Slicks for Mountain bike

[sswats]

I currently have a mountain bike with 26" x 1.95 tyres.

I've never bought cycle tyres before so i could use some help and unfortunately got more confused when reading up stuff on forums.
I want to get Schwalbe city jet slicks since they're cheap at only £10 each.
So just to make sure, do i just get the same size specs ie 26" x 1.95 for the slicks?

and whats skinwall exactly?
And do i keep the same tubing?
thank You

 

[ed_o_brain]

I would recommend 26" x 1.5" for Road riding.

Not sure what skinwall is.

You might need to buy smaller tubes. It's impossible to tell until you take your existing tubes out. Somewhere the min/max size tyre should be marked on the tube. Some are not very stretchy are are for one size tyre only. Others cover a range of tyres.

I reckon you might be okay.

 

[kyuss]

Skinwall is just the colour of the sidewall. It's that orangey brown natural rubber colour.

 

[Landslide]

The important thing is to make sure you get 26" tyres. This refers to their diameter, and will ensure that they fit the diameter of your wheel.
The second number (in your example 1.95") gives the width of the tyre. The wider the tyre, the larger the air chamber and therefore the potential for cushioning. The trade off is that a wider tyre will weigh more, and lighter tyres will make more of an improvement to the feel and performance of your ride than any other part of the bike.
You can get 26" tyres in many sizes, from 1" to 1.95" to even bigger. 1.5" is probably a good compromise for commuting.

Skinwall refers to tyres that don't have an extra layer of rubber on the sidewalls. This saves weight. You can get gumwall or blackwall tyres which do have an extra layer of rubber for extra durability, but this tends to be more of an issue for MTBs, where the tyres are run at lower pressures and the sidewalls deform more (thus rubbing against the wheel rim) and/or they get attacked by sharp rocks on the trail. Skinwall should be fine for on-road use (as long as you make sure your brake blocks are lined up properly and aren't rubbing on the tyre etc...

Inner tubes? You can get these in different sizes too, e.g. 26"x1.75-2.125".
If you can get hold of them, then the correct width tube will sit better in a tyre. Again, the most important dimension is that of 26".

 

[Steve Austin]

If you use an inner tube for a 26x1.75 tyre in a 26x1.5 tyre you will blow that tyre off the rim. You will jump. Its very loud

 

[Randochap]

I would recommend 26" x 1.5" for Road riding.

+3

Blackwall last longer than skinwall.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

I do a 13 mile round trip commute on my mountain bike. Having trashed my previous slicks, I needed some new ones in a hurry and so ordered the City Jet 26 x 1.5 from Wiggle.

I've had them on the bike for two days so far and they seem OK .. I'm not real quick but I've not scared myself with them, even on wet and greasy roads this morning after the heavy showers last night. They were a bit slithery and amusing in the wet and muddy bits in the woods this morning though!!

PS. I've got blackwalls

 

[tyred]

I've got 26 x 1.5 city jets on my MTB. They work okay and (prepares himself for a fall), no puntures in 1,200 miles.

 

[Cubist]

sswats

another plus one for the 1.5" city jets. You'll need the right inners though.

 

[Llama]

i have conti sport contact - 26 x1.6 no probs and a free replacement if they get a puncture in a year

 

[eldudino]

I have Bontrager Satellite Plus on my bike, never let me down, no punctures in 2 years and grippy all year round. I'll replace them with the same when they go.