Road tires versus mtb tires

I use my mountain bike mostly on roads and am thinking of getting some road tires.

Will the tread last as long as mtb tires ?

Andy

On 4/6/2020 7:17 PM, Andy wrote:
I use my mountain bike mostly on roads and am thinking of getting some road tires.

Will the tread last as long as mtb tires ?

Probably not, especially if you're running full knobbies, with big
separate blocks of rubber contacting the road. But if you go to a smooth
tire, the bike will roll so much better it will easily be worth it.

Unless, that is, you're the kind of guy who values the pennies spent per
mile more than anything else.

I'd recommend slick road tires, i.e. no tread at all. I made the same
recommendation to a neighbor who was getting ready for his first 50 mile
event, and he was very grateful.

What kind of tires are you using now?

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Mon, 06 Apr 2020 16:17:49 -0700, Andy wrote:

I use my mountain bike mostly on roads and am thinking of getting some
road tires.

Will the tread last as long as mtb tires ?

In general; yes.
The devil is in the details of the actual tyres and surfaces you ride.

On 4/6/2020 6:17 PM, Andy wrote:
I use my mountain bike mostly on roads and am thinking of getting some road tires.

Will the tread last as long as mtb tires ?

Andy


Probably more but in my experience worn-through-tread is a
failure mostly found on children's CB bicycles. Your typical
adult bike tires more often fail from sidewall cuts or road
debris.

Outside of failure, many riders change to a new pair of
tires from fashion, width change (as you intend) or, on road
bikes, a flat-top tread that's become slower but not really
worn out.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On 07-04-20 01:17, Andy wrote:
I use my mountain bike mostly on roads and am thinking of getting some road tires.

Will the tread last as long as mtb tires ?

Andy

If you still ride on unpaved roads or trails some of the time, I would
suggest considering Schwalbe "Smart Sam" tires. On a paved road they run
mainly on a closely spaced series of flat "grids" in the middle, and
don't feel like tractor tires. They do fine on dirt roads, but probably
aren't good enough for tricky downhill trails. I've been using them for
15 years or more.

The website of a local parts supplier now lists only the type with a
wire bead (vs. "folding tires"). Too bad -- I find the ones with a wire
bead to be much more difficult to mount or remove from the rim, and
prefer the folding ones.

Ned

Andy wrote:
I use my mountain bike mostly on roads and am thinking of getting some road tires.

Will the tread last as long as mtb tires ?

Andy

Depending on what you do, and how off road you still go? My commute bike is
a old MTB, of which I’ve settled on Big Apples as they feel nice, they seem
to shrug off glass and gravel type shards, and you can clip along well,
thus far put close on 4K on them with little signs of wear.

I’m unconvinced by using road slicks on a MTB as you lose the balloon bike
effect and any gains are marginal if at all, most slicks for MTB are hard
wearing commuter types than racy.

Roger Merriman

On Mon, 06 Apr 2020 19:55:23 -0500,
AMuzi wrote:
On 4/6/2020 6:17 PM, Andy wrote:
I use my mountain bike mostly on roads and am thinking of
getting some road tires.

Will the tread last as long as mtb tires ?

Probably more but in my experience worn-through-tread is a
failure mostly found on children's CB bicycles. Your typical
adult bike tires more often fail from sidewall cuts or road
debris.

Interesting. Maybe it's not within the realm of what you consider
typical adult bike tires, but the last half dozen tandem tires
I've replaced have all been the rear--and due to cord showing on
the center of the tread. My wife and I stand to climb quite a
lot, so that may be a factor in the wear.

As an aside, it's always the rear that needs replacing, because
when it's time to change I rotate the old front tire to the back
and put the new one on the front.

--
Ted Heise West Lafayette, IN, USA

On 4/7/2020 7:31 AM, Ted Heise wrote:
On Mon, 06 Apr 2020 19:55:23 -0500,
AMuzi wrote:
On 4/6/2020 6:17 PM, Andy wrote:
I use my mountain bike mostly on roads and am thinking of
getting some road tires.

Will the tread last as long as mtb tires ?

Probably more but in my experience worn-through-tread is a
failure mostly found on children's CB bicycles. Your typical
adult bike tires more often fail from sidewall cuts or road
debris.

Interesting. Maybe it's not within the realm of what you consider
typical adult bike tires, but the last half dozen tandem tires
I've replaced have all been the rear--and due to cord showing on
the center of the tread. My wife and I stand to climb quite a
lot, so that may be a factor in the wear.

As an aside, it's always the rear that needs replacing, because
when it's time to change I rotate the old front tire to the back
and put the new one on the front.


Yes, that's right. And not only tandem rears. Some riders
just eat tires (and chain and brake pads and so on). You
know who you are.

Atypical, which is why tire designers leave you outliers out
of consideration.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Monday, April 6, 2020 at 7:05:14 PM UTC-5, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 4/6/2020 7:17 PM, Andy wrote:
I use my mountain bike mostly on roads and am thinking of getting some road tires.

Will the tread last as long as mtb tires ?

Probably not, especially if you're running full knobbies, with big
separate blocks of rubber contacting the road. But if you go to a smooth
tire, the bike will roll so much better it will easily be worth it.

Unless, that is, you're the kind of guy who values the pennies spent per
mile more than anything else.

I'd recommend slick road tires, i.e. no tread at all. I made the same
recommendation to a neighbor who was getting ready for his first 50 mile
event, and he was very grateful.

What kind of tires are you using now?

--
- Frank Krygowski

I am using Seyoun NJK tires.

Andy

On Tuesday, April 7, 2020 at 7:17:26 AM UTC-7, Andy wrote:
On Monday, April 6, 2020 at 7:05:14 PM UTC-5, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 4/6/2020 7:17 PM, Andy wrote:
I use my mountain bike mostly on roads and am thinking of getting some road tires.

Will the tread last as long as mtb tires ?

Probably not, especially if you're running full knobbies, with big
separate blocks of rubber contacting the road. But if you go to a smooth
tire, the bike will roll so much better it will easily be worth it.

Unless, that is, you're the kind of guy who values the pennies spent per
mile more than anything else.

I'd recommend slick road tires, i.e. no tread at all. I made the same
recommendation to a neighbor who was getting ready for his first 50 mile
event, and he was very grateful.

What kind of tires are you using now?

--
- Frank Krygowski

I am using Seyoun NJK tires.

Andy

If you're commuting or riding almost entirely on hard surfaces, road tires will far outlast knobbies which normally have a pretty thin casing between the knobs.