# Making a MTB faster



## andrew219 (Jul 13, 2011)

I want to get my mountain bike faster and thought about changing the tires of the mountain bike. What will be better (if possible)
Buying MTB slicks or buying road bike tires with the same size?


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## Ventruck (Mar 9, 2009)

MTB slicks. I don't think you can find road bike tires to fit your rims by means of width at least.

Not sure how much of an (noticeable) improvement that will yield, but I could imagine a quieter ride on the road. Only other measure to make your mountain bike faster is the gearing. Otherwise, you'll be making it into something it's not.


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## Hooben (Aug 22, 2004)

Well if you're committed to riding it only on paved roads, then the slicks would definitely give you less resistance and more speed. You're right ventruck, they don't.


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## andrew219 (Jul 13, 2011)

Thanks guys !

My tires are 26x2.1 ; what is the smallest width possible I could fit it in?


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*One inch*



andrew219 said:


> Thanks guys !
> 
> My tires are 26x2.1 ; what is the smallest width possible I could fit it in?


You would have no problems mounting 1" tires on your rims, and they would make your bike quite a bit faster if you have serious knobbies now.


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## andrew219 (Jul 13, 2011)

Thanks for the advice / help!


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## Yeti guy (Feb 16, 2010)

WTB Nanoraptors are a good compromise over a full knobby tire. They are 2.1 size have low rolling resistance and are good on the road and on dry or damp mtn bike trails. When the trails get muddy though you'll need your knobby tires, the Nanos pack up and don't clear very well in my experience.


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## avam (Oct 19, 2010)

I went with Ritchey Tom Slick 1.4 tires on my old Mtn Bike when I decided to use it only on the road. I found them to be pretty fast and felt very confident with them.


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## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

Since I have a 29-er... I tried some of the smoother 700x35 tires.... I gave up and bought a road bike for road riding.

Also, if you have a hardtail, if the front fork is lockable, lock it.

Full Suspensions.... you have to get the dampening rates as hard as possible, but all the absorption of the suspension is eating energy away.


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## Kuma601 (Jan 22, 2004)

avam said:


> I went with Ritchey Tom Slick 1.4 tires on my old Mtn Bike when I decided to use it only on the road. I found them to be pretty fast and felt very confident with them.



I did this also. Still feels wayyyyyy slow compared to a road bike but it does help over the dirt tires.


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## johnsocj (Aug 5, 2002)

Don't know if you've done this already- MTB bike slicks are great on the road, but I'd go wide rather than skinny- 

- the smaller tires, combined with the higher speed changes the useful gearing of the MTB, and you'll find yourself spun out- the larger tires help with this problem, and will reduce front chainring shifts.

- the smaller tires are harsher- why ditch that? the speed difference btwn slightly fatter slicks and skinnier slicks is pretty small. If you're focusing on speed differences that small, and are really going for speed, you should just make the jump to a road bike.

Enjoy!


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

If you're determined to "faster" a 26" MTB with disc brakes, you can substitute a 700C road wheelset built on disc hubs and use any road racing tire you want. 26" MTBs can usually clear some fairly large road tires - I'd be reasonably confident in 28mm, even. Bigger than that starts getting more dicey, and a very low-clearance frame might be trouble even with a 23.

IMO, once a person's to the point of getting a second wheelset for riding a mountain bike on the road, it's time to ride some road bikes - an inexpensive road bike costs less than a 700C disc wheelset, and outperforms an MTB no problem. There's a huge inventory kicking around in people's basements and garages.


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## RBatsch (Oct 1, 2010)

I just put some Schwalbe Marathon Supreme's 26 x 1.6 on my hardtail for commuting and the bike is totally transformed....amazing! Fast, sticks like glue and handles amazingly in the rain. 

It's not a road bike, but then I have one of those....this is different, more of a 'road warrior'!!! I say go for it....


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## Bridgestone (Sep 6, 2007)

http://www.biketiresdirect.com/product/continental-grand-prix-26-inch
Probably your fastest tire in that category.


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## Kuma601 (Jan 22, 2004)

AndrwSwitch said:


> IMO, once a person's to the point of getting a second wheelset for riding a mountain bike on the road, it's time to ride some road bikes


Yup. 
I went as far as larger rings and a corncob cassette. I already had road bikes but for those times riding the the MTB on the road. What a waste of $. Rings new $35, cassette used $20, tires and tubes $46. :frown2: Actually bought some decent wheels then realized that would lead to a new frame with forks, etc. Took the wheels back and called it quits.


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## troda (Jun 9, 2011)

Have a set on Conti Double fighter 2 26x1.9 on a set of easton xc ones with a stans tubeless kit. I set these up for use an the bike trails where I tow my son in a burley trailer.
Sides have a pretty good tread on them which helps if I have to turn around is sand or go down a dirt trail to one of the stores off the trail.
Run at 65 psi. Very fast rolling tire Big diff on the pavement from my Kenda nevegals. Couple of minutes time to switch and Im good to go


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## Trower (Apr 28, 2009)

Yeti guy said:


> WTB Nanoraptors are a good compromise over a full knobby tire. They are 2.1 size have low rolling resistance and are good on the road and on dry or damp mtn bike trails. When the trails get muddy though you'll need your knobby tires, the Nanos pack up and don't clear very well in my experience.


+1 

Nano Raptors are almost as good as slicks, they roll like mad!


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

I've been very happy with the Maxxis Crossmark on the back of my MTB, on- and off-road. It doesn't pack up, which is nice, but it's also not particularly grippy in mud.


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