Familiar with bike tires?

[Lurch]

I've got into biking again. The exercise feels good. A 15-25 min ride before breakfast is a fantastic way to start the day.
I looked at new expensive bikes but ended up buying 2 nice thrift store mountain bikes and am fixing them up by adding new brake pads and tires.
I got one for $25 and another for $35. Tires and tubes aren't expensive at walmart, and they don't seem hard to work on once you learn how from youtube videos.

Question : these are both mountain bikes with mtn bike tires. One of them needs a new tire, it's warped from sitting too long.
Can I put a street tire of the same size on it instead of another mtn bike tire?
The type of riding I'll mostly do will be street riding around town, and street tires have less resistance so will be a bit easier to pedal.

[Easto]

You can put on virtually anything that will fit i.e. the same size (diameter). Also, you can go up and down with the width as long as it will fit between the forks and rear chainstays. If you're not going to be doing much (or any) off-road riding, a smoother tire will have less rolling resistance and make street riding more enjoyable.

What size tires are on it now?

[Philip]

As Easto said, you can put street tires as long as they're the same diameter, and not much different width.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Used to bike a lot when I was a kid, my dad was into custom building racing bikes...had quite a shop in the basement. Every weekend (for bout 7 months out of the year) he did 25-50 mile rides with a bunch of his friends, and a few times a year, even up to "century runs" (100 miles) and I recall a few bi-century runs.

Every week...time trials too..10 mile races. I did those a few times.

All about what you're riding one for a surface.
Mountain bikes...typically sorta..."knobby"..think about "grip" and durability....they're thicker, and they take more abuse (major bumps, and jumps, side wall pinches, etc)
Street bikes...don't need knobby, as it adds friction, rolling resistance, so street bikes typically prefer to be smoother, thinner. Wouldn't want them on a mountain bike.

Certainly you can put mountain bike tires on a street bike, and visa versa.

[Lurch]

You can put on virtually anything that will fit i.e. the same size (diameter). Also, you can go up and down with the width as long as it will fit between the forks and rear chainstays. If you're not going to be doing much (or any) off-road riding, a smoother tire will have less rolling resistance and make street riding more enjoyable.

What size tires are on it now?

It has 26 x 1.95 on it now.

It's a blue Roadmaster Mt Fury. It still had the new literature on it, it was never ridden.
It was in someone's cellar for several years.
They're a pretty decent bike, not high end but should make a good bike for exercise.

[Lurch]

The bike I've ridden the most has 24 x 1.95 knobby tires.
It seemed real hard to pedal at first but my legs are toning up again.

I'm going to ride these bikes for a while and see how I like them.
I may possibly want to sell these and get a bike with 700c or 28" or bigger wheels.
A hybrid bike appeals to me.

But all in all, I'm looking for the cardiovascular workout more than anything else, and these small bikes will definitely work for that.

It's refreshing. My whole body seems to feel better : my back, neck, legs, mood, etc.

I had a bike accident about 11 years ago when I broke my left ankle.
I kept riding motorcycles after that but later decided to stop riding them and stay on 4 wheels.
Now I wish I'd got another bike and kept riding for fitness.
It's a great form of exercise.

[Humboldt]

Hi Lurch

Hope you're well.

Agreed, love the biking. That said, I haven't ridden in over 2 years so thanks for the reminder.

'96 Specialized M2 StumpJumper with Ritchey pedals.

Traded the pedals for a 6 pack of St Pauli Girl.

Love that bike.

My one comment about tire types is that on pavement, mt bike tires will give you way more grip for safety if/when you encounter traction issues.

Emergency braking, sharp turns, wet roads...

My worst bike wreck was on a rounded corner coming off my university.

My fault, checked for traffic but didn't stop at the stop sign.
Slow-ish but not slow enough.
Road tires.

Chin to the bone, fractured wrist, bad knee.

On my mountain bike I'd've been fine.

For me, it's a trade off between the extra energy it takes to overcome the traction when you don't need it and what the traction can do when it really makes a difference.

[YeOldeStonecat]

I kept riding motorcycles after that but later decided to stop riding them and stay on 4 wheels.
Now I wish I'd got another bike and kept riding for fitness.
It's a great form of exercise.

It is a great form of exercise....and it's non-impact (unlike....jogging for example). So those with compressed disks, or sciatica issues....can still enjoy execise...unlike running or even speed walking.

I also used to ride motorcycles...really enjoyed picking up older "barn find" Harleys..fixing them up, selling..finding another.
Sold our stable of Harleys about 5 years ago, but starting to miss riding terribly. While it's not exercise...I really just miss it. Hoping to pick up another project bike this spring and return to the hobby.

[Lurch]

It is a great form of exercise....and it's non-impact (unlike....jogging for example). So those with compressed disks, or sciatica issues....can still enjoy execise...unlike running or even speed walking.

Yes. The impact of jogging seemed to deplete my magnesium and that was when I realized I had to stop jogging and conserve magnesium.
So far I have not got that from biking, and I doubt I will, because there isn't any impact, yet I get very good cardiovascular benefits from riding bike.

[Easto]

I'm glad to see all of the members who enjoy riding! Right now I'm doing a little under 3000 miles a year. The biggest downside is if you'll be riding on the streets. You really need to be careful. I'm fortunate enough to have plenty of bike paths so that I can ride 50 miles and never see a stop sign.

[Lurch]

This is my 26" Roadmaster bike after I put new tires on it. The new tires ride nicely.
They're not very good bikes. My 24" Roadmaster bike has better brakes. This one is older, but was never used until I got it.
It has painted wheels, so when you squeeze the brakes, you wear the paint off the sides of the rims.
But with that said, this bike might make a good spare bike to ride sometimes.

I stopped into a local bike shop today and bought an early 70s Huffy 3 speed bike that's in nice condition and was tuned up.
It has a nice patina and the mechanic did a nice job of restoring it without repainting it. The guy has a passion for 3 speed bikes and says he owns lots of bikes. There are 3 speed bike clubs.

Those guys don't like Roadmaster bikes. He wouldn't even take it in trade. They don't want Roadmaster bikes in their shop at all.
Can you say "cheap department store junk"? LoL

So for now I've got the 24" bike for sale and will run this one and the Huffy 3 spd.
He also has a nice Schwinn 3 speed but wants $180 for it.
I got this Huffy for $80, which is a nice deal IMHO because 1) it's a good classic bike 2) it's been totally tuned and gone through 3) it has brand new tires and a rear view mirror. Leather seat with springs, and a leather tool bag. Why am I so hepped up over a 50 year old bike that cost $80, when their new bikes are $429 to $6000? I feel like I'm getting a brand new bike, but actually, it's better than a new bike in ways. Because they don't make bikes like the Huffy 3 speed any more. New bikes feel flimsy, IMHO.

But hey, any day is good as long as you rode your bike, right?
Even the bad days are good, if you ride your bike.
I love the cardio workout. Can't be beat.

Even riding this Chinese junk is way better than not riding at all.

[Lurch]

This is my "new" 50 year old Huffy 3 speed bike.
I think it's an awesome machine.
I rode it quite a bot today. It rides really nice and everything on it works great.
It shifts perfectly.
It feels good to ride a bike made for a tall person again.