Question: Mountain bike wheels for road bike?

[westminstergirl]

I have a mountain bike but my DH has a road bike and I would like us to take our bicycles on holiday to ride on some mountain trails (downhill!).

Does anyone know if it is possible to fit 'mountain bike' wheels & tyres to a road bike?!

 

[geargrrl]

The rims(the metal part of the wheel) are probably a completely different width and diameter. Sometimes you can pit a wider true Ina road rim, but I suspect it's not going to work.

 

[westminstergirl]

The rims(the metal part of the wheel) are probably a completely different width and diameter. Sometimes you can pit a wider true Ina road rim, but I suspect it's not going to work.

Thanks geargrrl, I thought that was probably the case :-(

Think we might hire mountain bikes next year (rather than invest in a bike rack when it's just mine that we'd be taking) and then see how we get on.

 

[geargrrl]

eep that should say "wider tire on a road bike rim" nothing like typing on the tablet first thing in the morning.

 

[abc]

Put the 2 bikes next to each other. You'll see if the wheels are the same size.

 

[altagirl]

Put the 2 bikes next to each other. You'll see if the wheels are the same size.

But even if they're the same wheel size, there's very little chance you'd fit a knobby tire on a road bike. They're not designed to fit. Plus the geometry would make it a rough and scary ride descending on dirt in most situations...

 

[abc]

But even if they're the same wheel size, there's very little chance you'd fit a knobby tire on a road bike. They're not designed to fit.

If they're the same size, it's easy to put the mtn bike wheel on the road bike. Whether it fits or not, it'll immediately become quite obvious!

Chances are they're not the same size. And that would also be apparent.

The only chance the two are the same size, are when the "mtn bike" is actually a hybrid, and the "road bike" is actually a cycle-cross. In that situation, the ride on the cross bike with knobby won't be all that different from the hybrid bike!

What other combo can you think of that would make them even "look" similar?

29" looks similar to 700C wheels but the brakes won't fit. Same with 650 vs 26", again the brakes are on the wrong height.

Plus the geometry would make it a rough and scary ride descending on dirt in most situations

If the 2 bikes have the same wheels, the geometry would be similar enough one can SAFELY ride on the same trail.

 

[westminstergirl]

I suggested that it (just) might be possible to get MTB tyres to DH but he says it just wouldn't be comfortable etc. because everything else about the road bike is also wrong for trails...

 

[geargrrl]

People ride cross bikes on trails all the time. The tread isn't as aggressive as MTB tread but switching to a cross tire might be a viable option. The likelihood of finding a cross tire that would fit a road wheel might be pretty high.

 

[abc]

I suggested that it (just) might be possible to get MTB tyres to DH but he says it just wouldn't be comfortable etc. because everything else about the road bike is also wrong for trails...

He's probably right.

If it's a dedicated road bike, it won't take a tyre much bigger than what's on it right now. So that's not going to help much. And "everything" which may include geometry, brakes and even gears, will indeed by "wrong" for trail riding.

Not worth destroying the road bike in the experiment! Much cheaper to just rent some REAL mountain bike for the holiday.

 

[altagirl]

People ride cross bikes on trails all the time. The tread isn't as aggressive as MTB tread but switching to a cross tire might be a viable option. The likelihood of finding a cross tire that would fit a road wheel might be pretty high.

Yeah - that's true, but cross bikes usually have wider forks and wider rear triangles to allow for the slightly wider knobby tires. And the geometry is more slack.

This isn't to say that a really skilled rider can't successfully ride a road bike on a trail. But I think for the average person who isn't already a skilled off road rider, this would be potentially dangerous (obviously depends on the trail). I don't know what they were planning on riding, but she said "downhill" riding, in which case it's utterly ridiculous unless you are seriously amazing on a bike... I don't know if she meant just downhill on regular trails or on actual downhill trails, but I wouldn't recommend trying to convert a road bike for this use no matter what the trail. Rent one and it will be much more fun!

 

[geargrrl]

This brings to mind an old TV ad with Lance A. taking a road bike onto a trail.....old Subaru ad? Years ago...

 

[altagirl]

This brings to mind an old TV ad with Lance A. taking a road bike onto a trail.....old Subaru ad? Years ago...

There's a recent one too - I can't remember who the rider is or what the ad was for, but he was doing backflips and all sorts of craziness on a road bike on dirt. I mean - it's certainly possible if you've got the skills....

Haha, I remember a guy who was out at the local dirt jumps on a rigid 29er one day. He was KILLING it - backflips, huge jumps and tricks that were super impressive to watch. Worked great until he bent the frame in half. Just because it's possible to do things that the bike wasn't designed for doesn't mean it's a good idea.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I actually think that the biggest concern I'd have here is braking power. Road bike brakes are puny compared to mountain bike brakes. I think that's even the case for V-brakes, but my cross country bike has powerful disc brakes, and my downhill bike has disc brakes with even bigger rotors. For downhill, you want brakes that will be effective.

 

[westminstergirl]

Yeah - that's true, but cross bikes usually have wider forks and wider rear triangles to allow for the slightly wider knobby tires. And the geometry is more slack.

This isn't to say that a really skilled rider can't successfully ride a road bike on a trail. But I think for the average person who isn't already a skilled off road rider, this would be potentially dangerous (obviously depends on the trail). I don't know what they were planning on riding, but she said "downhill" riding, in which case it's utterly ridiculous unless you are seriously amazing on a bike... I don't know if she meant just downhill on regular trails or on actual downhill trails, but I wouldn't recommend trying to convert a road bike for this use no matter what the trail. Rent one and it will be much more fun!

abc - Thanks, we're both far from skilled and would be taking it very carefully. I think there's no way it's worth not having the proper equipment and I've found some reasonably good value places we can rent from next summer and see how we go. I'm a bit of a wimp and I might find I like the idea of biking down trails more fun than the reality...

 

[altagirl]

Where are you going on your holiday? Many places have lessons and such available and that can definitely make it a more enjoyable experience! Or at least maybe we can at least help steer you to good trails suited to your skill level.