Road wheels for mountain bike?

I don't know of any off the shelf kit to convert your mtb to a road bike, but the cheapest, most effective solution might be to buy a good pair of slick tires. Makes a huge difference in speed.

yes, the slicks are all you should worry about

even ppl like pinarello are making flat bar road bikes now

The road bike is such an elegant thing, to think of it built up on those delicate 700c rims. There's no way that you would ever want to fit those rims onto a beefy wide mountain bike, it would be a sin. You would offend the mountain people and the roadies all at once. The slicks, combined with trying to bring a mountain bikes weight down would really get you very far.

Chances are you couldn't do it without modifying the braking system. The rims on a MTB are much thicker than a raod bike. At best look into wheels for hybrid bikes, but slicks should make a big difference. They did for me.

If you have disc brakes then Mavic makes the Speedcity rims that have disc hubs and mountain bike hub spacing (135mm). They are 700c, and bomb-proof.

Do Ritchey Logic Tom Slick 26" only 1 inch wide 100 psi fit mountain rims? This site seems to say they do but I didn't think you could go that narrow. epinions.combike Tires All Tom Slick 26Open ↗

TKOS said:

Chances are you couldn't do it without modifying the braking system. The rims on a MTB are much thicker than a raod bike. At best look into wheels for hybrid bikes, but slicks should make a big difference. They did for me.

I admire a person of conviction.🙂

Hooben said:

The road bike is such an elegant thing, to think of it built up on those delicate 700c rims. There's no way that you would ever want to fit those rims onto a beefy wide mountain bike, it would be a sin. You would offend the mountain people and the roadies all at once. The slicks, combined with trying to bring a mountain bikes weight down would really get you very far.

Tom Slicks fit fine. Those are the ones I got. Your local LBS should be able to help you pick out a nice pair as well.

I am debating 1 inch wide versus 1.4 inch wide I like the fact that 1 inch wide can take 100psi but is it to fragile to take short cuts over gravel?

insung said:

Tom Slicks fit fine. Those are the ones I got. Your local LBS should be able to help you pick out a nice pair as well.

I got back into road biking by putting a set of lightweight Bontrager slicks on my MTB. That did make a difference. There are two types of slicks - lightweight, and heavy, NYC messenger strength slicks. Unless you ride on really nasty roads, get the light tires. Try to stay off of gravel - it won't kill the tires, but the bike will be a lot more slippery than it was with knobbies.

Be aware that the seating position on a MTB is all wrong for distance riding. It is set up for out of the saddle sprint and coast, not for remaining in one position for long periods of time. Doesn't mean you can't ride the MTB on the road, just that you will probably get sore after a couple of hours.

I ended up building up a new road bike - carbon frame, Campy Chorus group. Comparing it to the MTB with slicks is like comparing a Ferrari to a truck. So if the road bug bites you after you've been riding on slicks for a while, look into a good road bike.

Not sure but you might be able to use 650c wheels. Mountain bike wheels are 26x1.00 to 2.3 which are 559mm or 22.0079 VS 650c Road wheels which are 571mm or 22.4803. If your brakes will adjust to the wheels it might work. Check with your local bike shop they could tell you for sure. Check out Sheldon Browns web site go to wheels then to tire sizing theres alot of good info there.

sheldonbrown.comindex.htmlOpen ↗