Is It Worth Changing The Tyres on a Hybrid Bike to Make It Go Faster?

Falconjack on 12/09/2020 - 19:46

I bought a new hybrid Giant bike and am pretty happy with the frame weight, front suspension and ride comfort. As expected it can't go as fast as a road bike. It currently has the grippy tyres that you'd expect of a hybrid, halfway in thickness between a mountain and road bike. I am thinking of changing the tyres or wheels all together to thinner, less grippy ones. Has anyone done this? If so, have you noticed a significant improvement in speed and efficiency? Was it worth it? How much would it cost? All tips welcome.

PS: I'm a noob when it comes to cycling so I don't plan on getting competitive or spending thousands on a bike (not yet any way)

Sports & Outdoors

Comments

  • brokenglish on 12/09/2020 - 19:54
    +4

    Forget tyre, use aerodynamics

    • oscargamer on 12/09/2020 - 19:56

      Wow. Balls of steel

    • teardrops21 on 13/09/2020 - 07:02

      Would love to see them do that in the tour de france

  • contrafibularities on 12/09/2020 - 19:59
    +1

    I did this a few years ago - I went from knobbly tyres to slicks and it was a game changer since I only used it for commuting.

    • Falconjack on 12/09/2020 - 20:00

      Much faster?

      • perhaps on 12/09/2020 - 21:17
        +1

        its a "game changer" so id assume so

  • contrafibularities on 12/09/2020 - 20:02

    Yes. But my bike had knobbly tires which were bullet proof but slow, if you’re going from a less serious tread to slicks it may not be as noticeable.

  • bobkin on 12/09/2020 - 20:20
    +2

    Changing would make a significant difference. Look at continental gatorskins (or gatorskin hardshells) or maxxis re-fuse for good puncture protection. 28mm is a good width for balancing speed and comfort and grip

    • DashCam AKA Rolts on 12/09/2020 - 20:46

      +1 for Continental Gatorskins. Quality tyres.

      • dcuksuop on 12/09/2020 - 23:18

        I went from gatorskins to GP4000s, massive difference in grip/comfort/rolling resistance.
        I wouldn't do gatorskins unless you absolutely need the puncture protection/ride through really debris filled roads.

    • Falconjack on 13/09/2020 - 09:27

      Nice, I was looking at the Maxxis from 99 Bikes. Would I need to get a new tube if I was getting new slicks?

      • bobkin on 13/09/2020 - 10:34

        How wide are your current tyres and what size are you looking to change to? Most likely your current tubes will work

        • Falconjack on 13/09/2020 - 11:02

          Current are 42mm and tready, looking at getting 28mm silcks following advice from others here.
          The wheel rim is 700

        • bobkin on 13/09/2020 - 11:21

          That is quite a big difference. If buying from 99 bikes you can take your wheels in store and ask about minimum diameter for tyres and also about the tubes

  • Peter Enis on 12/09/2020 - 20:38
    +4

    If you wanted faster you should have gone for something without front suspension. Adds a lot of weight and you lose power when pedaling hard and it compresses. If it has lockout then try it.

  • Agarwal on 12/09/2020 - 20:42
    +1

    If you feel the need for speed, try painting it red.

  • bdl on 12/09/2020 - 20:43
    +3

    Eat less KFC

  • Seraphin7 on 12/09/2020 - 20:48
    +1

    Depends what sort of hybrid you've got.

    If it's more a mountain bike with quite fat tyres, knobbly tread, then yes … simply moving to slicks will give you a big improvement.

    If it's more a road bike with still more or less slick tyres that are quite slim, then no … you're pretty much already there as best you can in a hybrid.

    • teardrops21 on 13/09/2020 - 07:05
      +1

      This, and your tyre pressure will make a massive difference.

  • Markmathews on 12/09/2020 - 20:49
    +1

    Consider discarding the spandex and optimising the Lycra, super tight fitting with fluorescent colouring and decked out in corporate logo from France. This will make you go faster, be younger and earn the respect of admiring car drivers.

  • cerealsmok3r on 12/09/2020 - 21:01

    I don't have a hybrid bike but I did make the change from grippy tyres to slick tyres on my mountain bike and it made a a big difference in speed. I volunteered at a bike co-op so was able to snag a free pair but I've never gone back to it.

    Can't really comment on price but do keep in mind that you're trading off handling for speed so do proceed with caution.

    • Falconjack on 13/09/2020 - 09:28

      Nice! Did you need to change the tube as well when going from grippy tyres to slicks?

  • bongom on 12/09/2020 - 21:56
    +1

    Probably help if you tell us what size and brand your current tyres are?

  • GordonR on 12/09/2020 - 23:20
    +1

    I changed and it made a big difference… just ride on roads / pavements / paved areas.

  • dcuksuop on 12/09/2020 - 23:21

    What kind of wheels and tyres and brakes do you have?
    You could get a set of road wheels/tyres for when you want speed, and the knobby ones when you want to go off road. A set of wheels will make it easy to swap between.

    • [Deactivated] on 13/09/2020 - 00:00
      +1

      28mm diameter bike tyre sounds small… are they on bikes for ants?

  • crashloaded on 13/09/2020 - 21:05

    If you can get thick slicks for your wheel size I'd go for them. Haven't had a puncture in years.

  • Euphemistic on 14/09/2020 - 07:13

    Changing tyres will give you an improvement. Will it be significant? Depends on what you are changing from and to.

    You’ll get a more significant improvement in speed by switching to a full on road bike, and a bit less from a flat bar road bike.

    28mm on a hybrid bike is where it’s at. Check the tyres you are interested in related to rolling resistance. Some are better than others.

    Don’t necessarily inflate to max to get more speed. It has been shown that slightly lower pressure has more forgiveness for rough surfaces. It will also allow better grip.

  • 2ndeffort on 16/09/2020 - 11:49
    +1

    If you are riding mostly on paved surfaces then it will make a big difference as your rolling resistance will be lower. In terms of whether you will need to buy new inner tubes or not it probably depends on the width of your current tubes and tyres and the width of the tyres you are going to. I would also be interested in the width of the rim you want to fit the tyres to. You cant always fit significantly thinner tyres onto a much wider rim. Going from 45 back to 28 might be worth checking first whether whatever type of wheels you are using are compatible with 28 tyres. UK shop Merlin has some pretty good deals at the moment on Schwalbe G-One Gravel tyres in the 30-38 width. https://www.merlincycles.com/en-au/cyclocross-tyres-75333/ I know a few guys that are pretty serious roadies and who ride and love these on their road bikes.

    • Falconjack on 19/09/2020 - 07:44
      +1

      Thanks mate that was incredibly helpful! I might take the rim into a bike shop and mix and match. I'm looking at 32 inch tyres at this stage to be safe.
      Are cyclocross gravel tyres fast? They look very practical.

      • 2ndeffort on 19/09/2020 - 13:05

        Gravel Tyres are a half way step between road and dirt. The G-Ones are a road biased version of Gravel meant for either road or very firm dirt. I ride with guys that prefer the better ride you get with a wider tyre on a lower pressure and they ride G-one 30 tyres on road bikes. These guys are hitting 70 km/hr on long descents so they go OK. I think the lowest commonlt available rolling resistance tyres are the Continental Grand Prix 5000 but they are taditional road bike tyres. They come in a 28 but they can be expensive, my local bike shop charges $130 ish per tyre. You can pick them up online for half that but I reckon they would be overkill for a hybrid, particularly one with suspension. The G-Ones with the tiny little knobs on them are not uncommon in the bunch I ride with.

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