J_Chickles

thats certainly a neat little tractor

50PlusCycling

I’ve been riding a mountain bike on the road for the past few weeks. It’s a dual-suspension free-ride bike, so it’s heavy, cushy, and has big, knobby tires. But it’s a very good city bike. Potholes, uneven pavement, curbs, riding across dirt and grass when the road ends, it does it all well. It’s not fast (though certainly not slow), but I still get a great workout. For city riding I add a little more air pressure to the tires, and adjust the suspension more firmly.

eshew

I would just ride it as is, maybe a nicer saddle, pedals & grips. Tires are funny, if you ride em enough they will eventually become slicks... I've been working on a pair for a while now.

Calsun

An excellent road bike can be purchased on Craigslist for less than $1,300 with CF frames, brake shifters, Dura Ace 105 components, 25mm rims and tires. If you have the space for an additional bike it is the simplest approach. Faster tires and a bike that is 15 lbs lighter will make a great deal of difference on the road.

Repack Rider

When I sold mountain bikes in the '80s, I took my Ritchey on a number of century rides. I had no trouble keeping up.

I modified my bike with a light set of wheels and close-ratio gears, used the pedals (and shoes) from my road bike, and pumped up the 2.125 street slicks to 80 psi.

Here I am in 1982 on the Hekaton Century with a friend, who was riding my Breezer.

plumberroy

I am just getting back to riding too I have an old Univega Alpina 501 mountain bike. That before health issues took me off riding. I put 26 x 2 Semi slicks on made a big difference. I actually had it out this weekend . It now has drop bars and friction bar end shifters

ussprinceton

Jax Rhapsody

Basically what I call street fighters. A rigid mtb with street tires, geared to go relatively fast. Are they road bikes, no, outright replace them, no- just as fun and as far as urban exploration, a bit more capable, I wouldn't be jumping up curbs with my 700c bikes and such. And the geo of these old bikes aren't that far off from roadbikes, anyway, so they handle fine.

I have two; an 83 High Sierra with a road double and 7sp rear, with a narrow Kwest on the front, and had the widest one on the back- I need to replace, since I screwed up the rear pad adjustment and they skinned the sidewall. Those tires aren't that bad. A 93 Giant Rincon that's single speed, and has some 1.5 Kenda no-names on it, that was the only matching sets available at the co-op to give as much advantage of it being ss as possible, since ditching the gears and related seemed to barely make a difference in weight. It's running a 46/17 for now, but want to make it 48/16 like my LaJolla. I'm thinking putting slicks on it, there were a set of Speacialized ones at the co-op, but one seemed to dissapear. I also have a 2012(?) GF Katai I want to make my street fighter masterpiece since it's alloy; with a carbon fork, wheels, 1x9 setup, slicks, other lightwieght stuff.

Robert7659

Fat slick tires are always nice on any bike. I use Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires of various sizes on various bikes.

Rick_D

Absolutely a positive move. I converted my mtn bike to commuting and the knobbys had to go. Not only are they noisy and don't accelerate or coast well, they're much easier to get into a skid when braking hard. What makes them bite cornering on loose surfaces can make them squirrely cornering on pavement (some less aggressive off-center blocks can add climbing traction in loose stuff). Also learned to use puncture-resistant tires for those usual hazards. Mine has 26" wheels and I expect the newer size standards offer many more choices.

Conti Travel Contacts

2nd View of tread
I'd give it a go, then if it isn't pleasant to ride either looking at component swaps or a different bike.

Trav1s

My friend is taking a mid 90's CroMo Hardrock and slowing converting it into a paved trail/urban runner. He swapped the Specialized Crossroads for Schwalbe Marathons (Plus maybe). He also upgraded the grips and is using RF Chesters. (We also talked about swapping to RF Rides if he wants to be done with pins.) He's amazed at how much easier it rolls and the much improved ride. Comparted to other knobby tires, the Crossroads are a great all around tire but definitely are more geared to off road than on. I looking for one myself to convert to an around town runner when I don't want to take my Cannondale Quick 1.

fishboat

My bike at a winter home(FL) is a drop bar converted Trek 8900 that runs 26x2 Schwalbe Marathon Supremes**. Nice, cushy riding, fast bike that is a great all-rounder...errand bike, off-road trails(this is FL..), and paved surfaces anywhere.

(** no longer available..fortunately I scored 4 sets before they evaporated

woodyj21

I appreciate all the detail in this thread. Just got my first non-big-box-store bike, a vintage bianchi grizzly. She comes back from her tune-up at the shop today and after I get used to her, I may be looking to put less aggressive tires on for in-city riding. Looking forward to the journey!

fishboat

I have an '01 Grizzly..wonderful bike.

I suggest to you and anyone looking to run street tires on a mtb..try Schwalbe Big Ben tires. I run Big Bens on my Grizzly and my touring bike('93 Trek 970 drop bar conversion). really nice tire..cushy ride and very fast(low roll resistance) tire with plenty of grip. Every time I ride either bike I'm always amazed at how easy they run...I've been running them several years and I'm still surprised each time. Fun tire.

(I typically ride Lemond Poprads with 700x37 Marathon Supremes..also very fast tire. So switching to a 26x2 tire is an adjustment, but the Big Bens still seem very quick)