Wide Mt. Bike Tires vs. Thin Tires

For the sake of this discussion assume that all things are equal
regarding quality of parts. I have an inexpensive mt bike with the
standard fairly wide tires and am thinking of getting a new inexpensive
26 in. bike however this one has the very thin tires. The mt. bike
tires appear to be at least three times as wide and possibly 4. Since
there is much less friction associated with the thin tires and remember
all things considered equal can I assume that the same energy and
exertion that I put into pedaling the mt. bike will be at the very
least 2 or more times effective when pedaling the bike with the very
thin tires.

wrote:
For the sake of this discussion assume that all things are equal
regarding quality of parts. I have an inexpensive mt bike with the
standard fairly wide tires and am thinking of getting a new
inexpensive 26 in. bike however this one has the very thin tires. The
mt. bike tires appear to be at least three times as wide and possibly
4. Since there is much less friction associated with the thin tires
and remember all things considered equal can I assume that the same
energy and exertion that I put into pedaling the mt. bike will be at
the very least 2 or more times effective when pedaling the bike with
the very thin tires.

Sounds like you're buying the second bike just for the skinny tires?

Do you ride on dirt trails, gravel paths, or pavement?

Horses for courses.

BS (no, really)

S o r n i wrote:
wrote:
For the sake of this discussion assume that all things are equal
regarding quality of parts. I have an inexpensive mt bike with the
standard fairly wide tires and am thinking of getting a new
inexpensive 26 in. bike however this one has the very thin tires.
The
mt. bike tires appear to be at least three times as wide and
possibly
4. Since there is much less friction associated with the thin tires
and remember all things considered equal can I assume that the same
energy and exertion that I put into pedaling the mt. bike will be
at
the very least 2 or more times effective when pedaling the bike
with
the very thin tires.

Sounds like you're buying the second bike just for the skinny tires?

Do you ride on dirt trails, gravel paths, or pavement?

95% pavement.

wrote in message oups.com...


95% pavement.

Instead of another bike, you could buy new tires. Or new wheels & tires, if you wanted
to swap 'em regularly. They don't really need to be skinny tires, just low rolling resistance
slicks. And those work fine for *light* trail use too. I've had MTBs for many years, but I
ride my road bike (26mm tires) on dirt & mud sometimes too.

On 7 Mar 2005 08:40:25 -0800, wrote:

Do you ride on dirt trails, gravel paths, or pavement?

95% pavement.

There have been lengthy discussions on this; in short, the finding was
that the width doesn't make that much difference. Seems counter-intuitive
to me, but that's what they say.

The KNOBS, however, do make a big difference in the rolling resistance.
There are road tires with a bit of tread but no knobs.

That's what I use on my secondary/mostly-road bike. They work fine on
fireroads and dry trails, and are only lacking in wet conditions or where
you need good grip (i.e. steep climbs). I use Michelin Rock, but these are
becoming increasinly difficult to find and other companies have come out
with competing products. If this is the sort of off-road riding you do,
perhaps a new set of tires would do.

If you're getting a second bike for road use and want to keep it cheap
because of theft worries, an old used mountain bike is a good option. You
can get a bike that was top-notch for its time but is just outdated, and
might look beat up enough that no one cares to steal it. Some people even
spray-paint them with multiple colors to make them even less attractive.
:-)

On my old mountain bike, I changed to more roadworthy tires, a slightly
more padded seat so I don't have to wear bike shorts, and a riser
handlebar for comfort and foamy grips so I don't have to wear gloves.

--
-BB-
To e-mail me, unmunge my address

wrote in message
oups.com...
For the sake of this discussion assume that all things are equal
regarding quality of parts. I have an inexpensive mt bike with the
standard fairly wide tires and am thinking of getting a new inexpensive
26 in. bike however this one has the very thin tires. The mt. bike
tires appear to be at least three times as wide and possibly 4. Since
there is much less friction associated with the thin tires and remember
all things considered equal can I assume that the same energy and
exertion that I put into pedaling the mt. bike will be at the very
least 2 or more times effective when pedaling the bike with the very
thin tires.



It sounds like your describing a hybrid bike tire and not an MTB?
A hybrid is not an MTB, but it sounds like what you want if you ride 95%
pavement.
How thin is "very thin"? Most MTB tires are @ 2.1"
1/4 of that is @ .5" ,,,,,,,,,,NOT
How about 1.5"?

--
DTW .../\.../\.../\...

I've spent most of my money on mountain biking and windsurfing.
The rest, I've just wasted.

BB wrote:
snip

There have been lengthy discussions on this; in short, the finding
was
that the width doesn't make that much difference. Seems
counter-intuitive
to me, but that's what they say.

Who is they : ) I was expecting at the very least twice the distance
and half the effort for my skinny tires. Hard to figure out if there is
less resistance why the same amount of energy is needed to go equal
distances all things being equal.

Per :
can I assume that the same energy and
exertion that I put into pedaling the mt. bike will be at the very
least 2 or more times effective when pedaling the bike with the very
thin tires.

No way.

On a straight, flat, paved surface I estimate 15-20% advantage for 1.25" slicks
at 90 psi over 2.5" moderate tread Mutano Raptors at 35 psi.... and judging from
other threads, my estimate is generous.

Not only that, but I have no way of telling how much diff is from fat/soft vs
skinney/hard and how much is from sick vs the "AeroDyne" effect of the tread on
the fat boys.

Also, the surface is an important variant. On pavement, no question
hard/skinney rolls better. When you get to rough ground, soft ground, grassy
surfaces, gravelly surfaces there's a crossover point. I can think of plenty
situations where I've ridden both tires and big/soft rolls about ten times
easier than skinney/hard.
--
PeteCresswell

wrote:
BB wrote:
snip

There have been lengthy discussions on this; in short, the finding
was that the width doesn't make that much difference. Seems
counter-intuitive to me, but that's what they say.

Who is they : ) I was expecting at the very least twice the distance
and half the effort for my skinny tires. Hard to figure out if there
is less resistance why the same amount of energy is needed to go equal
distances all things being equal.

You definitely won't gain 100% more speed with skinnier tires. With the
different tires, most likely a 1.95 and 1.5" tires from Walmart, you're
looking at about a 1-3mph speed difference (assuming 10-15mph on an MTB),
and not much more.

If you don't have a cyclometer, this will be very hard to judge, as the
"just dropped some money on new stuff" effect will ALWAYS cloud your
perception.
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

wrote in message ups.com...

BB wrote:
snip

There have been lengthy discussions on this; in short, the finding
was
that the width doesn't make that much difference. Seems
counter-intuitive
to me, but that's what they say.

Who is they : )

A web search will reaveal rolling resistance test results.

As BB mentioned, getting rid of the knobs is key. Not all slicks
are created equal though. Some tires of the same size have less
rolling resistance than others. Since you seem interested in this,
find actual test results if you can.

I've had various slicks on MTBs, between 31 and 48mm (1.9"). The
fastest were probably the 31 (although I didn't do side by side testing).
The 48s seemed as fast or faster than the 32mm tires, and the slowest
was a 38mm "slick-like" tire (slick tire with siping grooves) designed for
road-going MTBs. Real slicks are noticeably faster than mostly-slick tires.
I think that's due to the thinner tread layer in the real slick.

If you're gonna do 95% pavement, 5% light dirt, and want to be faster on the road,
buy this tire, from these guys:
http://harriscyclery.net/site/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1320

If you decide to do loose dirt, or serious MTBing, spend a few minutes to put your
knobbies back on.