Road wheels on a mountain bike?

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Hi All,

I am doing a lot of road riding on my mountain bike, and I am thinking about putting road wheels on. I am thinking of having two sets of wheels, one with the road tyres on them and the other with the mountain bike tyres. This will save time and I can quickly replace the wheels on the bike depending on the purpose. If I do this, can I just use any road wheels the same size? Has anyone done this before?

Any advice on the idea would be appreciated. Thanks.

If you have disc brakes, it is easy, mavix have a speedcity wheel for MTB with 700c rims.
http://www.mavic.com/ewb_pages/p/produit_roue_speedcity.php?onglet=2&gamme=asphalte

If you have V brakes, sorry, they won't reach the 700c rims.

Hi All,

I am doing a lot of road riding on my mountain bike, and I am thinking about putting road wheels on. I am thinking of having two sets of wheels, one with the road tyres on them and the other with the mountain bike tyres. This will save time and I can quickly replace the wheels on the bike depending on the purpose. If I do this, can I just use any road wheels the same size? Has anyone done this before?

Any advice on the idea would be appreciated. Thanks.

I recently did this. I had both a road and mountain bike and wanted to combine both into one bike. I was told to be sure to get the exact same cassette so that derailleur adjustments would be the same for both set ups. I ordered a set of identical wheels and put road tires on the new set. I am very happy with the results. I have a great mountain bike and a good road bike.

I would suggest you get the lightest mountain bike you can afford. To be able to keep up with the roadies you will need to keep the weight down.

I already have a mountain bike, a Giant boulder.

Garyj - are you saying buy a pair of wheels for the bike I have, i.e. like I was ordering a replacement set and then just put road tyres on to the wheels?

a couple ways to go here....

1.)a second set of wheels, near-identical to the ones you have, with something like specialized fat boy crits -- 26x1.25 slicks. high presure, they roll like a mofo.

2.)mavic speedcity if you have discs, but they run about $450 new.

3.)29" xc wheels with 700x30 or so road clinchers. again, with discs.

if you're running v's, then #1 is your only out.

Thanks so far for the replies.

And yes I have v brakes, so I guess I am looking at another set of wheels fitted with road tires. Will the rear wheel come with the cassette, or do I have to buy it separately?

Any ideas as to how much the set of wheels with road tires will cost?

It may be cheaper to buy a Giant CRX 4 just for road use, in the low $500s here in Aus. ;)
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-AU/bikes/road/77/22526/

Oh ok, I didn't realise it would cost so much for the spare set + road tyres.

I only paid $470 for my Giant boulder mtn bike, so I may have to rethink the need for road tyres....

Thanks so far for the replies.

And yes I have v brakes, so I guess I am looking at another set of wheels fitted with road tires. Will the rear wheel come with the cassette, or do I have to buy it separately?

Any ideas as to how much the set of wheels with road tires will cost?
yep, you'll have to buy a cassette; don't know where u r, but here i can get a set of wheels/fatboycrits/cassette for under $200. i'm a hardcore bargain hunter, and only sometimes does that bite me in the a$$ (from poor choice -- i can count three times in seven years).

kenda makes a 1.5 called Kwest, gets good reviews; maxxis and ritchey also make some good ones in that size range. all are "near-slick", with what you could call "water channels" in them.

I already have a mountain bike, a Giant boulder.

Garyj - are you saying buy a pair of wheels for the bike I have, i.e. like I was ordering a replacement set and then just put road tyres on to the wheels?

You could probably use almost any wheel, but the cassette should be EXACTLY the same or your rear derailleur will probably have to be adjusted for each wheel change. I ordered an exact set of wheels with the Specialized fat road tires (already mentioned). Mine listed out at about $1400 but bought with the bike, I got them for $1000 - a real deal :-) It's not really a money saving option. I do have a great bike that I enjoy and I can travel with one bike and the extra set of wheels and ride on any surface.

I have disc brakes, but V-Brakes should be OK. There will be a lot more room with the smaller tire.

Hi All,

I am doing a lot of road riding on my mountain bike, and I am thinking about putting road wheels on. I am thinking of having two sets of wheels, one with the road tyres on them and the other with the mountain bike tyres. This will save time and I can quickly replace the wheels on the bike depending on the purpose. If I do this, can I just use any road wheels the same size? Has anyone done this before?

Any advice on the idea would be appreciated. Thanks.
I built this a couple of years ago for a girl in our office...swapped the 26 x 1.95's with 28 x 1.75 tires, 27 spd....the thing flys...climbs like a goat :D

Ok so how do I know what is the smallest size tyre (width wise) I can put onto a rim? Do I need the width of the rim? And also is there different tubes for different width tyres? Thanks.

After looking around, it seems the Maxxis Xenith 1.5 are available readily in here in Australia, price varies a bit but ebay has a set for $40. So with these tires do I need different tubes to the ones I have on my bike now? (I am not sure what type they are but they are the ones that came with the standard tires).

Thanks again.

I use the Maxxis Xeniths. They're good tyres which roll well. Despite what others might think, they also hold up well in the wet. I know, i've been riding them in Sydney's recent wet weather.
I can also recommend GEAX Streetrunners (1.25) and Serfas Barristas (1.25). These are both fast rolling and hard wearing tyres as well.
For the Maxxis 1.5 you will need a tube which covers this size. eg 1.5 - 1.75. The size will be shown on the side of the box the tube comes in. Or you can ask your lbs.
Do a search in the forums for MTB slicks. There's quite a few threads with plenty of useful information in them. Other tyre recommendations as well.
There's plenty of range in Australia for 26" slicks. Try these sites -
http://www.torpedo7.com.au/
http://www.phantomcycles.com.au/home.php
http://www.cellbikes.com.au/
There's plenty more but these are good for a start.

I have been running Ritchey 1.0 Tom Slicks. When these came out 10+(?) years ago they difficulty keeping the tire seated. Evidently this issue has been addressed.

I have been running Ritchey 1.0 Tom Slicks. When these came out 10+(?) years ago they difficulty keeping the tire seated. Evidently this issue has been addressed.
Have you ever had any issues with slicks this skinny in terms of stability and grip? I don't plan to ride in the rain either so thats not really an issue.

Never had traction problems, even in the rain. They hold as well if not better than my road bike tires. The max psi isn't as high so there is some extra rolling resistance compared to my road tires. I make no claims about my (in)ability to ride fast, but i do find myself running out of gearing at times with my compact drives.

Hi Tim,

Most of your questions are answered here: http://www.cyclingforums.com/t291662.html

Have you ever had any issues with slicks this skinny in terms of stability and grip? I don't plan to ride in the rain either so thats not really an issue.Slicks offer better wet weather traction that tyres of the same construct and quality that have grooves. The reason being is that the slicks have more rubber on the road than groved tyres. Bicycle tyres don't need grooves because they don't acquaplane, where cars and motorcyles do.

Ok thanks everyone for the replies, and I have read the other thread on MTB slicks as well. This is what I have found so far on the net, with the Conti contact sport 26" x 1.3" seeming to have the most users on this forum.

www.cellbikes.com.au (http://www.cellbikes.com.au)
IRC metro II 26" x 1" $20 each 90 psi 325 grams
maxxis xenith 26" x 1.5" $30 each

www.phantomcycles.com.au (http://www.phantomcycles.com.au)
Conti contact sport 26" x 1.3" $40 each
maxxis xenith 26" x 1.5" $26 each 65psi 390 grams
maxxis columbiere 26" x 1.25" $25 each
Tom Ritchey slick 26 x 1.0" $30 each
Tom Ritchey slick 26 x 1.4" $30 each

Also, I am planning to walk in to my local bike shop this arvo to see what they have and their prices. Will also measure the internal width of my rims tonight to see what the smallest size tire that sheldon brown recommends.

Thanks all so far, Tim.