Tyre sizes.

[jeltz]

My MTB came with 26 X 1.95 tyres, OK its obvious the 26 is the 26" wheel diameter, is the 1.95 is the width of the wheel and would I be correct in assuming that a other tyre sizes wouldn't fit on those wheels?

The reason I'm asking is that I'm doing most of my riding on tracks or roads and think that I'd be better off changing the knobbly tyres, to slicker ones.

 

[Dave Davenport]

1.95 is the width of the tyre in inches, any 26" tyre will fit.

 

[Landslide]

The 1.95" is the (nominal) width of the tyre once inflated.
You can fit tyres of a different width, according to Sheldon:

A general guideline is that the tyre width should be between 1.45/2.0 x the inner rim width.

 

[marzjennings]

It's not the wheel that usually limits the tyres you can use but the frame and forks. Any semi-slick or slick tyre should fit except maybe a Hookworm.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

My MTB is used mainly for commuting. It also came with 26 x 1.95, which I've changed for 26 x 1.5 slicks (City Jet from Schwalbe).

They run at a higher pressure than the knobblies and so roll easier and are better on the road. They're OK off road so long as it's dry: they don't like wet mud very much!! So I put the knobblies back on in the winter.

 

[jeltz]

Thanks for the replies