UKC

I got given a basic mountain bike by my sister. The bike came with tyres that have a hard ridge in the middle. I think this ridge is good for hard pack like road and trails, which is what my sister used the bike for. I have been taking it off road and I find that the back wheel slips all over the the place when going up steep hills. So to get to the the point is there that much diffrence between a £15 a pair tyre and a £50 a tyre when the size and tread is the same. I get that the cheap one will weigh more but what else?

In reply to Got a job rob: you can get a goods pair of tyres for under £30. Continental mountain king s are good value. And yeh there s a massive difference in performance.

In reply to Got a job rob:

That may not be the tyre. Maybe you have too much air in it, maybe you have poor climbing technique. It takes a bit to learn to keep the weight distributed right so back wheel doesn't slip and front wheel doesn't lift.

In reply to Got a job rob:

The difference between a top end tyre and a cheaper one is maybe at most 5-10% traction, hugely surface dependant.

Much more important is the choice of tread, pressure, and going tubeless so you can run 20-25psi.

In reply to neuromancer: so you reckon that a cheapo plastic tyre only offers 510% more grip than a sticky rubber one?

In reply to Ben07: * 5 / 10% more

In reply to Got a job rob:
These Smart Sams tyres I use year round.
http://tinyurl.com/lmlzf6y

I ride very technical trails with a MTB club. Squirmy mud they are not as good as full on nobbly's other than that they perform well on average.

In reply to Ben07: went with Continental mountain king 2. as I could get a pair and tubes for £30.

In reply to Got a job rob:

i would think technique is probably what is wrong here (try a lower gear and staying seated when climbing unless you really have to stand)

In reply to lost1977: I dont get out of the seat, I keep a straight back and I point my chin to keep my airway open, when riding up hill.

I have fitted the mountain kings, bin for a ride and now I get why some tyres are more than others! They stick up hill, they stop so well i almost went over the handle bars and they eat mud and roll over rocks. I love them. I can power up hill using the spd pedals untill I run out of lungs and fall over into the hedge/bush/ditch/rock/any other thing that is next to me.

In reply to Got a job rob: lol, soun ds good m8. gives ya tonnes more confidence riding. Deffinetly one of the cheapest and notice able improvements you can make. so what's next, some nice shiny hydraulic disc brakes?

In reply to neuromancer:

I had a set of Continental MountainKing/X King UST tyres that came with my bike. (They are the cheapo made in China compound) run at 20/35PSI. I changed them for Conti Rubber Queens (the black Chilli ones) also run at around 20/25PSI. The difference is absolute night and day especially on anything remotely wet. The MKs would slide around all over the place, yet the RQs allow me to climb up off-camber wet roots as if they aren't there.

I'd say the grip level difference is equivalent to the difference in using trainers vs climbing shoes around 50-60% (and the conti MKs are a good tread shape - just make sure you get the black chillis)

In reply to Ben07: No the next upgrade is a rockrider 6.5 from decathlon!