[noonievut]

I was going to put some Tom Slick 1.4's on my mountain bike for riding the road. I also ride a rail trail from time to time (mainly gravel, some hard pack, mud in some flat spots, no sharp turns).

I want a tire that's great for the road (thin, high PSI, slick) but also a tire that can handle the rail trail. Is the Tom Slick fine for this, or do I need a tire with more tread down the slide?

Thanks.

 

[Bob the Wheelbuilder]

See "best road and trail tire" on this forum.

I stick by my recommendation for the All Terrainasaurus if you're not doing technical off roading.

Others recommended the MTB Nanoraptor 2.1 which is a great tire if you do more technical mountain biking on hardpack or slickrock. I think the All T.saurus wears better if you're mostly trail riding. I would avoid slicks if you're in gravel much.

 

[noonievut]

Thanks Bob.

However, I plan to run two sets of tires and really want to maximize the "yet to be purchased" tire for road (80%) and gravel path (20%). When I ride singletrack I'm going to put another tire on the bike, so I don't need this 2nd tire to be an all-in-one (seems the other thread was around road & dirt).

I was going to get slicks because I have to figure they are better on the road then those mentioned in the other post (i.e. the 1.4 Tom slick vs a 2.1 anything). I would move away from slicks though if they are really poor on flat gravel paths (which I ride from time to time), to opt for a tire with a bit more tread.

Well I'm still a bit confused and picking up the tires today, so if you have any last minute advise...cheers.

 

[AJ541]

Hutchinson Pythons are great on the road too...

... as well if you get ultra lite tubes this combination will work great for what you're doing. Pythons roll really fast on any terrain. With the lite tubes just make sure they're always well inflated, at least 40 psi, maybe 50 psi if you're mainly on the road.

 

[shiggy]

I was going to put some Tom Slick 1.4's on my mountain bike for riding the road. I also ride a rail trail from time to time (mainly gravel, some hard pack, mud in some flat spots, no sharp turns).

I want a tire that's great for the road (thin, high PSI, slick) but also a tire that can handle the rail trail. Is the Tom Slick fine for this, or do I need a tire with more tread down the slide?

Thanks.

The Ritchey CrossBite 1.4 would be a better choice. It is basically a road tire with some tread to work better on hardpack dirt and gravel.