Street tires for my mountain bike???

[lucky472]

I have a Cannondale F7 and just took my tires off. They are 26" x 2.25 stock tires and a pain to ride with on paved trails. The majority of my riding will be on paved surfaces. Now that the tires are off can I put street tires on and if so what size and style do you recommend? This might sound dumb, but since I took them off myself, there's not anything I need to do special to get them back on is there. Once I had the chain loose they can right off and then I took the tire off and left the tube on. Will the tube be the same also?

[natrat]

Geax Tattoo Light from ModernBike.com

[lucky472]

in addition to tire suggestions, what about my tube? My tube says 1.9 - 2.3. does that mean that the tire I pick must be in that range. Meaning I can't get a 1.5 tire

[11 Bravo]

Along the lines of what natrat posted, I really like Maxxis Holy Rollers. Takes for ever to wear them out, they roll really well and they actually work pretty good on trails.

Check them out Google

Your tubes will work fine.

[Surfacecreations]

I'm liking my Michelin Country Rock semi slicks so far. On asphalt that has loose sand and small rocks here and there it really bites even when I'm leaning.
I really leaned and pushed them in the loose stuff when I first got them as I didn't want any surprises while riding. I had some Kenda Klimax Lights on it that
were regular knobbies and those things were only 345 grams but these Country Rocks still roll as fast as those Kendas. These tires are also very quiet.

Now had I seen those Geax Tattoo Lights, I might have went with those as the weight(580g) is nice, more air in them(2.3") and they are a decent price($30).
They also look pretty cool.

[MidNight_Rider]

Hookworms FTW!! I've got a set for my wifes GF and one set for my Giant Reign.

-Chris

[nuffink]

Schwalbe Kojaks have worked well for me in the past. About the lightest high volume tyres around.

[mitzikatzi]

Big Apples

[Rabies010]

^^What he said^^

I have been using Big Apple's on my Cannondale and Cadex for years, and they are awesome tires.
Only 1 puncture in 4 years !!
(and there is a lot of glass and other crap on the roads)

[perttime]

in addition to tire suggestions, what about my tube? My tube says 1.9 - 2.3. does that mean that the tire I pick must be in that range. Meaning I can't get a 1.5 tire

A tube that is much too large is harder to get into the tyre. And get it there straight, so that there are no wrinkles that can cause a flat later on.

A tube doesn't cost a fortune and you should have a couple of spares anyway.

[bigbadwulff]

My friend has 25c road tires on his Cannondale Caffeine. Fit and work just fine. But that is a 29er, of course.

[Dion]

Big Apples

I've used a few different street tires and Big Apples are, by far, the best urban tire I've ever ridden. They are not meant to be inflated to 80psi, but offer excellent low rolling resistance at 30-40psi, which offers bump absorption at a new level.

If you even feel the need to venture off-road with them, well... here you go:

DionRidesBikes.com: Schwalbe Big Apples on the Trails

I've also mounted them ghetto tubeless without a problem.

[phsycle]

I've ridden several 26" road slicks. For strictly roads (meaning, no dirt trails, or curb hopping), I really like my Specialized Fat Boys. They roll fast and smooth. For a mix of road and dirt trails, I like Michelin Country Rock's. For all-out urban assult, Big Apples seem like the ticket.

Also, consider switching out your fork to a rigid fork. Much better served for your purpose and more reliable than your suspension fork. Look at a Surly 1x1, or Salsa Ala Carte.

[lucky472]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I just ordered the Big Apples. All of the ones recommended were great suggestions!

[4Crawler]

I run a set of Serfas Drifter tires (26x1.5") on my mtn. bike for around town and on the dirt levee trails I mainly ride it on. They have both a 26x1.5 and a 26x2.0 size:
- https://www.serfas.com/products/view...-comfort-tires

They roll very nice and the inverted tread seems to have a fair amount of grip. Best part is in the rain on smooth pavement/concrete, you get a sort of suction cup noise in turns as each inverted tread segment sucks down onto the smooth surface then pops off.

[Rabies010]

Enjoy them !!

But be aware, those big comfy soft tires made me go even fatter....

[natrat]

Thanks for all of the feedback. I just ordered the Big Apples. All of the ones recommended were great suggestions!

big apples rule, too bad they dont make a folding liteskin any more and make you pay up for the supermoto to get the 600 gr weight

[Leopold Porkstacker]

I guess it’s too late to recommend Maxxis Hookworms.

[Dawbs96]

Schwalbe Crazy Bob!!

[masterofnone]

I have a set of holy rollers on my urban assault/ djer, they roll fast but may be overbuilt for pavement cruising. On my pavement bike I just bought some bontrager LT3's, they're a little heavy but the thicker casing means less flats. They roll smooth on pavement and have just enough tread for winter road conditions and dirt roads. How about some small block 8's? I always wondered what they would be like on pavement.

[geneiusxie]

A tube that is much too large is harder to get into the tyre. And get it there straight, so that there are no wrinkles that can cause a flat later on.

A tube doesn't cost a fortune and you should have a couple of spares anyway.

in addition to tire suggestions, what about my tube? My tube says 1.9 - 2.3. does that mean that the tire I pick must be in that range. Meaning I can't get a 1.5 tire

don't forget that tubes tend to permanently stretch to the size of the tire they're put on, esp. after all that time sitting in the hot sun and stuff.

[MtbEtnaBiker]

Schwalbe Furious fred 2.0 for rolling efficiency.

[Scrub]

When I ride my MTB on the paved trails I picked up a pair of IRC Metro 26x1.5 tires and cheap 1.5-2.125 tubes from Price Pt. all for under $35 and mounted them on my Mavic Crossmax ST's. Smooth rolling and cheap.

[natrat]

How about some small block 8's? I always wondered what they would be like on pavement.

definitely stick a bit better on trails but after experiencing the ultra low rolling resistance,speed and the quiet of slicks it's tough going back for pavement and hardpack riding

[2gumby2]

Any particulary good choices for 29ers?