Off Road vs Road Tyres

[bom]

Hi all!

I have a Woosh Rio electric MTB which I only really use on the London roads. It currently has what I would class as mountain bike tyres.



I’m considering putting on some road/hybrid tyres like the Marathon Tour 26 in 2” to increase mileage and decrease road resistance.

Do you think it will have a noticeable impact on performance, or will I only feel the bumps more?

Would love your feedback!

 

[Gadfly]

If you use your bike mainly on road, then it makes no sense to use anything remotely knobbly. I swapped mine out for Scwalbe Almotions, albeit with tubes. They are superb on road.

https://www.schwalbe.com/en/tour-reader/marathon-almotion.html

 

[kangooroo]

I did the opposite - changed my 1" smooth road tyres for 1.75" grippy tyres and it made a huge difference for my rides on rough surfaces. Road tyres are better on roads and mountain bike tyres are better on rough ground.

 

[Jonah]

Schwalbe G ones are a good multi-purpose tyre.

 

[Tarka]

I've been using Continental Double Fighter tyres for years now, low cost and easily available, smooth on tarmac yet they have the knobbly edges for then off road.
https://conti-tyres.co.uk/commuting-touring/double-fighter

 

[bom]

Thanks for all your responses guys.

I did a bit of research into the Kenda tyres I have at the moment. It looks like they are the K892 model which are similar to the double fighters Tarka mentioned above. Designed for MTBs that are mainly used on the road. I think if they were "proper" MTB tyres the rolling resistance between them and a road tyre might be much more substantial.

I think I will eventually go for one of the Schwalbe tyres recommended above, but for now I'm going to stick with the comfort of the larger tyres and get another 500 miles under my ... saddle.

 

[GLJoe]

Planet X have had some 2.2" Big Apple tyres in 26" on sale for a while £8 I think.
A no brainer. Faster running and no loss of comfort (probably a lot better than what you currently have to be honest).

You'll have to live with brown, but its kind of trendy at the moment anyway.

 

[peter.c]

I agree big apples fast rolling will be less tyre roar than what you have now also will still absorb as fat tyre side walls