Slick tires are road tires used for roads and street rides. those mountain bikers install slick tires which have road rides of many miles. slick tires are not used for mountain bike off-road single trail rides because their manufacturing and the shape of the tire do not support riding on hard trails. slick tires are thin as compared to the mountain bike thick tires.
Installing Slick tires in the mountain bike makes the road journey much easier and raises the speed as compared to the thick knobby tires of the mountain bike. you cannot hear the sound of the slick tires when these run on the ground surface.it is also possible to install the slick tires for 5 working days from Monday to Friday when you have many miles of road journey and when the two days of the weekend comes you can install again your mountain bike knobby tires and go for a ride.
However many riders install slick tires in their mountain bikes just because they do not support a new road bike on a financial basis, when you got money for a new bike then you get rid of changing the tires of your mountain bike.
Slick tires make your mountain bike faster more than 20% as compared to the thick knobby tires on the road trails. the reason is that the slick tires are smooth in structure which reduces the rolling resistance when the tires are running on the roads. the reduced rolling resistance of the slick tires differs from the other mountain bike thick Maxxis tires.
The other advantage is that knobby tires are not comfortable to run on the roads and it burns more calories of your body as compared to the light-weighted thin and comfortable slick tires.
slick tires got punctured and become flat on the roads more than the thick knobby mountain bike tires, it shows that the durability of the slick tires is less than the knobby tires.
Installing slick tires in a mountain bike:
The installation is easy and comfortable, the method is the same as you can install the knobby tires in your bike. there are a few things that matter the most while installing slick tires in a mountain bike.
- Make sure the size of the slick tires would fit exactly on the rims of your mountain bike.
- The edges of the slick tires would fit exactly on the beads and sides of the rims of your bike.
- the slick tire rubber is stretchy so it needs more psi of air pressure as compared to the mountain bike knobby tires.
- You can choose a tubless or having tube slick tires and install them in the rims of your mountain bike like usual.
Best mountain bike slick tires:
- Maxxis Hookworm Wire Clincher Tire 29 by 2.5
- WTB Slick Bike Tire 29 by 2.2
- Schwalbe Big Apple Bike Tire 29 by 2.35
- Continental ultra sports 700CC 23CC Bike Tire
- Sera,s Drifter Bike Tire
- Schwalbe Huricane Bike Tire
- Sunlite K847 Road Bike Tire
- Tacx Trainer Road bike tire
- Kenda K841A Komfort 26 by 1.95 Steel Bead Black Tire
- Michelin Wild Runn, r tire
These are the ten best road slick tires used to install in a mountain bike for road pavement rides.
Maxxis Hookworm Wire Clincher Tire 29 by 2.5:
These are road and pavement tires. mountain bikers used to install them in their bikes when they had to go on to their office or for commuting purposes. these are large in size relatable to the knobby tires. these are lighter in weight and are mostly used to perform stunts.
The rubber used in their making is long-lasting and if your care Maxxis hookworm when you ride these tires does not become flat even after many months of rides on the roads. these are knob-free tires and the top surface is smooth totally to reduce friction with the ground. Maxxis hookworm is available in all-sized wheels and rims. you can use these tires for both front and back wheels.
the big advantage is that it splits the water on the road and makes its way easily, a perfect grip with the wet ground. the width of the Maxxis hookworm is nearly equal to that of the big knobby mountain bike tires which prevents slipping and falling on the road.
it is a knobless tire mostly used for drifting and skidding on the road purposes and faster in speed in racings. The weight of the Maxxis hookworm 29 by 2.5 is 998 grams.
WTB Slick Bike Tire 29 by 2.2:
the top and side surface of this tire is smoother than the Maxxis hookman tire which clears that it slips more in the rain and wet tracks. it is manufactured with very silky rubber even WTB shines in the sunlight when the wheels are rolling. the shape of this tire resembles that of the inner tube of the tires.
the big advantage of this tire is that it causes minimum resistance or zero level resistance when these tires roll on the paved roads. the surface of these tires does not contain any knobs even the simple linings are also not present on its above-looking surface. these are faster-speed tires when you compare them to the other slick road tires.
another great thing about these tires is that the sides and edges of these tires are perfectly adjusted within the wheel. these do not have a strong grip on the wet and rainy trails because of their smoother contact surface with the ground. these tires are used along with the inner tube the reason is that these are fragile and flexible which increases the chances of the puncture and becoming flat. you cannot follow any corner trails because by making different right and left angles on these tires, there are chances and risk of falling because of their skinny design and loose grip with the ground.
You can also run these tires tubeless they will perform smoothly but they need a little bit more caring on the trails.WTB slick tires are much more comfortable in riding if you want to install them on your mountain bike. The weight of the WTb Slick 29 by 2.2 bike tire is 979 grams.
Schwalbe Big Apple Bike Tire 29 by 2.35:
These tires last more than the other road slick tires and their durability is more than 5000 kilometers. These are the best slick tires for mountain bikes mostly used to install in the dry seasons. the shape and structure of this tire resemble that of the Maxxis hookworm tire. the outer surface and the number of linings are the same as that of the Maxxis hookworm. the outer linings are more close to each other as compared to the Maxxis hookworm. these are not thin tires their width is the same as that of the MTB knobby tires.
These are mostly used in winters due to their long-lasting durability. mountain bikers also used to install them in winter and snowy seasons for the road and long journey purposes. the outer surface is designed in two shapes.
if you want a durable Schwalbe tire then you can buy the center lined tire which covers thoroughly and it is a thick line that increases the durability of the tire. while without center lined Schwalbe big apple is also available online or in mechanics shops. so for mounting biking, the center-lined tire of Schwalbe would be best for you to install and ride. this company has their own back and front Schwalbe big apple tires. both the front and back tires are covered with small squares reaching on both sides of the tire.
These are available in old and new versions always buy the new version because it is more durable and long-lasting. these are more firm and rigid as compared to the WTB slick tires when we talk about the punctures and flats. The weight of the Schwalbe big apple slick tire is 890 grams and the width is 2.4 inches.
Continental ultra sport 700 CC slick tire 23c:
It has narrower width compared to the other slick bike tires. these are mostly used for smooth running purposes on the roads for racing or for going to work and office. the durability is long-lasting and perfect tires used for wet roads and rainy seasons.it contains sandwich-shaped designs which are two to three inches far from each other on the sides and the center is smooth, these tires do not warm up after the long miles of daily riding.
The continental company has also other brands of road slick tires, this company is located in Germany. the thin width of these tires does not act as a barrier for not installing these tires in your bikes because the continental company is famous and popular all over the world in tire manufacturing. these are the road tires not used for gravel and off-road trails. the weight of the continental ultra sport 700 CC 23CC slick tire is 310 grams.
Schwalbe Huricane Bike Tire 26 by 2.1:
Schwalbe hurricane bike tires are for road trails but these are known as semi mountain bike tires because their structure, shape, and design match them from the knobby fat tires. if you don’t know about them before then your single looks tell that these are also made for hard trails. their width is the same as that of the mountain bike knobby tires and the higher weight of Schwalbe hurricane also compares them with the mountain bike tires.
these contain knobs on their sides which are a little bit of distance from each other not much close. these are smooth runner tires for road trails and do not make any kind of unpleasant sound while rolling on the roads, pavements, and streets.
When the tire rolls the side knobs are visible to the other riders through which they could easily know about your Schwalbe hurricane bike tires. these tires are even best in the winters and rainy days because the rainwater does not make the tires slippy due to their wider width.
the centered surface of tires is empty from knobs which clears that their rolling resistance level is minimum on the road traveling and comfortable in pedaling. The weight of the Schwalbe hurricane tire is 620 grams and the maximum load-carrying capacity is 105kilograms