I bought a new Giant Yukon mountain bike last year>> http://millrace.com/site/images/library/large/giant_yukon_m_03s_m.jpg

The stock Hutchison mountain bike tires were good but wore fast and doing 90% driving on streets I decided to get them changed for street tires. First I had the shop put on these street tires which were pretty slim looking, not very wide but the bike flew...what I didnt like was the smooth yet very harsh ride. Lots of chain slapping occured from the ride of the tires and I wouldnt like it for every day biking.

So I then got them to change the tires to bigger wider street tires (Kenda Flame tires)>>http://www.aljot.pl/kenda/strona/nowosci/flame.jpg

NOW I can barely move this bike! The ride is very very smooth but its so sluggish. I pumped up the tires to make them hard which would IMO make it easier to pedal....would it be the opposite with tires like this? I like these tires for their look and feel and dont want to go back to the shop again to change them.

What can I possibly do or change to make it ride faster?

__________________
99 C43
98 S420
99 C230K
01 C240

Check the tire pressure. Good on-road tires run at about 60-80 psi. The lower the tire pressure the more tire surface area makes contact and requires a lot more power to move the bike.

Also elevate each tire and give it a spin. they should move very easily and for a long time. it's possible one or more of the brake pads are dragging

__________________
...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"

hmm no contact from brakes and the tires are rated for 40psi. I dont know the psi in them at the moment but it pumped them up hard.

__________________
99 C43
98 S420
99 C230K
01 C240

Try these tires, I've been using them for years on my Mountain Bike

Link to tires
I also have two sets of wheels this allows me to use different rear cogs for the street and mountains.

__________________
I'm sick of .sig files

I'd like to get one of these benz mountain bikes. It would look cool sitting on top of my benz roof rack on my estate.

http://www.mercedes-benz.ru/en/accessory/bikes/

MB donates them to police departments in the US. Does anyone know where to buy them.

__________________
2012 ML350 Bluetec 4-matic
1999 E320 4-matic Estate


"A ship in harbour is safe, but thats not what ships are built for". - John A. Shedd

http://www.varaderocigar.com/images/...ontecristo.gif

A topic I actually know something about.

That's a nice machine, Mark. Hope you enjoy it.

There's nothing worse than chain slap and mushy (or too harsh) tires. Don't let either deter you.

First, your chain slap and tire question are unrelated.

Chain slap. For a bike that's one year old, it's normal and easy to fix. A new chain essentially stretches over its first several hundred miles. The longer and harder you push things the more dramatic the effect. If it's not already, it'll soon be driving you crazy. (In addition to the noise, it's not safe and will prematurely wear your drive train. It messes up shifting precision, could come off at a bad time, or get caught up on something). If you purchased the bike from a shop, they should do the service for you at no cost. What they do is remove two or three links from the chain and evaluate if the front and rear derailleur need adjusting. If you want me to explain the details of the job, let me know.

Tires. What tire is best for you depends on several factors. So you ride 90% road and 10% what? You're a big guy, right? Are we talking just cruising around or serious cycling? The answer to your question about the street tire being overly harsh is what lebenz said: tire pressure. Even more so than in a car, bicycle tire pressure is critical. It sounds like your street set up was for a pure street (meaning high pressure) tire. Those tires would have an extremely narrow pressure range where you could find safety, comfort, and speed. While they were not an ideal set up for a mountain bike, I bet lowering the pressure on those "high pressure tires" just a tad would have worked well. Those tires are gone so it's moot now.

If you're looking for a compliant ride without the drag of off-road tires, I would go with something like Continental's "Town & Country" (http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/tire/). It's what DC (and uniform secret service) bicycle cops use. It's great on hard surface, grass, dirt, and gravel but just OK in serious mud. It's fast, tough as nails, inexpensive, long lasting, and comfortable. The trade off is it weighs a few more ounces than expensive tires. You could fine tune it to your comfort preferences by utilizing their wide pressure range (50 to 65 psi). Essentially, inflate them closer to the max for (fast) road and to closer the minimum for (slow) serious off-road conditions. For day to day, you'll probably like it closer to 65 psi. I personally slightly over inflate mine to about 70 or 75 psi. Even at that pressure, they're comfortable. I've put thousands of miles on them and highly recommend them. I think REI stocks them.

If you stick with the Flames, try adding about 10 psi and see what happens. That should pick things up speed wise witout sacraficing too much comfort.

Best,

Michael

__________________
Michael

1988 300 SL (5 Speed)
1994 E320 Wagon
1997 C230

I use a pair of Specialized Nimbus tires at 70 psi on the road. Works great for road and handles limestone/ballast surfaces quite well.

Try www.parktool.com if you need bike maintenance instructions.

__________________
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

parhaps a road bike would be more suited to your riding habits.

__________________
72 W114/M130

RedMeat cartoon

OMG those tires are 26 x 2.1! No wonder. Switch to 1.5" higher pressure tires man.

__________________
You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

I played around with the pressure and it was a bit better. Then I closely examined the brakes again....one of them from just slightly touching the rim....made a BIG difference. Now the bike flies!

__________________
99 C43
98 S420
99 C230K
01 C240