's they have a tread virtually all the way around the centre of the tyre which makes rolling a bit easier, might be worth adding an image of what you currently have or reading the information off the side.
 
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OP
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bobcat3

New Member
Well spotted @Rickshaw Phil, it is indeed Shropshire. :smile:

Very useful to know that 29in and 700c are the same diameter, I'm still trying to get my head around the sizing. Taken a couple of pictures showing the info on the sides of the wheels that came with the bikes:

tyres.png


Quite a few Schwalbe wheels seem ideal, but it's a shame they don't do many with the tan wall. Also worth pointing out that we're fair weather riders, and are unlikely to venture out in the rain, so the tyres don't necessarily need to take wet conditions into account.

Are we strictly limited to 57mm-wide tyres, or is there room to manoeuvre on that front? I ask as there seems to be more choice if you go a bit thinner?
 

Rickshaw Phil

Overconfidentii Vulgaris
Moderator
Well spotted @Rickshaw Phil, it is indeed Shropshire. :smile:

Very useful to know that 29in and 700c are the same diameter, I'm still trying to get my head around the sizing. Taken a couple of pictures showing the info on the sides of the wheels that came with the bikes:

View attachment 526825

Quite a few Schwalbe wheels seem ideal, but it's a shame they don't do many with the tan wall. Also worth pointing out that we're fair weather riders, and are unlikely to venture out in the rain, so the tyres don't necessarily need to take wet conditions into account.

Are we strictly limited to 57mm-wide tyres, or is there room to manoeuvre on that front? I ask as there seems to be more choice if you go a bit thinner?
Yes, you can go narrower than 57mm. The diameter must match but you have a lot more flexibility with width.

The width of the wheel rim will make a diffierence as to how narrow you can go and the Marin Website shows it as 25mm for both bikes (this will probably be confirmed on a sticker or possibly stamped into the rim, saying 622-25c as an example.)

The Schwalbe website has a useful FAQ section which has a chart showing what width tyre will fit on what width rim and can be found here: https://www.schwalbe.com/en/reifenmasse In this instance it shows you can go down to a 42mm width.

As an alternative I had a look at the Continental website and their RIDE Tour tyre, is available in suitable sizes and for the 622 mm version a black/brown version is shown. I don't know if this is of interest?: https://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/commuting-touring/ride-tour

Something else to consider is that you may also have to budget for new tubes. Without knowing what size range your current tubes are for, I can't guarantee that they will suit a narrower tyre.
 
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battered

Guru
They tyres you are looking for are termed "slick" or "semi-slick". I would turn the width down to about 1.5" if you can, so 29 x 1.5 or 700x35 tyres. I have a mostly road use bike with Schwalbe cyclo-cross CX comp (or is it CX Pro?) in 700 x 35, these have a central section that looks like a cheese grater and a few minor knobbles on the sides. They are easy to roll, puncture resistant and will work on easy off road such as in your photos. Take them to a trail centre and go down a clay bank in the pouring rain, and you will finish the descent on your backside, but if you are that stupid then you only have yourself to blame. For more normal terrain like towpaths, Land Rover tracks and gravelled roads they are fine. I would recommend something similar for you.
 

ade towell

Senior Member
Location
Nottingham
Something like Panaracer Gravel King SK 43mm would work, can get them tan or black sided, roll well with decent puncture protection and bit of grip for gravel/off road stuff
 
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