Semi-slick for MTB? Need some opinions, please.

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    • #114035

      Hello there!

      Glad i found this forum, for i am a newbie in MTBing and any other kind of biking type in general…
      I’ve purchased a RockRider 8.0 from Decathlon a few months ago, but i found out i now ride mostly on asphalt/street. So, i want to get rid of my knobby tires and get another one so i can have a better ride on those pavements (also, my MTB is sometimes my transportation to university).
      I know changing wheels is the easiest way to go – always have one whell with a MTB tire and another one with a City Tire, but that is just too expensive to do right now, so i prefer to have some kind of semi-slick tire or hybrid…

      What do you recommend for me? I wont use the tire under loose pavement at high speeds, but i will take the bike to some trails with some dirt.
      I thought about Kenda’s Small block eight. Do you have any other recommendation? Basically, i’m looking for a tire that rolls great on pavement (low rolling resistance), but not a completely slick tire , so i can ride in dirt as well. I have a Specialized Fast Trak Control in the front and the default one that came with the bike that is also from Decathlon’s own branding – bTwin, I think , in the rear. That tire is great for mud and dirt in general, but i guess i can have a better one for my kind of riding.

      What do you guys think? I want to change the rear tire only at least for now… In the future, i can spend some more $ to buy another wheel (so i can swap easily the rear one) and probably another pair of wheel+tire for the front.

      Also worth mentioning: i can have a great deal of 25€ on a Schwalbe’s Furious Fred. The thread pattern seems to be good for asphalt, but in their site they state it is not an all rounder and the risk of puncture is high (not good for street riding, right?).

      That is it. Please help this newbie. 😀

      Cheers!

    • #114036

      check out Continental Race King. I run these from time to time and its a fast, low resistance tire. I am not sure of the wear on asphault, but its a great tire, not to much cash, and will function on the trails.
      http://www.singletracks.com/bike-review … -King_5201

    • #114037

      That seems to be a good option. I can get the wired version for 19€ at my local bike shop…

      Just found out this: http://forums.mtbr.com/wheels-tires/tir … 92-13.html
      According to those test results, Continental’s Race King 2.2 has very good traction and corner stability WITH low rolling resistance. That is a perfect combo for me. Compared with other tires, that one looks very good. 😀

      Thank you for the suggestion.

    • #114038

      I have a set of small block eights which run great on the road but does not climb loose soil that great. The eights are smooth and fast in the sand but watch out for corners with pine needles.

    • #114039

      The race king is still too knobby for a ‘street’ tire IMO. And don’t get the Schwalbe, the rubber compound is really soft which gives them great grip, but they’ll wear out quickly.

      Check out the Specialized Renegade. Very fast tire, on pavement or dirt, and still works offroad. I use one on the rear of my MTB. It doesn’t clog with mud either, which is a big problem with the Small Block 8 (which was a favorite tire of mine till I tried the Renegade)

    • #114040

      A Park/Urban/DJ tire might be good fit here (fast on hardpack/pavement, hard compound, cheap). I’d check out soemthing like a Maxxis Holy Roller. Should be able to find ’em for less than $25 a pop.

    • #114041
      "Tr0gd0r" wrote

      A Park/Urban/DJ tire might be good fit here (fast on hardpack/pavement, hard compound, cheap). I’d check out soemthing like a Maxxis Holy Roller. Should be able to find ’em for less than $25 a pop.

      That’s a good idea. Does Kenda still make the K-Rad, I think that’s what it was called…

      Used those on my BMX back in the day, and it saw pavement, grass, dirt, brick, wood, etc. Pretty much everything but mud. Handled it all decently well too.

    • #114042

      Thank you all for the suggestions. 😀

      Yes, the Kenda K-Rad is good, but i couldn’t find it here in Portugal and im guessing they cant order it because it was discountinued. The Small Block 8 would be nice, i guess… It rains a lot here in Portugal now, so maybe it will not perform that well on dirt because of the constant soft mud?
      The Race King seems to be ok as an "all-rounder", but I agree it might be too knobby… I will try to take a look at it in a local store.

      As i won’t be riding in the street/pavement only, i need something that also performs ok when i’m going on dirt adventures (weekends). In the future, i will get another wheel and will stick something like the Small Block 8 in it so i can swap it for weekdays only; but right now i need something like the Race King as it is still a good tire when it comes to rolling resistance and traction. I will take a look at it tomorrow…

      Thank you all, once again!

    • #114043

      Well, i’m going with the Race King. 😀 It feels smooth and fast and seems to be well balanced for road and some loose dirt.
      When i get my pair of wheels, i will get the Kenda’s Small Block 8 for road only. ;)

      Cheers!

    • #114044
      "PedroDank" wrote

      Well, i’m going with the Race King. 😀 It feels smooth and fast and seems to be well balanced for road and some loose dirt.
      When i get my pair of wheels, i will get the Kenda’s Small Block 8 for road only. ;)

      Cheers!

      If you get a 2nd set of wheels just for road use, put some real road tires on them, they’ll roll way faster than even a SB8.

      Glad you like the Race Kings!

    • #114045

      i think so,Used those on my BMX back in the day, and it saw pavement, grass, dirt, brick, wood, etc. Pretty much everything but mud. Handled it all decently well too.thank you Image

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