Arguement with friend: Slick tyres Vs Normal on MTB

[Koing]

Here we are agruing.

"i don't agree putting slick tyres on a MTB will make you faster"

and I know I'm right. All things made for speed have slick tyres. F1 cars, Racer bikes etc.

I'm saying to him that if you put slick tyres on a MTB it will go faster. He doesn't agree with that.

Now what do you guys think?

Any evidence on websites?

Koing

 

[dpm]

Well, on road surface it'll go faster and won't be so noisy when you're screaming down hills. But its not a big deal, and its no fun having slicks when you want to leave the road... Although a friend of mine says he wants to buy 'semi-slicks' as a compromise...

 

[RedRooster]

Dumb question, but what's an MTB?

 

[Beau]

Originally posted by: RedRooster
Dumb question, but what's an MTB?

Mountain Bike

 

[csiro]

On asphalt, you'll definately go faster. But it's the opposite on a trail...

 

[Koing]

Originally posted by: Beau6183

Originally posted by: RedRooster
Dumb question, but what's an MTB?

Mountain Bike

hey Beau6183, can you just clarify that if you put slick tyres on a mtb it will make it go faster then a normal mtb tyre? he says that if you put it on the suspension would affect it. Then my argument is that the MTB has suspension on it anyway.

 

[Koing]

we're talking about just NORMAL ROADS here.

 

[ElFenix]

road tires have less friction, less inertia (because they're so thin), and therefore take less force to move the same speed.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

WTH? How could anyone possibly dispute this? Even with comparable widths (most slicks are narrower than typical knobbies), the slicks will offer far less rolling resistance. I have had very good luck with semi-slick designs like the Corratec Diamant Grips even on rough, loose terrain, and they are worlds faster on fast trails and pavement. These offer a good compromise for mixed on/off-road riding.

All it will take to persuade your friend is a very brief test ride on the same or similar bikes, one with slicks, one with knobbies - this is not a close call.

 

[Brutuskend]

Slicks = less rolling resistance (and sometimes depending on the tire, higher pressure) = faster on the road

However the reason they put slicks on race cars is traction. The more rubber thats on the road, the better the traction (notice how race car slicks are also wider and flater? Bicycle slicks for the most part are narrower than a knobby tire.)

 

[Beau]

Well, slick tires would offer less ressistance on the road and air, so in theory it should allow you to move faster. But that kinda defeats the purpose of having a MTB. If I were you, I'd get some tires with low-profile like the Ritchety Tom Slicks where they offer some traction for lite off-road use, but are smooth enough to get decent road performance.

 

[Fausto]

Three reasons why you'll go faster on slicks:

1) Less rolling resistance since you don't have all the knobbies and they're narrower. Plus no annoying "bzzzt-bzzzt-bzzzt" noise as you pedal from the tires.

2) They're much lighter than a knobby tire (esp if you get the kevlar beaded version) = less rotating mass = lower moment of intertia for wheels = faster bike

3) you can run a much higher PSI in the slick (as much as 100psi in some of them) which kinda ties into #1. You scrub speed/energy in the form of heat as a softer tire deforms at the contact patch as it's rolling. Try pushing a loaded wheelbarrow on pavement with a squishy tire vs a tire at higher pressure....big difference.

Your friend is wrong, trust me on this. I noticed a big difference commuting when I swapped over to slicks. Besides, the tires I run are only about $20 each or so....consider it a relatively cheap experiment.

Fausto

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: Brutuskend


However the reason they put slicks on race cars is traction. The more rubber thats on the road, the better the traction (notice how race car slicks are also wider and flater? Bicycle slicks for the most part are narrower than a knobby tire.)

Yup....slicks on racing motorcycles and cars are all about putting the biggest contact patch possible on the road for better traction. Any tread is simply wasted surface area that could be used for grip. This also why they will stop a race if it starts raining....slicks + rain = skating rink and lots of carnage.

 

[Koing]

thanks guys.

I just can't believe he'd argue about something this obvious...........

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: Koing
thanks guys.

I just can't believe he'd argue about something this obvious...........

One of the three absolutes in life:

1) death
2) taxes
3) people are stupid