What is the best mountain bike for road use?
As others have pointed out, road and mountain bikes are built for different purposes, so anything in between the two will be a matter of compromises. But just to answer your question in the most literal possible way, the best mountain bike for road use would still have to be technically a mountain bike (i.e. not a cyclocross or gravel bike) but it would have to be as light and rigid and fast as possible to optimize performance on the road. So my answer is: a 29″ hardtail rigid fork carbon fiber frame mountain bike. With carbon wheels and the skinniest tires you can find. And high end lightweight components. The main distinction between this and a cyclocross or gravel bike is that you could swap out the skinny tires for fatter tires (2″ or so) for trail use. Lacking suspension it would not be the best mountain bike for trails but it would be strong enough and with fat tires would be somewhat better than a cross or gravel bike over rough terrain. I’m not saying I would recommend spending your money on such a bike, since it would be pretty spendy with all the carbon and lightweight parts, and you could probably buy both a dedicated mountain bike and a dedicated road bike for the price, but it does meet the terms of the question: the best mountain bike for road use.
Do road bikes use the same tire tubes as mountain bikes?
No, the tire size is printed on the side of the tire. A road bike will be a 700 X 25c and a mountain bike will be 26 X 2.0 or around that number. You need a tube that matches the first number ( diameter ) and has a range that falls within the second number ( width ).
Is it possible to interchange road bike tires on my mountain bike?
I have a 2013 Trek Marlin. It's a 29er, the frame is 17.5", has disc brakes, and for the most part is stock. I am in college and would like to commute to class on my bike. Unfortunately, my Bontrager tires are extremely inefficient for road use and it takes a lot more effort to go my 3-5 miles a day. Would it be possible for me to interchange road bike wheels and tires on the Marlin in order to increase road riding efficiency while still being able to switch back to mountain bike tires when I go offroad? I'm not interested in racing my Marlin in road races; so, I don't need reminding about the difference of mechanics in road bikes and mountain bikes. I'm only looking for increasing efficiency without having to store two different bicycles. Thanks.
Which is more important for stability when biking on city streets: tire width or frame material?
At the end of the day, you should just work on getting to a point where you feel comfortable as a cyclist regardless of the frame or tires.Frame: the frame is not going to matter for your purposes. Frame stiffness really only comes into play at high speeds, like for racing. For city biking, it's not going to matter that much. But if anything, a less stiff frame is better. Either steel or aluminum is fine, steel is a little less stiff. Basically, if a frame is less stiff, it absorbs more shock, so it's more comfortable. But then it's less efficient, as energy is going towards (very mildly) warping the frame. So racing bikes are usually really stiff, made out of carbon which is both stiff and light; but they're not as comfortable. Again, you're probably not going to notice any of this.Wheels: in the short term, wider tires will definitely feel more stable. It's pretty straightforward, as wider wheels = more traction and secure base. But that being said, once you start to become a better cyclist, road tires (i.e., the thin ones) are just so much better. You can go faster with less effort and you're more nimble. I actually feel more secure on these tires, because I know I can be more nimble and therefore maneuver better. So if you think you can invest some time and energy into becoming a better cyclist and this is something you want to do, I would go with the road tires. It doesn't take that long to get used to. But if you only plan to ride very short distances and don't want to worry about becoming a better cyclist, then you can go with the wide tires.Also, to be clear, there is a big difference between wheels and tires.- Wheels are the hardware of this part of the bike, and generally semi-expensive- The tire is just the rubber thing that goes around the wheel hub, and is not that expensive.You can change out whatever tire you want, as long as it fits. Wheels have different diameters and widths, so you can reasonably change your tires to a certain degree. So it's certainly viable to get road-bike wheels, and then use a grippier tire.
Is using road bike wheels on a mountain bike frame a good idea?
Unless you ride a 27.5″ wheel MTB, No. And even then it’s highly doubtful. Road bike wheels (700c) are a larger diameter than 26″ and smaller than 29″. Road wheels will likely not even fit in your frame if you have a 26″ MTB. Tires are a different story though. Running slicks on a mountain bike works great for road riding. Although you do not get all the benefits of the larger road bike wheels you do get the benefit of greatly decreased rolling resistance. Your best bet is to purchase a second set of wheels and keep slicks on one set and knobbies on the other. Quick-release wheels are easy to swap but changing tires every time you switch terrain is a pain. There is one other concern. If you have rim brakes rather than disc brakes you would be best served to buy wheels that are identical to your current wheels to insure that the brake pads will meet the rim correctly. If the rim on your extra wheelset is wider or narrower you will either have dragging pads or brakes so loose that the lever goes all the way to the grips without effectively stopping the bike. I used to keep 2 sets of wheels and it worked great for me.
Why was the diameter of mountain bike wheels increased to 29 inches?
Two reasons. First, because larger wheels roll over obstacles better. For instance, you don’t want to ride over a cattle grating in rollerblades. I imagine it would be pretty hairy on a Moulton as well.The second is because of the introduction of “hybrid” bicycles. These were designed to be a compromise between road and mountain and were mostly used as city, utility and recreational bikes, but some people took them off road. These bikes had 700C size wheels, the standard size for road bike in continental Europe.Since people are always pushing limits, some manufacturers started producing more knarly versions of them with fatter tires and more aggressive geometry. I had one called a Project 7 from Bianchi which was the ancestor to today’s ‘29ers’. At the time, it was called a “700C mountain bike” though to suggest that people didn’t take road size wheels off road before this is silly. Cyclo cross has always been a popular sport for racing cyclists in the off season. These off road races were usually ridden on an old road bike with fatter tires and lower gearing or a custom-made bike if the rider could afford it. Early mountain bike races were also often ridden on cyclo-cross bikes or similar custom machines with 700C wheels. Riders at the time likely found that having larger wheels to some extent made up for the narrower tires and using road components and a road-style frame also made the bike lighter (and therefore easier to carry when you inevitably had to pick it up because it wasn’t quite rugged enough!).Me with my old Project 7, not that you can tell from the photo what’s special about it…Found it: one of my only clear photos of the first ever ‘29er’ (from the same trip):
Can you put 29 inch tires on any bike?
Can you put 255/70R22.5 tractor trailer tires on a Honda Civic too? NO!
How big is a 26" bike? Can an adult ride it without looking silly?
Oh GOD! Do NOT order a bicycle from Wally World. Worst possible place to buy a bicycle is any discount store. They have brainwashed the American public into thinking they sell REAL bicycles. They only sell "bicycle shaped objects" of very poor quality. Furthermore... Adult sized bicycles are NOT measured by wheel size. They are measured by frame size. ALL adult sized bicycles have either 26", 29" (new 29'er mountain bikes) or 700C wheels. But with different frame sizes - these bikes can fit people from 5' tall to 6' 4" tall. Google "bicycle shop" along with your zip code. Brings up every REAL bicycle shop in your area. Go see these people. More on frame sizes: Click on the two links below. Both bikes have the same 26 X 1.95 tires. Blue bike is a 2001 Gary Fisher with a small 13" frame. Red bike is another Gary Fisher with an 18" frame. 1st bike designed for a person around 4'10" tall to 5' 2" tall. 2nd bike meant for someone 5'7" tall up to about 5' 10" tall. Again...SAME size tires.
Tire pressure of 29er bike
I’m riding two 29er MTBs on a regular basis.I am 95kg kitted up and ride with the wheels set up tubeless. I would add 2 – 4 psi more than my figures below if you are using tubes and drop 2 psi if you are below 75kg.These figures are also for off road and I would add 10% more for the road.Running fat 2.35s I use 22psi front and 24psi rearOn 2.2s I would use 24psi f and 26 rear.On my 700c road racer running 25mm tyres I run 80psi front and 100 rear.