How much benefit would I get from switching out my knobby 29er tires on my MTB for some slicks for a hill climb for which my road bike just doesn't have enough gears? I'm not ready to go to a compact chainring on my one road bike down here.
First, I'm looking for some added speed on the climb by going to slicks, and probably something narrower than my 2.1 knobby's.
From the edge of the Andes Mountains, I do this climb (and descent) at least once a week. We have big races up it two or three times a year. (The Tour of Colombia had a stage last week with an uphill finish for only about 1/6 of the climb so that it could finish still within the city.) With the rest of the climb, the well paved route is the equivalent of 5 miles with 2,500 feet of elevation change.
Second, I'm looking for some added security on the curves of the descent. Descending at 50+ mph on the knobby's and leaning into the curves on the MTB makes me very nervous. Would slicks be significantly better?
The Maxxis Re-Fuse 700 x 40 has caught my attention. Any other suggestions?
First, I'm looking for some added speed on the climb by going to slicks, and probably something narrower than my 2.1 knobby's.
From the edge of the Andes Mountains, I do this climb (and descent) at least once a week. We have big races up it two or three times a year. (The Tour of Colombia had a stage last week with an uphill finish for only about 1/6 of the climb so that it could finish still within the city.) With the rest of the climb, the well paved route is the equivalent of 5 miles with 2,500 feet of elevation change.
Second, I'm looking for some added security on the curves of the descent. Descending at 50+ mph on the knobby's and leaning into the curves on the MTB makes me very nervous. Would slicks be significantly better?
The Maxxis Re-Fuse 700 x 40 has caught my attention. Any other suggestions?