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For riding on pavement, slick tires are best under virtually all conditions.
Sheldon's website is pretty useful but most of his advise assumes that the reader is an avid biker and does everything perfectly. But in RL, bikes do slide in the wet when you're a newb and afraid to use your front brakes, it'll slide more if you have narrower and slicker tires and slide less if you have wider and knobbier tires. So I do think that 'mountain bike' tires are safer. As far as slicks having a higher cornering speed on dry paved road than knobbie tires, well, I think my bike corners just fine in the city and I'm pretty crazy when I'm on my bike, so I doubt the cornering speed is going to be a problem for the OP.
__________________ I know I ask perfection of a quite imperfect world, and fool enough to think thats what Ill find. The Carpenters
700cc wheels are still superior to 26" wheels though. A good cyclocross tire would meet your "Mtn bike" tire requirement and still offer better size for faster speed. I ride 700x35 on my cyclocross bike, but some bikes can go to 44 or 48. At that point you're getting closer to a 29er though. The original poster might not want to go there since it's nigh on impossible to get a 29er for under $800 unless you go singlespeed.
For riding on pavement, slick tires are best under virtually all conditions.
...except on wet man-hole covers, wet steel grates, or wet painted lines. But I think the whole tire discussion is moot because I doubt the OP'r will be anything more than a fair-weather rider. The OP'r is not going spend a nickle over $300, not to buy rain-gear, lights or other serious commuter accessories. I hope the OP'r at least buys a decent helmet.
...except on wet man-hole covers, wet steel grates, or wet painted lines.
Originally Posted by Dept_of_Alchemy
But in RL, bikes do slide in the wet when you're a newb and afraid to use your front brakes, it'll slide more if you have narrower and slicker tires and slide less if you have wider and knobbier tires. So I do think that 'mountain bike' tires are safer.
Although you guys have described situations that are dangerous regardless of what sort of tire you have, slicks are still better than knobby tires in these conditions, which was my point. The misapprehension that knobby tires have better traction on the road is a common and understandable one, and comes up frequently on bicycling forums. Sheldon's site (linked in my first post) explains these things pretty thoroughly if you're interested. In a nutshell, with slick tires, there is more rubber in contact with the pavement at any given time.
^lol, how dare you recommend Huffy. One of these days I'm going get one of those WalMart bikes just to see how well they hold up in the mountains.
They don't I've seen many bent frames and tacoed wheels out on the trail, most of them have been Huffys and their kin.
As for the Huffy commuter idea, it could work. The rider would have to have a good bike mechanic dial it in though, and he'd have to realize that the bike will weigh almost twice as much as it should.
...except on wet man-hole covers, wet steel grates, or wet painted lines. But I think the whole tire discussion is moot because I doubt the OP'r will be anything more than a fair-weather rider. The OP'r is not going spend a nickle over $300, not to buy rain-gear, lights or other serious commuter accessories. I hope the OP'r at least buys a decent helmet.
Uhhhhhhh
You're right that I probably won't be more than a fair-weather rider, at least right away. But I'm considering spending more. And I'll probably get the other accessories, too. And I will buy a decent helmet.
My problem is I don't know how serious of a rider I'll be and whether or not I take advantage of the nicer features of a more expensive bike, either now or in the future. While it's certainly possible I'll take up biking as a serious hobby, it's also possible I'll only use the bike for commuting. I am a gear junkie, as I think you guessed. But I'm pretty good about only buying things I actually want/need.
I appreciate your input but please don't make assumptions about me based on a few posts on an internet forum.
__________________
If you've had half as much fun reading this post as I've had writing it, well then, I've had twice as much fun writing this post as you've had reading it.
So, Pennylane, after reading this thread so far, which way are you leaning in terms of what bike to get? Have you gone to a bike shop and test ridden any bikes yet?
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