# 29er slick tires and rigid fork?



## mic360 (May 4, 2015)

I have a 29er motobecane hard tail sitting in my basement not being ridden so I'm thinking about getting a ridged for and some slick tires to take it on paved paths with my kids or just to run errands around town. I ha e no clue what I'm doing and I want to do it as cheap as possible. Is there a cheap ridged fork that anyone can recommend and what slick tires will fit on my rims Weinmann Metal Products Co., LTD. Thanks in advance.


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## rockcrusher (Aug 28, 2003)

I've used these: cheap and relatively light. Should be fine on your rims: Forté Metro ST Tire

I am assuming you have a straight steerer on your bike but disks or cantilevers?


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## mic360 (May 4, 2015)

Straight with disk. I have a 100mm suntour xtc on it now.


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## leeboh (Aug 5, 2011)

Just leave the fork on it for now, lock out or more air if you think it's needed. And what ever slicks will fit.


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## rockcrusher (Aug 28, 2003)

mic360 said:


> Straight with disk. I have a 100mm suntour xtc on it now.


measure the axle to crown height a find a rigid fork similar. Often times you can find take off rigid forks at bike shops from bikes that people upgrade. Or you can pick up surly rigid forks from any number of online sources.

match the a-c measurement with a rigid: Forks | Origin8

expect to pay around $125 new.


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## watts888 (Oct 2, 2012)

For commuting, this one would be OK. It's a shorter AC length, which will increase your headtube angle, make handling quicker, and make the handlebar feel lower, but it's cheap and it works. If you want a good long AC length on a fork to keep the handlebar up, Surley Krampus and Salsa Firestarter are good long steel forks. 
Nashbar Chromoly 29" Mountain Fork

For the tires, what motobecane do you have? You could probably just air them up to about 50 psi and ride them as is.


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## mic360 (May 4, 2015)

I have the 2015 motobecane fantom x4

All stock I bought a new bike 3 months after I got it so it doesnt have many miles on it.


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## big_papa_nuts (Mar 29, 2010)

rockcrusher said:


> measure the axle to crown height a find a rigid fork similar. Often times you can find take off rigid forks at bike shops from bikes that people upgrade. Or you can pick up surly rigid forks from any number of online sources.
> 
> match the a-c measurement with a rigid: Forks | Origin8
> 
> expect to pay around $125 new.


The Origin8 Scout fork should work fine, though it may be on the short side, but if anyone tries to charge you more then 80 bucks for it they are ripping you off. Surly Krampus fork would work too, and will be lighter and have more mounts, should be $110 or less.

Any tire from 700x40 to 29x2.3" should work fine on that bike/wheels.


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## mic360 (May 4, 2015)

Cool thanks so going to see if I can get a krampus fork and I'll check out some tires.


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## watts888 (Oct 2, 2012)

The moto's stock WTB nano tires are actually pretty good for road use. Air them up to 50 psi, and they'll roll like crazy. Still heavy on the climbs, because they're wire bead mountain tires, but they're much better than most for road use.


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## dundundata (May 15, 2009)

salsa makes some good rigid forks. the cromoto grande. i have the fargo, not sure if they still make it. they are solid, light, and do a good job soaking up the bumps for a rigid.


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## heybrady (May 31, 2009)

I did the same to my 26" hardtail, then sold it, and put the same fork on my 29" but have it setup for all-around riding.

Get the Nashbar fork above. It says for 26" but the A-C is only about 20mm less than what a 29er would be. And for riding around town, etc, it will be just fine. With their never-ending sales/coupons you can get it for less than $50. It will even hold a 29x2.5 if you wish to ever ride it off road.

As far as tires go, pickup something in the 700x35-40 range. WTB Nano or something similar. The extra width wont hurt your speed but the bit of tread will help if you end up on a bike path, water, mud, etc. 

All in all you can be out of there for about $100 or so depending on what tires you choose.


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## edubfromktown (Sep 7, 2010)

I'm not a fan of slick tires... just run knobbies myself.

Friends of mine that do run them have had some nasty wheel washouts when it rains.


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

edubfromktown said:


> I'm not a fan of slick tires... just run knobbies myself.
> 
> Friends of mine that do run them have had some nasty wheel washouts when it rains.


slick tires actually have better grip on asphalt than knobbies. 
much better. I prefer schwalbe or continental myself. their best ****. 
and in the winter nokians.


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## big_papa_nuts (Mar 29, 2010)

car bone said:


> slick tires actually have better grip on asphalt than knobbies.
> much better. I prefer schwalbe or continental myself. their best ****.
> and in the winter nokians.


I have had this argument with enough people I'd be interested to see some actual data. Some people insist a knobby will corner better on asphalt, some argue full slicks, I think with the minor irregularities inherent of the surface that it has to be something in the middle.


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## TenSpeed (Feb 14, 2012)

I converted my full rigid Specialized Carve SL SS to an all purpose machine. I have had an absolute blast on this. Upgraded wheels/hubs and then thew on some Continental City Ride II tires and air them up to 60psi. In the winter the Nokian studded tires go back on.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

The thing is by arguing against the fact that on clear pavement slicks have the most traction means your telling every engineer in the field for the last century that their wrong.

Hell this was covered in grade school science class. The section on physics.

What is traction in this case? Traction is a result of the friction created between the tire and the surface that it's in contact with.

Pavement is a specifically designed and constructed surface. Among the long list of its design requirements, it's meant to increase friction. To create greater traction for more stability and control. Being that it's a relatively smooth surface that's solid (unlike dirt). So traction comes down to a few simple points:

Type of rubber compound in the tires. The softer the rubber, the higher the friction. Much like dirt tires. "Stickier" tires means better grip.

Contact patch of the tire. More contact with the surface the more friction. Dirt is something completely different in this aspect as even hard packed dirt has MUCH lower friction than pavement. Pavement is designed to increase friction, basically making the road itself "sticky" in a sense. 

When you add knobs, you break up that contact patch and create irregularities in the surface contacting the road. Which means you decrease true contact patch with the road, decreasing friction, thus decreasing traction.

On dry pavement the only improvements to be made are rubber compound and tire width (which increases contact patch).

Sorry but it's the most basic physics laws there is. And just go try to convince a guy with a "crotch rocket" (motorcycle) to put knobbies on his bike cause it's better traction. Walk into a motorcycle shop, a NASCAR pit area, any of that and try your reasoning with them and see where it gets you. 

There is no argument to be made, though so many guys here think the laws of physics don't apply to bicycles (guys like you), i regret to inform you the human race is no where near able to defy any of them.

Now you add in all the other factors, weather, if you ride in anything besides pavement then that changes completely. And that's where decision on tread pattern come in. And a 2.3 mountain bike tire is going to have a lot more traction than a 25c road tire. Not because of the tread, but because of the massive increase in width and thus contact patch.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


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## comptiger5000 (Jun 11, 2007)

And on slightly irregular pavement, soft compound and running a lower pressure will increase grip even more than they do on very smooth pavement, as it will let the slick tread conform to the shape of the pavement better, giving more contact patch and more grip. Even on rough or cracked pavement, knobbies don't help, as there's nothing to dig into, so you still end up with little points of contact instead of the bigger contact patch of a slick.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

What's the best tire for flowing lava?


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## big_papa_nuts (Mar 29, 2010)

tigris99 said:


> The thing is by arguing against the fact that on clear pavement slicks have the most traction means your telling every engineer in the field for the last century that their wrong.
> 
> Hell this was covered in grade school science class. The section on physics.
> 
> ...


To farther this discussion you may find it helpful to inform us who this rant was directed at.


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## watts888 (Oct 2, 2012)

big_papa_nuts said:


> To farther this discussion you may find it helpful to inform us who this rant was directed at.


Pretty sure it was directed at your comment about getting factual data. Either way. I will agree that in dry weather, a slick tire will work better on asphalt. In wet weather, I'd rather have enough traction to let the water out. Not full on knobbies, but rain grooves and some cross hatch are good enough. On a trail, I've actually ridden with smooth (well, semi smooth) tires before, and it's almost like they hydroplane on the dust. Different tire for different purposes, as should be expected.


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## samwe (Jul 27, 2015)

I commute 40+ miles a day on a rigid 29er. I run Schwalbe Super Motos. I love them!


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## car bone (Apr 15, 2011)

I think slicks actually work better when wet too. its all about the type of rubber used. I've had very good results with conti and schwalbe road (tour actually) tires. Even when wet. As far as I know bikes cant hydroplane neither can motorcycles.


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## Martin.au (Jan 1, 2006)

tigris99 said:


> The thing is by arguing against the fact that on clear pavement slicks have the most traction means your telling every engineer in the field for the last century that their wrong.
> 
> Hell this was covered in grade school science class. The section on physics.
> 
> ...


Problem is pavement, in particular asphalt, isn't that smooth. Therefore there is an argument to be made, or at least considered, in that there's a possibility the knobs on tires can interact with the roughness of the asphalt to increase effective traction. This is a very challenging topic though, as it depends on the surface. I suspect there's a good chance that really smooth pavement benefits slicks, and rougher pavement works better for knobbies.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

it's not much of a stretch to figure that the chunkier the terrain, the knobbier you want your tires and the smoother the terrain, the smoother you want your tires.

On my commuter, I have Clement X'PLOR USH tires. On the bigger side at 35mm, fairly smooth in the center, but with a little bit of grip on the sides, with a softer rubber compound.

I've spent a good bit of time on wet pavement with them, and they hold well. The only stuff I don't trust ANY tire with any level of dampness is freshly sealed asphalt, like the parking lot at work. The roads on my route vary from pretty smooth to really roughly patched asphalt and century+ old brick lanes and big patches of sand and gravel over pavement. An even bigger tire would be a bit more comfy, but the Clement tires are super nice otherwise, and I have plenty of confidence on the rough and loose crap I find.


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## gregnash (Jul 17, 2010)

samwe said:


> I commute 40+ miles a day on a rigid 29er. I run Schwalbe Super Motos. I love them!


Heard great things about these and the Schwalbe Big Apples but seems they don't do the Super Moto anymore...

I just recently did this to my old On-One Inbred Steel 29er hardtail and was lucky enough to find an old Redline Monocog rigid fork on ebay for cheap. Originally had planned to purchase one of these (Mr Ride Mosso Aluminum 7005 29" 27 5" 650B Fork for MTB Disc Brake White | eBay) but found the steel fork first. Read a few good reviews on them and the price is good.

Tires I have run GEAX/Vittoria Evolution tires and they are good but a little small for my liking at just under 1.9". Was looking at upgrading to a WTB Slick 2.2" tires once the Evo's die or I get bored of them. They have maybe 50 miles on them as I just broke my leg and am off the bike for a few months while I heal.

Current bike setup for my commuter/grocery getter is 
- On-One Inbred 19.5" frame
- Redline Monocog rigid steel fork
- AVID BB7 MTB brakes and rotors
- Shimano XT crank (3x converted to 2x and will be going 1x)
- SRAM X9 rear d mid cage
- SRAM x9 front and rear shifters
- Shimano XT 11/34 cassette
- Stans Flow rims with Shimano M529 hubs (custom built 6yrs ago)
- Origin8 Space Bars (alt bar)
- Peaty Grips
- Axiom 29er Pannier rack
- Axiom DLX 30 pannier
- Blitz angle light (bright and cheap little usb chargeable brake light with a bunch of different modes)

All-in All has been a great little bike for commuting since I switched it over some months ago. Originally had been commuting on an old Kona Jake with mtb drop bars. Was thinking of doing the same thing with the On-One, drop bars that is, but debating as I actually like the alt bars but may also go with a pair of cheap wide bars and separate set of wheels so I can have one mtb set and one commuter set.


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## NDD (Jul 22, 2013)

big_papa_nuts said:


> The Origin8 Scout fork should work fine, though it may be on the short side, but if anyone tries to charge you more then 80 bucks for it they are ripping you off. Surly Krampus fork would work too, and will be lighter and have more mounts, should be $110 or less.
> 
> Any tire from 700x40 to 29x2.3" should work fine on that bike/wheels.


For what it's worth, I have a Surly Krampus fork that I put on my hardtail. I really like it a lot. It's light and works well on or off pavement. There are two versions - one with mounts and one without mounts. I was somehow unaware of this when I got it so I got the one without mounts. It was $90, the model with mounts is $110, and by gosh it would have been more than worth the extra $20.


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## Buster Bluth (Sep 11, 2008)

I have a slack angled, chromoly framed all mountain hardtail made by a popular Canadian brand with Maxxis Ikon 2.35 rear, Specialized Butcher front. I also have an older 26er aluminum hardtail I converted into a commuter with 26x1.5 shwalbe marathons. I have recently been riding the 29er everywhere, even around town. I haven't compared the 26er (with commuter worthy tires) to the 29er (with offroad tires) with a clock, and it may be my imagination, but the 29er feels WAAAAAY faster. I am almost tempted to get another 29er with a rigid fork and slap a pair of Big Apples or something on it and use that as a commuter.

29ers just keep so much momentum going. Not just offroad, but on crappy pavement.


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