# I know I’m crazy but....



## Zroberts (Jun 2, 2021)

So I have a 21 Marlin 5 XL
I bought it because of price and availability. Love the bike, but I mostly pound the pavement instead of the trail.
I would like to replace wheels and tires to be about 20% thinner in width and be slicks or road tires. Change the crankset and cassette.(1x11) if possible. All with reducing weight and want to add as much speed potential. (Besides the rider). Looking for recommendations , I know nothing about bikes as you can see.


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

Not crazy. I would start with some slick mtn bike size tires. What you are looking for is something like this. You shop can help you with fit and availablity: Hybrid bike tires | Trek Bikes


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## tlg (May 11, 2011)

Zroberts said:


> I would like to replace wheels and tires to be about 20% thinner in width and be slicks or road tires.


Don't replace the wheels. Your rims are 20mm internal width. You can put on 1" to 1.5" slick tires. Same as a road bike.


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## Opus51569 (Jul 21, 2009)

As others have said, slicks are a good start and a relatively easy/inexpensive first step. As for going to 1X, I am a fan personally and have SRAM Apex 1X on my road and gravel bike. But I would only recommend it if you live in a relatively flat area. Too many big hills and you might miss some of those extra gears. For me, I'm in Iowa so 11 gears gets me pretty much anywhere I want to go about as fast as I want to get there.


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## NoCanSurf (May 1, 2021)

for tires consider: 

On my hybrid I'm running Rene Herse - 700Cx35 Bon Jon Pass. They are 2.2lbs lighter than the OEM tires that come with the Walmart bike*. In about 50 rides (5 to 15 miles each) they are comfortable, and (knock on wood) haven't had any flats or issues with. I found them on sale at bikebling.com I had wanted the Rene Herse 700x38 Barlow Pass, but couldn't find them at _reasonable_ prices. I've been running the Bon Jon Pass tires at max pressure 90psi [I'm carrying a few ..._cough_... extra pounds] and they are still smoother than the OEM tires I had on. 

For my daughter's bike we have fitted Panaracer GravelKing Slick 700Cx38, also found on sale at bikebling.com. We are running the Limited Edition colors ones (Pansy Blue). She's really enjoying them. They Gravel Kings came highly recommended by a friends and he was right. I installed SKS longboard P50 fenders on my daughter's bike and they fit the wider 38 tires perfectly. She's not known for avoiding poodles, the fenders have turned out to be a good investment. 

Good luck with your project! Let us know how it goes. 

*I bought the Walmart bike once I learned the bike I wanted (and ordered in February) was on back order, at first until May and now until June (I'm guessing late June). Its not my idea bike, but it pedals fine and gets me riding and the weight have been steadily dropping. The bottom bracket has started to wobble, I'm just hoping my official bike get's here before the Walmart bike dies.


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