# Slicks a good idea?



## JG317 (Jul 22, 2012)

I am a mountain biker originally, but I road bike some too. I do about 60/40.

I just got a brand new Specialized HardRock Sport 29er. 

I am thinking about getting a pair of slicks that will be 700x35 to switch between those and my knobbies.

Right now on the knobbies I am doing 10-25 miles rides averaging about 16mph.

The tires i have now are the Specialized Fast Trak LK Sport 29

My questions:
A.) Will the slicks improve my road biking? 
B.) Will I likely run out of gears?
C.) Would you recommend a different sized tire?
D.) Would you recommend any other options or tips?

Any advice is welcome.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

Changing to slicks (700 x 35 is a good size) will definitely gain you some speed. Based on personal experience, look for a 0.5 mph or so increase in your average speed. High-speed handling on pavement will definitely improve.

Not sure what you mean by "run out of gears." The knobby-slick difference in wheel diameter is too small to make much of a difference. If you're talking about your top gear (42 x 11) in general, it's the same ratio as a 52 x 14 or 50 x 13. At a cadence (crank revolution per minute) of 100, you'd be going about 30 mph in that top gear.

If you're going to change from slicks to knobbies a lot, consider getting a second set of wheels.


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## PJ352 (Dec 5, 2007)

JG317 said:


> I am a mountain biker originally, but *I road bike some too. I do about 60/40.
> 
> D.) Would you recommend any other options *or tips?
> 
> Any advice is welcome.


Get a road bike. :thumbsup:


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## Blackbeerthepirate (Apr 26, 2011)

I have the 26" Fast Traks on my Homegrown. They are pretty fast on the road, but you can do a lot better. Before I switched to the 700s, I would throw some different tires on your old rims. I've got some Spesh Hemispheres, in 26" on an old Rockhopper. They are kinda "V" shaped. I don't know if you can get them in 29" though. Schwalbe makes the Big Apple. I know someone using those, and he loves them.

.....Or, as was already said.... Get a road bike.

You are gonna end up doing it sooner or later. Might as well be sooner. :thumbsup:


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

I once did the knobbies for slicks route on a mountain bike. And yes it did make the mountain bike faster and better handling on the road. 

Nevertheless, I'll join the chorus. Get a road bike instead. Think of it this way. Putting slicks on your mountain bike is like taking the packs off your pack mule. Yes, you'll be faster, but... Getting a good road bike is like trading in your pack mule for a race horse. Zoom.


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## PJ352 (Dec 5, 2007)

Mapei said:


> ... I'll join the chorus. Get a road bike instead. Think of it this way. Putting slicks on your mountain bike is like taking the packs off your pack mule. Yes, you'll be faster, but...


I word these types of 'conversions' slightly differently. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

Oh, snap! I really like my Hardrock. Get it out of the crap it ships with, and it's a pretty serviceable frame. IOW, they clean up well.  I kept mine in off-road stuff though. It's never had slicks mounted.

I commuted on a $95 road bike for a while. It easily outperformed my mountain bike, and I didn't have to mess around with changing tires. It had its own problems, so if you can afford to spend a bit more, I think that the sweet spot on used bikes starts around $300.

In direct answer to your questions.

A) Yes.
B) No.
C) Little harder to say. My nicer road bike gets 23mm tires. My commuter gets 25mm tires for now, probably 28s whenever I swap them. My 'cross bike gets 34mm tires. Using too skinny a slick can make the handling on a mountain bike a little weird, so 35ish isn't a bad place to start. 28 or 25 will be a bit faster. 23 has more rolling resistance than 25, and since you're pushing around a suspension fork, there's probably no point in trying to be more aero about your tires.
D) See above.


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## xls (Nov 11, 2004)

Another option is to get a second set of wheels. I swapped tires on my Mtb frequently and ended up with damaged rim tape. If you do get a second set of wheels, you can get a cassette with different gearing,more suitable for the road.
If you have disk brakes, that means you also need rotors, and getting your brakes working perfectly with both sets of wheels can be a pain. Cost-wise a used road bike is a most likely better option.


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## irritainment (May 16, 2012)

I would say go for it. I rode a Specialized Rockhopper Comp for a long time with slicks on it. I just turned off the shocks when I was on the road and cruised like I was on a road bike.


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## Oversteer (Aug 11, 2012)

I've done it. I have a no-suspension 1997 Specialized Rock Hopper. I put 26" x 1.5" Nashbar slicks on it and it made a HUGE difference on paved rail-trail riding. Much faster, and felt so much better, more precise.

That said, yes, I lost overall tire diameter (from a 1.95" tire down to a 1.5"), so I was in top gear quite a bit, but could manage low 20s. It doesn't really spin out until 25 or so, I'd guess.

But because my bike has no suspension, it only weighs about 26 pounds, so I've turned it into a decent hybrid. What does a suspended MTB weigh? A 30 pound bike will not make a good road bike.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Spun out at 25.*



Oversteer said:


> That said, yes, I lost overall tire diameter (from a 1.95" tire down to a 1.5"), so I was in top gear quite a bit, but could manage low 20s. It doesn't really spin out until 25 or so, I'd guess.


100 rpm in an 84 inch gear is 25 mph. That's like a 39/12. Was that really the top gear on your MTB?


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