Road wheels on a mountain bike?

tim_james

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.

gclark8

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/pr...&gamme=asphalte

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

__________________
Cheers,
George.

garyj

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.

tim_james

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?

bigpedaler

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.

__________________
"you may only be one person in the world -- but you may just be THE WORLD to one person."

tim_james

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?

gclark8

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.../road/77/22526/

__________________
Cheers,
George.

tim_james

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....

bigpedaler

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.

__________________
"you may only be one person in the world -- but you may just be THE WORLD to one person."

garyj

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.

JM01

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

Attached Thumbnails

 

tim_james

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.

tim_james

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.

1id10t

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.