LOL, you just made a video talking extensively about your bike injuries and the fact that you need to make better decisions. So, WTF is this? Slick tires on a MTB trail?
Just shows Seth does still have it in him to be a bit wild. There a chance he recorded this before that video, so that might have something to do with it.
Seth a few videos ago, "i need to take care of my body, i cant keep getting away with doing raunchy stuff" Seth today "Hi my name is Seth and welcome to jackass"
These aren't even slicks. They're round. Slicks are very flat with thick sidewalls and a flat surface. In the right conditions, slicks have the best traction.
Seth to his audience: I gotta be more careful so i don't get hurt! Next video: Let's put slick tires on a mountain bike.. This is why i love these channels XD
I remember going like 35mph down a road slipping sideways like that. Mushy layers of leaves I think. Not really sure. One minute I'm cruising on the last leg home. Next moment I'm... Perpendicular! The bike and I both were chest height perpendicular to the road with my head over the break lanes line. All I could do was brace my muscles. Maybe get my arm slightly out. Thank the lords there were no cars were around, and I slid with the bike off the road. It actually was a pretty smooth fail all considering. Just bruised and rashes. One guy saw it. Slowed down to see if I got up, and then when I did drove off. Those falls are scary. It spun me straight into concrete in a blink of an eye, like someone ripping a rug out from under you. I seen someone skip hard backwards like that on ice carrying laundry too. I just warned him of the black ice! He slipped so hard the laundry basket flew 10 feet into the air scattering everything right around him. Basket landing on his legs. I would have laughed if I didn't witness the violence involved of that slip, since I just warned him. I yelled if he was okay, and he shrugged me off complaining. Long story short. I would never use these tires for that reason. Falls like that at speed are no joke. I'm not skilled enough.
A high enough sustained speed can actually kill you without hitting an object. You just need to hit air molecules. Unfortunately it happened to the astronauts on the Columbia space shuttle in 2003. Not a concern at mountain biking speeds luckily.
Slick tires on mtbs for riding around town works great. Rough roads, jumping curbs, metal drain grates, etc are no problem. You can get an old 26er full rigid or fs for almost nothing, add some slicks and you'll have a good short commuter bike.
Exactly. I've been riding town like that for close to 40 years now (ouch.) Tire used to be Fat boysl The extra volume compared to road bikes make it much safer and confortable when you hit obstacles, especially at night.
Been saying the same for decades, good puncture resistant rain slicks like schwalbe marathon so much better for city riding/commuting. Fat, not narrow too .
It's what I was thinking, would be fun to use these on my bike since slick tires are actually better on wet pavement than knobs. Buuuut there are tires like the Schwalbe Hurricane that I use that essentially are smooth in the middle and have knobs at the sides so if I go on a dirt path or just off the pavement to get round people and the dirt is wet it does provide some slide security. It's what I use for commuting anyway. Full sus MTBs are the best commuters, I can just run over potholes without caring. And take shortcuts down stairs or jumping things. Plus mine's basically a trail version of an Enduro bike that focused on pedal efficiency so I don't even have pedal bob unless I stand up. My friend has slick tires on his old hardtail. He punctured his tires once on some gravel and there was a hole in it so he changed tires and decided to go with slicks since we mostly ride on shared paths and pavement anyway. Ours are all 27.6 though not 26.
This was a lot of fun. I designed these tires when I was managing product for a certain companies BMX category. This was a perfect proof of concept. Thanks dude!
I have Smoothies on my GT 29" BMX. I love 'em rolling around the city, but the one time I rode on hard dirt, I was terrified. Perfect for streets and sidewalks, though!
I read an article I believe in a bicycling magazine where slick tires were very good in gravel because the gravel became the tread. The slick tire would effectively mold itself to the gravel. Your seeing the same thing with these, as you said, on dry rocks you had plenty of traction. So I'd bet these would be excellent on gravel. It's only when you get into slick terrain that they stop working well, there is nothing for the tire to mold to and provide traction.
@@JCintheBCC That was the knee-jerk thought that popped in my head, particularly the video of the old mountain biker that lives(or at least lived; the videos are a decade old) out in Moab and drives a Crown Vic around on the rock trails on bald car tires - clearly this is the mountain bike for Moab LOL.
Fun anecdote: when I used to commute in the city on my bike in the winter I would run skinny slicks on my mountain bike. The skinny tires would slice through the slush and snow to get grip on the asphalt underneath. It seemed to work better than big knobby mountain bike tires that would float on top of the snow and get minimal traction.
interestingly enough, rally cars use way skinnier (and, of course, studded) tires in the snow as well because its easier to control cutting through the snow as opposed to floating overtop it with wide tires.
That’s how traction works on a hard surface. Knobs don’t dig into asphalt or concrete or rock or similar. All knobs or grooves do is help to get contaminants out of that interface. On a round profile and skinny tire like a bike the shape mostly does that. With knobs you’re holding a lot of rubber back from the surface that you don’t need to.
To follow on to this I suggest you do the same with Surfas Drifter tires. They are basically an inverted tread. I’ve initially put these on our hardtail trail bikes for long distance light road touring such as RAGBRAI. Usually only use them for pavement and gravel but a blue level trail ride came up spur of the moment with out of town guests. I was surprised by how well these worked in the dirt and sand. On hard pack the slick provides more contact surface. On soft, as the tire sinks in the recessed areas of tread provided plenty of bite for my style of riding. On pavement I inflate for 15% drop. For off pavement I inflate for 18% drop. When our trail bikes are getting used primarily in the woods I still keep the knobby tires on for more aggressive riding. But I no longer worry about going off pavement when I have these particular street tires on our 27.5 hardtails.
I did something similar on my Dirt Jumper with a Maxxis Hookworm on the back and a High Roller on the front. It was a nightmare. So much better with a Kenda SB8 on the back with some tread than nothing at all when off road imo.
Something I've done which I'm sure Seth & a portion of his subs have done is run knobbies on the front & slicks on the rear, most of your weight is on the rear tire so you'll pick up more speed with a slick, there's way less weight on the front so knobbies won't slow you down much & you get all the advantages like better traction, cornering, turning, softens the road chatter, etc. I'm NOT a professional so I'm sure someone can explain it better than me, you get the best of both worlds but I'm sure there's drawbacks too -Paragraph Guy
You can ride most trails on slicks if you adjust your line. For off-camber I always take the high line and position my body to allow the bike to slide a bit without pitching me off. The biggest problem with slicks IMHO is that you have a very limited window of grip so as soon as you hit something you haven't anticipated you're coming off, knobblies on the other hand give you the option to take a variety of lines without losing control.
That’s awesome. My dad put Schwalbe Big Apples, 2.3’s on his old Cannondale MTB, turned it into an all-purpose commuter gravel bike of sorts, LOL. Good job Seth!! I would really love to see you come ride trails in Knoxville, TN someday!
I've been running 27.5x2.35 schwalbe slicks on my DB Release for rays mtn bike park for a few years. I wouldn't call it a slopestyle bike but it definitely increases capability and fun factor. Also $60 for set of tires is cheaper than adding another bike to the stable.
Thats exactly why I love "underbiking". I frequently went down some trails in my local forests with my gravelbike on slicks and got a good feeling for what the limits of my tires are. Makes you very aware of what slicks can handle and what not. (Normally I travel 90%+ asphalt with them, so it makes sense to leave them on)
I did this about 10 years ago. Bought a 93 GT Timberline. Got the bike off Crrsigslist in Brevard. Had a $25 Dicks Sporting Goods gift card id won at a work Christmas party and bought some Hookworm tires and rode it all over DuPont. At the time I had a couple supermoto motorcycles and thought it would be fun on a bicycle! I had a blast! Tires worked better than expected!
I run the fat Surly Extraterrestrials on a second set of wheels for commuting and urban fun. I'll occasionally leave them on when going on milder trail rides with my wife or son. I can tell just from those times, I'd NEVER want to run true slicks on a MTB. Add in that I've never had a non black tire feel anywhere near as sticky as the equivalent in black, and you are BRAVE sir.
Such a fun clip - Love it! I ran a DHF Minion / Rear Hookworm conbo on a Norco Rampage HT for years, rode it on everything from skate park, through DH trails. It was surprisingly effective, and rolled so well. I got used to the limits of the rear tyre, and just worked with it. I totally forgot about that setup until watching this clip. I currently run "less tyre" then typical - 29" Rekons 2.6 front , 2.4 rear on a Sunn Kern EN 29 Finest - Love it, across a wide array of trails & DH - I think many riders have more tyre than talent, in a non-condescending way, and loose out on better skill building because of it.
I ran a Maxxis rear tire (cannot remember the exact model) on both my front and rear wheels for years and loved it. They had very small tightly packed knobs in the middle and big downhill knobs on the edges. My theory was to get the best of both worlds and for Florida MTBing anyway it worked great imo
I have to say that the continental contact speed slick tire was the best braking traction I have ever felt from a slick tire. And I tried a lot of slick tires when i was working in a bike shop for a decade. Btw. Seth.. you went full on the descend.. I love how you said I'll go slower on the real descend.. Jesus man that was ruthless...
I used Continental city tires on MTB and they offer better grip than for example my Maxxis Ikon tires which is crazy. They are not knobby, but they have a fine pattern. They are quite heavy but i really liked them.
don't know why you haven't been showing up in my feeds, but Im so glad you're back here. Love your content, even though Ive never mountain biked before. Time to binge what I've missed!
i discovered some xc tires have less rolling resistance than many commuter/slick tires of the same width, stuff like racing ralphs roll faster than holy rollers and things like that while also giving you more grip off road compared to them
Yeah, the rubber compound and the casing matter a lot in determining rolling resistance. Just look at how massive the difference between fast and slow road tires can be, and they are all slicks. So it makes sense that some high performance XC racing tires with relatively small knobs and thin casings roll quicker than a random commuter tire, slick or not.
Back in the 90's when I was young and stupid I did some mountain biking with slicks on, once. Needless to say, it was an experience, one that I'll never repeat.
Back in the nineties I made my own xc racing slicks and then later, purchased some. Tried them for a season but finally concluded the obvious benefits just didn't out weigh the trade off in traction. Sure, some trails they probably would be just fine but ultimately, I chose to run the widest aggressive tires I could find.
What makes me a little crazy is the normal MTB tires used on those urban downhills. They got slick concrete, some asphalt and wood wall rides. And I have tested Maxxis Hookworms against regular MTB tires. The Hookworms are way gripper. And a pure fat slick, maybe 2.5 on dry pavement is better than any knobby.
It's because they tend to lean towards more DH and heavy-duty casings as opposed to grip. I'm sure with urban freeride the grip they have, even on massive knobbies, is more than enough; I don't think you need that much to go down a 30 foot stairset or a massive canal gap, and I'm inclined to think that I'd rather have stronger tyres in those cases.
When 26" wheels were still the norm, I put 2.4 Holy Rollers on my Freeride bike. The inverted knob pattern was the perfect blend of slick tire rolling with enough traction to stay upright - Most of the time. I do remember going on one trail with a 3 foot drop off and landing on an off-camber rock. I hit the ground so fast, I thought my frame had snapped. Nope. Tire just slipped out and threw me down like what happened to you on these leaves. When the rest of your trails are almost-asphalt-hard hardpack, with not as much leaf cover or as many roots, the slick tires work phenomenally.
Yeeessss! Back to experiments! 🙌 I was wondering about these slicks for doing long rides on paved paths so that I don't wear out the soft knobby tires. That drop 180 is fire! 🔥
Hi Seth, love your content! I'd like to address an issue regarding the 45 degree griptape ramp... The Wooden deck lip - those planks of wood sticking out (on the roll-in) are kicking the back wheel up. If you can fabricate a smooth roll-in, like on most modern halfpipes or mega ramps, you can ease into the descent without kicking the back tire up. Just a thought. might require a lot of work, but the test could be more accurate
there's a lovely middle ground that usually gets ignored for off-road uses; large volume tires with nearly no knobs like the Maxxis Holy Rollers and Arrow Racing Launch. They're worthless in mud but absolutely shred in some kinds of dirt and sand
Big ben, smart sam, cx tyres like racing ralph really do provide a good solution for a lot of cases. My big bens are semislick after 4 years on a cargo bike, but I guess we can't ask bike tyres to last 10 00pkm?
Can we talk about the absolutely SICK camera transition at 1:30?! I've been watching a long time, and I'm so impressed by these camera skills that just keep getting better and better. You're becoming a better cinematographer than cyclist at this point, Seth 😂. Side note: I was too excited about this to check if someone mentioned it already, so sorry if I'm repeating it.
Your filming really shared that anxiety you were experiencing. Thanks Seth for sharing. Glad you avoided breaking anything besides traction on the trail.
@@JoshuaCherwinski urban DH, paved trails like the ones they have in bentonville, mountain bikes used as commuter bikes, wide tired ebikes, beach cruisers, superfast XC rear tires for dry hardpack, beach racing(schwalbe's fastest ever MTB tire the Big One was specifically designed for this purpose),..., this tire specifically is a 29" BMX tire
I use Serfas Drifters occasionally for off pavement. They work very well. For all of my different tires I’m fussy about air pressure. When I’m using Drifters on pavement I inflate for 15% drop. When I occasionally ride them on dirt and sand I inflate for 18% drop.
Toward the middle of your video where you were riding on pavement is how I do my mountain biking. Except on just flat pavement, not in a skate park. My bike has street tread tires on it in the original mountain bike size. I absolutely love it, and I put about 60 Mi a week on it. I genuinely enjoy watching your videos and your trail rides, but it's too wild for me. I'll just live vicariously through watching your off-road adventures!
I use these for dry mtb, gravel, and sand, and pavement on a full rigid singlespeed, I really like how silent and smooth it is, they are great if you're not a newbie and know the limitations, they also keep you from going break neck speeds in dangerous situations.
I use 27.5x2.8 Schwalbe Super-MotoX’s on my Surley, pretty much slicks but with a slight amount of grip. Totally mountain bike with those in Colorado. No issues. Gravel, single track, road… all of it in one ride.
I've been running Schwalbe Crazy Bob semi slicks in 26" on a mtb for town, riding to work for years and the first time I tried them I was hooked for that type of riding. I've had knoblys wipe out on me many times on wet roads but you just feel secure. Canal paths, dusty dirt, dry grass, they just eat all that up.
The common saying in our motorcycle group is “confidence is key but overconfidence comes with consequences.” I have seen it happen so many times people will start to have fun and get confidence and speed up just to bite the dust soon after. Its one thing on a mountain bike but its a whole other deal with a 600lb adventure bike.
I'm glad to see someone is making slick mtb tires again. I had a set of Ritcheys in the 90s. I think they were called "moab Bite" or something like that. They were great for commuting & dry gravel / hard pack, but nothing else.
I used to run reverse "mild knobbly" on my mountainbike- really good on pavement - still ok in a bit of rain and bud - dry rock is excellent... lower pressure - larger contact patch - rubber gets huge friction - at the conforming interface. Conventional Tyre tread essentially pumps water and slop out of the way so there can be contact - rubber on "stiff" - deep wet leaves are hard to design for - knobs help to get some ground pressure on when everything is semi-solid slop.
I've got a wheelset with Schwalbe G-One Speed 29x2,35". They have a profile so flat that it's actually more cosmetic. I'd say these are not grippier than these white slicks. But they are very fast rolling, more versatile than one might think (gravel works just fine actually) and I use them on my rigid MTB if I need it to be in commuter mode. I think everyone needs a set of slicks
I did something like this 2 days ago. Central Ohio. Snow blowing sideways. I took my 20 year old Trek 820 out. On road slicks. Same thing. I was shocked by how well the tires were hanging on. I only rode 5 miles, so I imagine had I stayed out longer, I might have found a point of failure. Interesting video.
We run the WTB “Thickslick” on old Trek Marlins for getting around Burlington VT with the greenways and fairly smooth dirt paths around the tiny city. Would not have taken them to any legit trails. Kudos to you.
I often ride a cyclocross bike with 38c Shvable Marathon Allmotion tires in the spring on mud, and many are amazed at how such a rather narrow and bald tire often wins over toothy MTBs. The main problem with bald tires is fallen leaves, because they simply do not allow you to catch on a hard surface, so in the fall I usually change the tires to something more vicious with relatively rare spikes for better self-cleaning.
I put reverse knobbies on my mountain bike last year. Smooth on the center with cutout knobs for traction in turns. Love them for the lower rolling resistance.
Man, I’ve ridden a city slick tire (so treads without knobs) on dry loose soil singletrack, I really had to make sure my tires are in the ruts/track and not veer towards the berm. It was dicey going 30-40 kph downhill with the wheels trying to step out, but hella fun.
I've actually got a set of Maxxis Grifters I was going to put on my MTB when I injured my back last time. I find the dual suspension greatly helps when my lower back is mad getting back on the bike sooner for my paved riding which is like 90% of what I do for fitness. This actually makes me more inclined to try that out 😅 I was seriously considering buying another wheel set so I could swap in/out more easily.
I can say this, my 27.5 x 2.8 G-One Liteskin tires are hella fun. With the right considerations, I can take to the flow trails and git sendy and trialsy buuuut.... They can wash out without warning!! Street sessions will never be the same when my singlespeed Middlechild is wearing the G-Ones!!!
Seth New Year’s resolution - don’t get hurt - Seth says in the video - I have important stuff to do this week - Seth continues down wet trail on slick tires. Yep!
Loved this video! I ride WTB Slicks (more of a semi slick) on my Cube Reaction Hybrid (Bosch Powered Hardtail) as a commuter and it works perfectly. Rolls so much faster. Is much quieter on the road. And feels so much smoother. Great fun
I have 3" schwalbe super moto x semi-slicks on my commuter bike, and they are surprisingly good on dry trails (except loose gravel or similar). Wouldn't try to go fast there though.
I used to have slicks on my mountain bike during college. I used it as a commuter bike and then I would swap out to another set of wheels I had with my dirt tires. It was the best commuter ever riding to school dropping off ledges.
I ran some Schwalbe Thunder Burts on my 26" rigid mtb for years, on fast toe paths, park runs (gravel bike paths as they are now known). They barely had any knobs and had plenty of volume for a 2.1" tyre, they were fast, surprisingly grippy and comfortable and the ideal tyre for that type of riding. It all depends on how technical the route is, ie, how many tight turns and how bumpy.
I attended one XC Marathon race about 10 years ago with Continental Speed King semi-slick tires. I found them very low in rolling resistance. The grip was also surprisingly good on hardpack and rocky surface and not terrible in gravel either. Only wet roots were bad and... the nature of grip. Semi-slicks seem to grip as long as they don't skid and when they do, they become absolute sleighs. So downhill sections were slow and terrifying. I never used them again only because I hated coming downhill with them.
Sooo..... back in 1994, I put slicks (26x1.95@80psi) and a 52T big ring on my 90's AF MTB. Not for offroad. Not to be a roadie. With a calibrated Cateye computer, some ski goggles and a rather wet Welsh day, I got 57mph down the Graig hill into Pontypridd...... with cantiliver rim brakes 😅 Still have the bike at my folks' place, and it'll be moved to our bike collection in Colorado at some point. 52T remains....and it still has the 90's 150mm stem on it too 🤣🤣
True story. Went out on my Masi Giramondo on a very gentle trail. Very flat, pea sized gravel at most, bike outfitted with Panaracer slicks. Never had an issue on pavement or shorter stretches of gravel with this setup. I changed lanes on the trail to allow some folks coming the other direction a bit of room, about 12mph. Bike went down instantly, breaking my pinky off at the knuckle, the pinky metacarpal, and a fracture to my ring finger. 2 lessons: use more aggressive tires for loose gravel, and always wear gloves. Nearly 4 months and 140k+ of medical care, I wish I heeded my own advice.
I ran maxxis hookworms for years on an old maintain bike. I did use it mostly for urban riding, but I did a fair amount of singletrack too and they held up for a smooth tire!
13:41 That anxiety is exactly what I experienced when I took my gravel bike out to Berm Park, shortly after it opened - having never ridden a terrain park before, I found myself analyzing every move, and trying really hard to be moving, but in control. It wasn't fun in the moment, but I can definitely see, with practice and a properly spec'd bike, that I'd enjoy it.
Similarly, I've been running those Surly ExtraTerrestrial tires for many years in ALL situations (including three times doing the HuRaCaN 300). They're a very modest tire, as you know, and SUPER capable. Bonus being that they rock when you're off the dirt. That said, buddy and I were out on identical bikes but his knobbies vs. my ETs, yeah... he had way more traction. CAN you slick/semi-slick in these situations? Absolutely yes. Thanks for doing this ride for us Seth. Gonna go put my new Mezcals on for the HuRaCaN and send it hard.
I've never been mountain biking, What happens if your riding your bike downhill and there are people hiking uphill feel like that's an accident waiting to happen. Because I was watching the video and there are people hiking and biking on the same trail. Just curious.
LOL, you just made a video talking extensively about your bike injuries and the fact that you need to make better decisions. So, WTF is this? Slick tires on a MTB trail?
Just shows Seth does still have it in him to be a bit wild.
There a chance he recorded this before that video, so that might have something to do with it.
Next video, slick tires on snow....at Windrock.
10000% my immediate thought…
Hookworms? Those might be a better, they're not quite AS slick but still roll very quickly.
The old seth is back)
Was this filmed before the other video when you said you'll take less risk? 😂
Was thinking the same thing, so much for not doing dumb shit lmao
Yes it actually was 😅 you can see by the fall colors. This is exactly the kind of thing I was referring to.
Figures! 🤣
@@BermPeakExpressTake care, man!
LMFAO! I WAS THINKING THE SAME THING!
Seth a few videos ago, "i need to take care of my body, i cant keep getting away with doing raunchy stuff" Seth today "Hi my name is Seth and welcome to jackass"
lmao, the last part of your comment made me laugh so hard 😂😂
road bikes are definitely meant for 15 foot jumps no need for seat just the seat pole
These aren't even slicks. They're round. Slicks are very flat with thick sidewalls and a flat surface.
In the right conditions, slicks have the best traction.
"Maybe speed is our friend"
Seth to his audience: I gotta be more careful so i don't get hurt!
Next video: Let's put slick tires on a mountain bike..
This is why i love these channels XD
3:58 "It's just like a rocket ship!" Famous last words
He's probably referring to the Challenger or the Ariane 5
More like "Infamous last werdz"!
Best part!
I remember going like 35mph down a road slipping sideways like that. Mushy layers of leaves I think. Not really sure.
One minute I'm cruising on the last leg home. Next moment I'm... Perpendicular! The bike and I both were chest height perpendicular to the road with my head over the break lanes line.
All I could do was brace my muscles. Maybe get my arm slightly out.
Thank the lords there were no cars were around, and I slid with the bike off the road. It actually was a pretty smooth fail all considering. Just bruised and rashes.
One guy saw it. Slowed down to see if I got up, and then when I did drove off.
Those falls are scary. It spun me straight into concrete in a blink of an eye, like someone ripping a rug out from under you.
I seen someone skip hard backwards like that on ice carrying laundry too. I just warned him of the black ice!
He slipped so hard the laundry basket flew 10 feet into the air scattering everything right around him. Basket landing on his legs.
I would have laughed if I didn't witness the violence involved of that slip, since I just warned him. I yelled if he was okay, and he shrugged me off complaining.
Long story short. I would never use these tires for that reason. Falls like that at speed are no joke. I'm not skilled enough.
NB: Rocketships are not ideal for trails.
6:42 "Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary, that's what gets you" - Jeremy Clarkson
Sudden deceleration.
It's the delta that kills, not matter if you are the one speeding or stationary.
The speeeeedddddd!!!!!!
It's not fart that hurt, it's the smäll.
- swenglish play with words
A high enough sustained speed can actually kill you without hitting an object. You just need to hit air molecules. Unfortunately it happened to the astronauts on the Columbia space shuttle in 2003. Not a concern at mountain biking speeds luckily.
Slick tires on mtbs for riding around town works great. Rough roads, jumping curbs, metal drain grates, etc are no problem. You can get an old 26er full rigid or fs for almost nothing, add some slicks and you'll have a good short commuter bike.
Exactly. I've been riding town like that for close to 40 years now (ouch.) Tire used to be Fat boysl The extra volume compared to road bikes make it much safer and confortable when you hit obstacles, especially at night.
Wet leaves can still get you. Getting something like Billy Bonkers is the safer option imho.
Been saying the same for decades, good puncture resistant rain slicks like schwalbe marathon so much better for city riding/commuting. Fat, not narrow too .
Maxxis hookworm are probably the toughest slick tires for most terrain.
It's what I was thinking, would be fun to use these on my bike since slick tires are actually better on wet pavement than knobs.
Buuuut there are tires like the Schwalbe Hurricane that I use that essentially are smooth in the middle and have knobs at the sides so if I go on a dirt path or just off the pavement to get round people and the dirt is wet it does provide some slide security.
It's what I use for commuting anyway. Full sus MTBs are the best commuters, I can just run over potholes without caring.
And take shortcuts down stairs or jumping things.
Plus mine's basically a trail version of an Enduro bike that focused on pedal efficiency so I don't even have pedal bob unless I stand up.
My friend has slick tires on his old hardtail. He punctured his tires once on some gravel and there was a hole in it so he changed tires and decided to go with slicks since we mostly ride on shared paths and pavement anyway.
Ours are all 27.6 though not 26.
This was a lot of fun. I designed these tires when I was managing product for a certain companies BMX category. This was a perfect proof of concept. Thanks dude!
I have Smoothies on my GT 29" BMX. I love 'em rolling around the city, but the one time I rode on hard dirt, I was terrified. Perfect for streets and sidewalks, though!
Running Smoothies on my Vintage GT All-Terra. They are a great street tire, but never even dreamed of going off road
In the next episode, Seth discovers why gravel and xc tires are faster than downhill, and tests 700c GP500s on his hardtail
If he's having fun, and we're having fun, and nobody gets hurt, I'll take it!
2.5 inch wide or even 3 inch wide slicks would go crazy on a randoneur.
Modern XC and gravel tires be like. I’m totally loving the AspenST 2.4s on the rear. Need to find other tires in that category lol
@@ShinyUmbreon765 Aerodynamic drag starts becoming a real issue on wie tires at randoneuring soeeds.
I read an article I believe in a bicycling magazine where slick tires were very good in gravel because the gravel became the tread. The slick tire would effectively mold itself to the gravel. Your seeing the same thing with these, as you said, on dry rocks you had plenty of traction. So I'd bet these would be excellent on gravel. It's only when you get into slick terrain that they stop working well, there is nothing for the tire to mold to and provide traction.
The issue is when you find yourself on loose gravel/dirt. There's nothing for the tire to grab because it can't.
I wonder how these would perform on Moab slickrock. Slicks on sandpaper seem like a dangerously good idea.
@@JCintheBCCmy thought also. These would be amazing. Slickrock turns your tires into this anyway.
I think that would be a good experiment for the next video!
@@JCintheBCC That was the knee-jerk thought that popped in my head, particularly the video of the old mountain biker that lives(or at least lived; the videos are a decade old) out in Moab and drives a Crown Vic around on the rock trails on bald car tires - clearly this is the mountain bike for Moab LOL.
Fun anecdote: when I used to commute in the city on my bike in the winter I would run skinny slicks on my mountain bike. The skinny tires would slice through the slush and snow to get grip on the asphalt underneath. It seemed to work better than big knobby mountain bike tires that would float on top of the snow and get minimal traction.
interestingly enough, rally cars use way skinnier (and, of course, studded) tires in the snow as well because its easier to control cutting through the snow as opposed to floating overtop it with wide tires.
Same with me!
@@yungjaypeeWas just about to say this lmao. Very evident during the late 90s with Group A.
That’s how traction works on a hard surface. Knobs don’t dig into asphalt or concrete or rock or similar. All knobs or grooves do is help to get contaminants out of that interface. On a round profile and skinny tire like a bike the shape mostly does that. With knobs you’re holding a lot of rubber back from the surface that you don’t need to.
Yep, narrow studded for winter.
To follow on to this I suggest you do the same with Surfas Drifter tires. They are basically an inverted tread. I’ve initially put these on our hardtail trail bikes for long distance light road touring such as RAGBRAI.
Usually only use them for pavement and gravel but a blue level trail ride came up spur of the moment with out of town guests. I was surprised by how well these worked in the dirt and sand. On hard pack the slick provides more contact surface. On soft, as the tire sinks in the recessed areas of tread provided plenty of bite for my style of riding. On pavement I inflate for 15% drop. For off pavement I inflate for 18% drop. When our trail bikes are getting used primarily in the woods I still keep the knobby tires on for more aggressive riding. But I no longer worry about going off pavement when I have these particular street tires on our 27.5 hardtails.
This is like so counter productive to your new year resolution, Seth. 😂
Knobby grip up front, slick out back-that setup would be a blast!
Heck yeah, I might just get them and do that!
Yes you've described a dirt jumper
i used to have that on my hardtail, it was a blast. bike got stolen : ' (
I did something similar on my Dirt Jumper with a Maxxis Hookworm on the back and a High Roller on the front. It was a nightmare. So much better with a Kenda SB8 on the back with some tread than nothing at all when off road imo.
That's why I used to use a Rock Razor put back. Small knobs center but still aggressive side knobs. Good compromise where I live.
Seth has continued the series “frigg around and find out”😂
Something I've done which I'm sure Seth & a portion of his subs have done is run knobbies on the front & slicks on the rear, most of your weight is on the rear tire so you'll pick up more speed with a slick, there's way less weight on the front so knobbies won't slow you down much & you get all the advantages like better traction, cornering, turning, softens the road chatter, etc. I'm NOT a professional so I'm sure someone can explain it better than me, you get the best of both worlds but I'm sure there's drawbacks too
-Paragraph Guy
You can ride most trails on slicks if you adjust your line. For off-camber I always take the high line and position my body to allow the bike to slide a bit without pitching me off. The biggest problem with slicks IMHO is that you have a very limited window of grip so as soon as you hit something you haven't anticipated you're coming off, knobblies on the other hand give you the option to take a variety of lines without losing control.
That’s awesome. My dad put Schwalbe Big Apples, 2.3’s on his old Cannondale MTB, turned it into an all-purpose commuter gravel bike of sorts, LOL. Good job Seth!! I would really love to see you come ride trails in Knoxville, TN someday!
dec 29th: I'm not gonna get hurt next year
jan 12th: let's see if I can survive this
4:00😅
Like a rocket ship, when things go wrong, you hit the ground 😅
I wonder what the result would be if they actually did trail maintenance and cleared the leaves
@ Yep. Doesn't work for giant trail systems for smaller local ones it is a thing
You will not go to space today
I've been running 27.5x2.35 schwalbe slicks on my DB Release for rays mtn bike park for a few years. I wouldn't call it a slopestyle bike but it definitely increases capability and fun factor. Also $60 for set of tires is cheaper than adding another bike to the stable.
Thats exactly why I love "underbiking". I frequently went down some trails in my local forests with my gravelbike on slicks and got a good feeling for what the limits of my tires are. Makes you very aware of what slicks can handle and what not. (Normally I travel 90%+ asphalt with them, so it makes sense to leave them on)
I did this about 10 years ago. Bought a 93 GT Timberline. Got the bike off Crrsigslist in Brevard. Had a $25 Dicks Sporting Goods gift card id won at a work Christmas party and bought some Hookworm tires and rode it all over DuPont. At the time I had a couple supermoto motorcycles and thought it would be fun on a bicycle! I had a blast! Tires worked better than expected!
Maxis hookworms are amazing tires.
I run the fat Surly Extraterrestrials on a second set of wheels for commuting and urban fun. I'll occasionally leave them on when going on milder trail rides with my wife or son. I can tell just from those times, I'd NEVER want to run true slicks on a MTB. Add in that I've never had a non black tire feel anywhere near as sticky as the equivalent in black, and you are BRAVE sir.
Love the channel. Been watching since bike hacks days. Would love to see some more bmx. Thanks
Such a fun clip - Love it!
I ran a DHF Minion / Rear Hookworm conbo on a Norco Rampage HT for years, rode it on everything from skate park, through DH trails. It was surprisingly effective, and rolled so well. I got used to the limits of the rear tyre, and just worked with it. I totally forgot about that setup until watching this clip.
I currently run "less tyre" then typical - 29" Rekons 2.6 front , 2.4 rear on a Sunn Kern EN 29 Finest - Love it, across a wide array of trails & DH - I think many riders have more tyre than talent, in a non-condescending way, and loose out on better skill building because of it.
Hookworms in the rear sounds very unpleasant for mountain biking.
I ran a Maxxis rear tire (cannot remember the exact model) on both my front and rear wheels for years and loved it. They had very small tightly packed knobs in the middle and big downhill knobs on the edges. My theory was to get the best of both worlds and for Florida MTBing anyway it worked great imo
Maxxis Highroller! Awesome tire!
I have to say that the continental contact speed slick tire was the best braking traction I have ever felt from a slick tire. And I tried a lot of slick tires when i was working in a bike shop for a decade. Btw. Seth.. you went full on the descend.. I love how you said I'll go slower on the real descend.. Jesus man that was ruthless...
5:14 the people 😂 (the tires) 😭
"These are slick tires, they are terrible for mountain biking." That got me laughing so hard! Such a legend! 😂 😂 😂
This is oldschool Seth content, love it!
I used Continental city tires on MTB and they offer better grip than for example my Maxxis Ikon tires which is crazy. They are not knobby, but they have a fine pattern. They are quite heavy but i really liked them.
Berm Peak is completed. Now is the era of Seth's Reverse Bike Hacks.
Greetings from seychelles 🇸🇨 I've been watching your videos now I got my first MTB.
don't know why you haven't been showing up in my feeds, but Im so glad you're back here. Love your content, even though Ive never mountain biked before. Time to binge what I've missed!
i discovered some xc tires have less rolling resistance than many commuter/slick tires of the same width, stuff like racing ralphs roll faster than holy rollers and things like that while also giving you more grip off road compared to them
Yeah, the rubber compound and the casing matter a lot in determining rolling resistance. Just look at how massive the difference between fast and slow road tires can be, and they are all slicks. So it makes sense that some high performance XC racing tires with relatively small knobs and thin casings roll quicker than a random commuter tire, slick or not.
Back in the 90's when I was young and stupid I did some mountain biking with slicks on, once.
Needless to say, it was an experience, one that I'll never repeat.
Wasnt the previous video about doing less stupid stuff :D?
Haha. Exactly!
Back in the nineties I made my own xc racing slicks and then later, purchased some. Tried them for a season but finally concluded the obvious benefits just didn't out weigh the trade off in traction. Sure, some trails they probably would be just fine but ultimately, I chose to run the widest aggressive tires I could find.
What makes me a little crazy is the normal MTB tires used on those urban downhills. They got slick concrete, some asphalt and wood wall rides. And I have tested Maxxis Hookworms against regular MTB tires. The Hookworms are way gripper. And a pure fat slick, maybe 2.5 on dry pavement is better than any knobby.
It's because they tend to lean towards more DH and heavy-duty casings as opposed to grip. I'm sure with urban freeride the grip they have, even on massive knobbies, is more than enough; I don't think you need that much to go down a 30 foot stairset or a massive canal gap, and I'm inclined to think that I'd rather have stronger tyres in those cases.
When 26" wheels were still the norm, I put 2.4 Holy Rollers on my Freeride bike. The inverted knob pattern was the perfect blend of slick tire rolling with enough traction to stay upright - Most of the time.
I do remember going on one trail with a 3 foot drop off and landing on an off-camber rock. I hit the ground so fast, I thought my frame had snapped. Nope. Tire just slipped out and threw me down like what happened to you on these leaves.
When the rest of your trails are almost-asphalt-hard hardpack, with not as much leaf cover or as many roots, the slick tires work phenomenally.
I Love Holy Rollers! I have a pair on my 26” bmx bike. I wish they made them in 29”
I dread to think how bad they would be in my part of the UK where it's all a mix of clay and chalk so you get a mix of super slick and really sticky
I was also thinking for UK roads and pavement with wet leaves and slime, slicks probably wouldnt be the best option...
"I don't think any of us learned anything today" 🤣 Why I love Berm Peak.
"I just felt it slide at a moderate speed, I think I should go faster.." Lol.
Yeeessss! Back to experiments! 🙌 I was wondering about these slicks for doing long rides on paved paths so that I don't wear out the soft knobby tires.
That drop 180 is fire! 🔥
It was really cool hearing Seth mentioning Formula 1 for the first time, my worlds colliding!
Hi Seth, love your content! I'd like to address an issue regarding the 45 degree griptape ramp... The Wooden deck lip - those planks of wood sticking out (on the roll-in) are kicking the back wheel up. If you can fabricate a smooth roll-in, like on most modern halfpipes or mega ramps, you can ease into the descent without kicking the back tire up. Just a thought. might require a lot of work, but the test could be more accurate
Can't believe how *CLEAN* those tires stayed!
there's a lovely middle ground that usually gets ignored for off-road uses; large volume tires with nearly no knobs like the Maxxis Holy Rollers and Arrow Racing Launch. They're worthless in mud but absolutely shred in some kinds of dirt and sand
I've got an early 2000s Kona Caldera with Schwalbe Big Apple tyres on it. It's a dream for local stuff with the kids.
Big ben, smart sam, cx tyres like racing ralph really do provide a good solution for a lot of cases. My big bens are semislick after 4 years on a cargo bike, but I guess we can't ask bike tyres to last 10 00pkm?
Schwalbe used to sell a bald trye called Kojack, “who loves ya baby!”.
love this style of video, your riding commentary is golden
2:31 close your eyes and it’s Seth Rogen
Can we talk about the absolutely SICK camera transition at 1:30?! I've been watching a long time, and I'm so impressed by these camera skills that just keep getting better and better. You're becoming a better cinematographer than cyclist at this point, Seth 😂. Side note: I was too excited about this to check if someone mentioned it already, so sorry if I'm repeating it.
Speaking about slick tires, my rear MTB tire is a DIY one 😂
Your filming really shared that anxiety you were experiencing. Thanks Seth for sharing. Glad you avoided breaking anything besides traction on the trail.
Seth your videos are educational funny and unique great video!
This just proves what we already knew, but if someone doesn't test it, then it is just a theory.
Seth is the only person who would probably think of using slicks offroad
I have seen fixed gear riders use slicks on trails years ago. Not a new thing.
I’m surprised the sell they, what are they for?
Tell me you have not seen @SamPilgrim without saying who’s Sam pilgrim😂
@@JoshuaCherwinski urban DH, paved trails like the ones they have in bentonville, mountain bikes used as commuter bikes, wide tired ebikes, beach cruisers, superfast XC rear tires for dry hardpack, beach racing(schwalbe's fastest ever MTB tire the Big One was specifically designed for this purpose),..., this tire specifically is a 29" BMX tire
I use Serfas Drifters occasionally for off pavement. They work very well. For all of my different tires I’m fussy about air pressure. When I’m using Drifters on pavement I inflate for 15% drop. When I occasionally ride them on dirt and sand I inflate for 18% drop.
Toward the middle of your video where you were riding on pavement is how I do my mountain biking. Except on just flat pavement, not in a skate park. My bike has street tread tires on it in the original mountain bike size. I absolutely love it, and I put about 60 Mi a week on it. I genuinely enjoy watching your videos and your trail rides, but it's too wild for me. I'll just live vicariously through watching your off-road adventures!
" Why My Dumb Crashes Keep Happening " LOL
I use these for dry mtb, gravel, and sand, and pavement on a full rigid singlespeed, I really like how silent and smooth it is, they are great if you're not a newbie and know the limitations, they also keep you from going break neck speeds in dangerous situations.
The abundance of leaves on the ground is probably making slicks worse than they would be in other seasons.
I use 27.5x2.8 Schwalbe Super-MotoX’s on my Surley, pretty much slicks but with a slight amount of grip. Totally mountain bike with those in Colorado. No issues. Gravel, single track, road… all of it in one ride.
Seth: Makes a video about being safer
Next video: Testing SLICK tyres :D
I've been running Schwalbe Crazy Bob semi slicks in 26" on a mtb for town, riding to work for years and the first time I tried them I was hooked for that type of riding. I've had knoblys wipe out on me many times on wet roads but you just feel secure. Canal paths, dusty dirt, dry grass, they just eat all that up.
The common saying in our motorcycle group is “confidence is key but overconfidence comes with consequences.”
I have seen it happen so many times people will start to have fun and get confidence and speed up just to bite the dust soon after.
Its one thing on a mountain bike but its a whole other deal with a 600lb adventure bike.
I'm glad to see someone is making slick mtb tires again. I had a set of Ritcheys in the 90s. I think they were called "moab Bite" or something like that. They were great for commuting & dry gravel / hard pack, but nothing else.
1:26 sMuscribersss
Pfffff
I used to run reverse "mild knobbly" on my mountainbike- really good on pavement - still ok in a bit of rain and bud - dry rock is excellent...
lower pressure - larger contact patch - rubber gets huge friction - at the conforming interface.
Conventional Tyre tread essentially pumps water and slop out of the way so there can be contact - rubber on "stiff" - deep wet leaves are hard to design for - knobs help to get some ground pressure on when everything is semi-solid slop.
I've got a wheelset with Schwalbe G-One Speed 29x2,35". They have a profile so flat that it's actually more cosmetic. I'd say these are not grippier than these white slicks. But they are very fast rolling, more versatile than one might think (gravel works just fine actually) and I use them on my rigid MTB if I need it to be in commuter mode. I think everyone needs a set of slicks
I did something like this 2 days ago. Central Ohio. Snow blowing sideways. I took my 20 year old Trek 820 out. On road slicks. Same thing. I was shocked by how well the tires were hanging on. I only rode 5 miles, so I imagine had I stayed out longer, I might have found a point of failure. Interesting video.
I don't even go biking anymore but once in a while when i stumble upon your videos i just enjoy them and have a little fun watching
We run the WTB “Thickslick” on old Trek Marlins for getting around Burlington VT with the greenways and fairly smooth dirt paths around the tiny city.
Would not have taken them to any legit trails. Kudos to you.
i have Hook Worms on an old 26" hard tail, it's pretty fun in dry chapparal
I often ride a cyclocross bike with 38c Shvable Marathon Allmotion tires in the spring on mud, and many are amazed at how such a rather narrow and bald tire often wins over toothy MTBs. The main problem with bald tires is fallen leaves, because they simply do not allow you to catch on a hard surface, so in the fall I usually change the tires to something more vicious with relatively rare spikes for better self-cleaning.
I put reverse knobbies on my mountain bike last year. Smooth on the center with cutout knobs for traction in turns. Love them for the lower rolling resistance.
Appreciate the consistent Sunday uploads. Great to watch while waking up and sipping on my coffee 👍
This was a classic bike hacks style video. Loved this
Man, I’ve ridden a city slick tire (so treads without knobs) on dry loose soil singletrack, I really had to make sure my tires are in the ruts/track and not veer towards the berm. It was dicey going 30-40 kph downhill with the wheels trying to step out, but hella fun.
I've actually got a set of Maxxis Grifters I was going to put on my MTB when I injured my back last time. I find the dual suspension greatly helps when my lower back is mad getting back on the bike sooner for my paved riding which is like 90% of what I do for fitness. This actually makes me more inclined to try that out 😅 I was seriously considering buying another wheel set so I could swap in/out more easily.
Best on nice dry smooth hard surfaces like small grain tarmac or concrete ..... but you already knew that
I can say this, my 27.5 x 2.8 G-One Liteskin tires are hella fun. With the right considerations, I can take to the flow trails and git sendy and trialsy buuuut.... They can wash out without warning!!
Street sessions will never be the same when my singlespeed Middlechild is wearing the G-Ones!!!
Seth New Year’s resolution - don’t get hurt - Seth says in the video - I have important stuff to do this week - Seth continues down wet trail on slick tires. Yep!
Loved this video! I ride WTB Slicks (more of a semi slick) on my Cube Reaction Hybrid (Bosch Powered Hardtail) as a commuter and it works perfectly. Rolls so much faster. Is much quieter on the road. And feels so much smoother. Great fun
Those are nice street tires. I have a new GT pro series 29” bmx bike that came with those stock. Super smooth on pavement.
I just got the Performer 29 with those tires and they are amazing ripping around in downtown Phoenix
In the mid-90’s, I put commuter slicks on an Mtb. The first time you hit loose/slippery ground you realize why we use knobbies!😄
I have 3" schwalbe super moto x semi-slicks on my commuter bike, and they are surprisingly good on dry trails (except loose gravel or similar). Wouldn't try to go fast there though.
I used to have slicks on my mountain bike during college. I used it as a commuter bike and then I would swap out to another set of wheels I had with my dirt tires. It was the best commuter ever riding to school dropping off ledges.
I ran some Schwalbe Thunder Burts on my 26" rigid mtb for years, on fast toe paths, park runs (gravel bike paths as they are now known). They barely had any knobs and had plenty of volume for a 2.1" tyre, they were fast, surprisingly grippy and comfortable and the ideal tyre for that type of riding. It all depends on how technical the route is, ie, how many tight turns and how bumpy.
I attended one XC Marathon race about 10 years ago with Continental Speed King semi-slick tires. I found them very low in rolling resistance. The grip was also surprisingly good on hardpack and rocky surface and not terrible in gravel either. Only wet roots were bad and... the nature of grip. Semi-slicks seem to grip as long as they don't skid and when they do, they become absolute sleighs. So downhill sections were slow and terrifying. I never used them again only because I hated coming downhill with them.
Sooo..... back in 1994, I put slicks (26x1.95@80psi) and a 52T big ring on my 90's AF MTB. Not for offroad. Not to be a roadie. With a calibrated Cateye computer, some ski goggles and a rather wet Welsh day, I got 57mph down the Graig hill into Pontypridd...... with cantiliver rim brakes 😅 Still have the bike at my folks' place, and it'll be moved to our bike collection in Colorado at some point. 52T remains....and it still has the 90's 150mm stem on it too 🤣🤣
True story. Went out on my Masi Giramondo on a very gentle trail. Very flat, pea sized gravel at most, bike outfitted with Panaracer slicks. Never had an issue on pavement or shorter stretches of gravel with this setup. I changed lanes on the trail to allow some folks coming the other direction a bit of room, about 12mph. Bike went down instantly, breaking my pinky off at the knuckle, the pinky metacarpal, and a fracture to my ring finger. 2 lessons: use more aggressive tires for loose gravel, and always wear gloves. Nearly 4 months and 140k+ of medical care, I wish I heeded my own advice.
I ran maxxis hookworms for years on an old maintain bike. I did use it mostly for urban riding, but I did a fair amount of singletrack too and they held up for a smooth tire!
My XC hardtail i use as a commuter has 2.0" Maxxis Grifters, and they are pretty brilliant on and offroad. No gravel envy here!
Seth “I need to stop getting hurt” also Seth “here are some slicks on the trail!” 😂😂
13:41 That anxiety is exactly what I experienced when I took my gravel bike out to Berm Park, shortly after it opened - having never ridden a terrain park before, I found myself analyzing every move, and trying really hard to be moving, but in control. It wasn't fun in the moment, but I can definitely see, with practice and a properly spec'd bike, that I'd enjoy it.
Similarly, I've been running those Surly ExtraTerrestrial tires for many years in ALL situations (including three times doing the HuRaCaN 300). They're a very modest tire, as you know, and SUPER capable. Bonus being that they rock when you're off the dirt. That said, buddy and I were out on identical bikes but his knobbies vs. my ETs, yeah... he had way more traction. CAN you slick/semi-slick in these situations? Absolutely yes. Thanks for doing this ride for us Seth. Gonna go put my new Mezcals on for the HuRaCaN and send it hard.
Back in the 90s, I ran semi slick Bontrager revolt tires, great at not clogging up with the clay mud where I used to live.
I've never been mountain biking, What happens if your riding your bike downhill and there are people hiking uphill feel like that's an accident waiting to happen. Because I was watching the video and there are people hiking and biking on the same trail. Just curious.
Seth i haven't watch u in years, however i think this makes me interested in wtf is gonna happen i hope u continue with ur success
Seth's making me feel good about my chonky tires. I've had "smooth is fast" on the mind lately, but I love traction for corners.