2nd set of wheels for city use or just change tires?

[emily_in_nc]

Looking for advice...

I just bought this great Jamis Dakar mountain bike from Catrin (http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...203#post676203), but at the moment, I really won't be riding it off road much as we're house-sitting in Kansas City where there is lots of city pavement. We do plan to do some traveling where the knobby tires will be needed, but for now, what I'd really like to do is use it for urban/utility rides (like to the grocery store), as my Bike Friday is back in NC (just couldn't fit SIX bikes into our CR-V, though we did manage to get four into the back!) I do have a wonderful Trek Pilot road bike, but sometimes it's nice to be more upright, and my DH will be riding his MTB with slicks on these types of urban/utility rides.

So, I was thinking to get some slicks to put on it, but I wondered if it would be simpler (albeit more costly) to buy an inexpensive wheelset and change wheels when needed instead of tires?

I would think wheels would be a lot easier to change than tires (yuck!), but the bike has disk brakes, and the new rear wheel would need a 10-speed cogset, I assume, so we could be looking at quite a bit more money.

Has anyone been in this situation, and if so, what did you do? Advice/opinions appreciated!

[ny biker]

If you're not going to be switching back and forth frequently, I would just get slicks for the wheels you have. Extra tires take up less room than wheels in addition to costing less.

Depending on the type of off-road riding you plan to do, "light trail" tires might work for pavement as well as off-road. I currently have them on my mountain bike. They work on easy (non-technical) single track and are still decent for pavement.

[emily_in_nc]

If you're not going to be switching back and forth frequently, I would just get slicks for the wheels you have. Extra tires take up less room than wheels in addition to costing less.

Depending on the type of off-road riding you plan to do, "light trail" tires might work for pavement as well as off-road. I currently have them on my mountain bike. They work on easy (non-technical) single track and are still decent for pavement.

Do you know the make/model of the tires you have, ny biker? Thanks! That might be the simplest solution of all since I never plan to do anything too technical. Fell too much when I tried that a few years ago, and it just wasn't that much fun. I like packed gravel, packed limestone, and easy single-track. Nothing too rooty or rocky.

[ny biker]

They're Bontragers. I think one of these:

http://www.bontrager.com/model/09325

http://www.bontrager.com/model/08058

[Jolt]

It's definitely simpler to switch between two sets of wheels, but cheaper to just have the extra tires and if you're not switching frequently that might make more sense. I chose to pick up a used wheelset and put slicks on it for my rigid MTB, because I have that bike set up as a sort of all-purpose bike and sometimes I ride pavement, other times the local easy trails. I switch back and forth often enough that changing tires would be a real pain. Maybe you could find out how much it would cost to set up a second wheelset for your bike, then make your decision based on weighing cost vs. convenience/simplicity.

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks ny biker and Jolt!

Since we are trying to keep our possession count to a reasonable level (since we might go full-time RVing someday), I think we're going to go with the tires idea. I like the Bontrager LT1s. I'll always have the knobbies I can put back on if needed.

I just knew the TE gals would come through on this one with a solution I hadn't even considered!

Thanks again!

[Catrin]

The second set of tires does seem the most cost-effective solution right now - the second wheelset with the 10-speed cassette would be much more. You also might want to consider Conti Travel Contact, REI has them on sale right now. I have them on my Gunnar, smooth in the middle, but knobbies on the outside for gripping in corners or if you get forced off the road. These are great tires, and this is the best price I've ever seen for them. They would be fine for limestone as well.

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks Catrin! Those do look like good tires. I had already placed an order for the Bontrager TR1s by the time I saw this post, though. We actually rode to the closest Trek shop looking to buy them, but they didn't have any in stock, so I found them on another site that offers free ship-to-store here (to a different Trek store in this general area). They are normally $29.99 each but were on sale for 20% off. Whatta deal! So, I should have them sometime next week. Can't wait! I'm dying to give the Jamis a try but don't want to ride knobbies on the road as Barry would leave me in the dust (his Jamis is equipped with slicks at the moment).