# skinny tires



## den9 (May 25, 2006)

what are the skinniest tires i can fit on my standard mountain bike wheels?

where can i get some 26 inch road bike wheels and tires? 

i want to buy a fixie but doesnt look like im gonna be able to afford it anytime soon


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## citybiker (Mar 20, 2008)

What it sounds like you want are "city slicks" I run Serfas Drifters(26x2.0) at 70 psi for low rolling resistance. Check out the Continental website...it seems i saw some 1.4" city tires listed. Then it's just a matter of checking BikeTiresDirect.com to see if they stock them...or check your favorite LBS.


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## den9 (May 25, 2006)

these will fit on my mountain bike wheels?
http://biketiresdirect.com/productdetail.asp?p=COSPC


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## Industrial (Jul 9, 2007)

You want high pressure. Narrow but similar pressure(to a wider tire) will actually raise your rolling resistance. I used these specialized slicks on my mountain bike when my commuter bike was broken. They worked pretty good.


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## fsrxc (Jan 31, 2004)

den9 said:


> these will fit on my mountain bike wheels?
> http://biketiresdirect.com/productdetail.asp?p=COSPC


Yeah I like those, but they have no tread (in case you ride any gravel or dirt or grass).
Continental also makes Country Ride, Travel Contact, which have a bit of side tread.

Some similar slick 26" tires - Tioga City Slickers, Ritchey Tom Slick.


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## x-ker (Jul 12, 2006)

When I was riding in the 26" bike as the commuter I used some tioga city slickers and found them to be a good tire for fairly cheap.

In regards to size, I was running 1.5 front and rear. A friend had a 1.25 that wasn't being used that he let me borrow as I wanted to try out the smaller size on the rear. I found that the rims I was running - mavic 517's (??? - I forget exactly, they're about 4-5 years old now) - wouldn't accept a tire that small since the rim is rather wide.

In regards to your original question (what's the skinniest tire I can run), I'd try to stick to something larger than a 1.4

Also, I'm not sure if there are specific 26" road bike wheels - all the wheels I've seen have been old MTB rims with slicks strapped on 'em.


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## PCC (Sep 5, 2005)

I used to run Forte brand (Performance Bike Stores house brand) 26X1.25" tires on my old Stumpie on Mavic 717 rim brake rims without any issues. I used to run more than the maximum recommended pressures, though, at 100PSI. I've since upgraded the bike to 700C wheels so that I could mount narrower rims and tires that can be pumped to even higher pressures (125PS!). I'm now running Forte brand 700X28 tires on Shimano WH-R500 wheels because I wanted less rolling resistance and there are a whole lot more high-pressure 700C tires available than there are narrow 26" tires.

http://ritcheylogic.com/web/Ritchey...ates/eproducts_single.aspx?id=24134&live=true
1" wide tires (25mm).


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## den9 (May 25, 2006)

thanks for all the replies


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## Zero Signal (Aug 17, 2007)

I would recommend a 1.25 tire for any rim that's 19mm wide or less. Just take a ruler to the rim and see how wide it is. Right now I'm running some $13 crappy Forte 26x1.25" tires that roll very fast and are decently true (no wobble). So far I like them and haven't had a flat, but I've only ridden them for 150 miles or so. I run them at 85psi.

Personally, I would avoid Tom Slicks. The rubber where it connects to the bead is crazy thin and has been known to separate spontaneously. I ran them for 70 or so mile and noticed that they were starting to fray in those areas so I stopped using them.

I wouldn't bother changing the wheels as it will just cost more than it's worth. Depending on the frame, you could very well get away with 700c wheels and caliper brakes (I measured out my old Trek 930 and it would have worked), but again not worth the money.


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## joraff (Feb 15, 2007)

den9 said:


> these will fit on my mountain bike wheels?
> http://biketiresdirect.com/productdetail.asp?p=COSPC


Yes they will. I run the 26x1.3 Sport Contact tires at 80PSI and they're excellent. I'm using WTB Dual Duty XC rims which I believe are 23mm. They're just wide enough to hook up nicely.


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## jabpn (Jun 21, 2004)

I'm using a Geax Streetrunner 1.25 and a Panaracer Tourguard Pasala 1.25 on my commuter right now. My commuter is also a fully rigid bike. On my XC hardtail w/ a Fox fork I don't like anything smaller than a 1.5 because the steering gets way to squirrelly.


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## trained_monkey (Aug 11, 2007)

I used to run Continental Sport Contact 1.25" but eventually switched to Maxxis Overdrives at 1.75". The 1.25s certainly feel faster but the wider tyre at lower pressure is much more comfortable to ride.


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## Fuelish (Dec 19, 2003)

Zero Signal said:


> Personally, I would avoid Tom Slicks. The rubber where it connects to the bead is crazy thin and has been known to separate spontaneously. I ran them for 70 or so mile and noticed that they were starting to fray in those areas so I stopped using them.


 Interesting,as I've used a few sets of Tom Slicks over the years (1.8"s and 1.4"s) and have never had a problem, other than a flat or two.
Although, reading your post makes me wanna go down to the garage and check mine out ..... NOW !!!!


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## Renovatio (Nov 22, 2007)

Before my bike was stolen I used Kenda Komfort. They aren't smoothies by any means but they roll real fast and really smooth on the pavement. You can even take them out a dirt path/gravel road without hesitation. Cheap too, I think I got them for $14/tire. I think the width was 1.3, don't quote me though.


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