this post was submitted on 29 Jun 2025
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Besides purpose built bikes for speed and distance, swapping out tires for a different tread can make a large difference. If you aren't doingactualy technical trails and just like road or flat gravel you can get a tire that has some nubs on the outer sides but a smooth patch down the center for way less resistance when riding. When I switch to my winter tires the bikes is so much slower
Could you possibly recommend what sort of tires these would be? I occasionally go down gravel trails but no jumps or logs or anything like that, just like dirt trails. Would those still be okay on these tires?
I run Michelin Country Rock as a hybrid tire. Anything that's not knobbly is going to be a huge upgrade on pavement.
You also don't need to run the same tires on both wheels. Having a slicker tire in the back can make sense as you put more weight on it, and slipping with the back wheel is a nuisance, while slipping with the front is often a disaster. So you could start off just swapping the rear. That way if it doesn't work out, you also spent only half the money :)
Lastly I'd want to share that I really disliked those wheels that are knobbly along the edges. Leaning over when taking a curve at speed, and suddenly transitioning from smooth to vibrating was very unsettling to me.
Besides the vibration issue, did you notice anything else like poor wet road performance, stuff like that?
It really depends on the type of dirt, and how wet. Most of my summer the ground is hardpack or maintained crushed gravel. So I swap to a hybrid city tire, I don't need lots of tread. That's why I have the winter set with nubs and carbide studs for other weather. Is there a bike shop or two in the local area of the trails you ride? They can recommend a good tire.
But don't worry about speed/time, just go have fun :)
If most of your riding is on paved surfaces, you want "city bike tires." For your bike, they'll be roughly 26x1.5"-2.0" and they'll be relatively smooth instead of knobby. Better ones will have features like extra puncture resistance and retroreflective sidewalls.
Random example from an image search:
The "some nubs on the outer sides but a smooth patch down the center" type of tire the commenter above recommended would look something like this...
...but honestly, I'd probably go for a full-blown city tire instead unless you're regularly riding on loose surfaces, not just "occasionally."
So we call them half-slicks here apparently. I decided to go with a pair of those. My performance night suffer a bit, but I prefer peace of mind to pure performance. As soon as I get paid, I plan on ordering a pair of them!
Thank you for the advice!