When you’re riding, your tires are your main point of contact with the road (and really, until you put the kickstand down, you hope they’re your only point of contact with the road). The kind of tires you decide to use will really impact your ride, so it’s important to have something on there that you like.
When it comes to tires, there are three dimensions to be concerned about – circumference, width, and thickness. Circumference will be dictated by your wheel size; if you have a 26” wheel, you need a 26” tire. Any bigger or smaller and it won’t fit. Montague mountain bikes have 26” tires, and pavement bikes have 700c. Both are standard sizes that can be found at any bike shop.
How Wide?
Kenda Knobby Tire
Width is also, to an extent, dictated by your wheels, although there is a little variation. If you’ve got mountain bike wheels (which is to say – you’re probably riding a mountain bike) you can probably go a little fatter or thinner than what comes on your bike. If you’re riding on 32mm rims though, you can’t go any skinnier than that – you definitely want your tires to be as wide or wider than your rim. If you feel like your fat knobby tires are slowing you up though, skinnier might not be the way to go (especially if you’re limited by the width of your rims) – consider getting semi-slick (less knobby) tires, which come in all sorts of widths. It’s an easy way to speed up your ride.
If you’re on a road bike with standard road wheels, you can probably put anything from a 23mm tire on up – but make sure that your tires clear the brake calipers. Montague pavement bikes come with tires that range in width from 23mm to 28mm. If you want something a little wider, you can fit 30mms on there, but any wider than that and you risk not clearing the brake calipers. Of course the Montague Navigator comes with disc brake mounts on the fork and frame, so if you convert to disc brakes, you can definitely go wider, but then you need to make sure you’re clearing the frame. If you’re concerned about fitting wider tires on your bike, just take it on down to your local shop and see what they recommend.
Knobby or Smooth?
If you’re going to be riding mostly on the road, a smoother tire is probably going to be fine for most of the year. If you want more cushioning, go as wide as you can, but stay with slick or semi-slick – unless you’re riding off-road, knobby tires are just going to add rolling resistance and slow you up. In the winter, some people prefer knobbier tires for the better traction. If you’re riding a bike with narrower clearances, you can still get knobby tires – try looking at cyclocross tires, which have more tread than your standard 700C.
How Thick?
Semi-Slicks on the Boston
For most every day riding (really, unless you’re racing) thicker is generally better, because nobody likes a flat tire. Proper inflation is an important factor too, but if you’re riding over road debris or gravel or prickers on the trail, the thicker your tire is, the better off you are. If that shard of glass or sharp rock can’t make it through your tire rubber to puncture your tube, you’re going to have fewer flats. There are companies out there that make tires out of extra-thick, extra-tough rubber. They tend to cost a little more, but depending on how much and where you ride, you might find that it’s worth the investment up front to save yourself a headache down the road.
Tell Us How You Roll
What kind of tires do you have on your bike? Knobby? Semi-Slick? Colourful? Do you use what came standard on your bike? Or did you set it up to your personal preference? What are you using, and why?
Customize your ride…down to the tires
I have a question related with Montague Fit. Is it disc brakes compatible?
Race king 2.2 on the back with Maxxis Crossmark 2.1 on the front of an X70. There is a defiinite compromise on the speed on the road but off road there is plenty of grip over the roots and wet rocks. I can take the bike into all terrains comfortably. Working on cruise ships and exploring various ports on roads that appear to be more like farm tracks, roads with 1 in 4 decents and climbs. unexpected storms while out and about can suddenly render roads slippery. For me nothing less than 2.1″ with knobbles…..
@Faisal
The FIT frame does a have a disc brake mount on the rear but the stock carbon fork does not have a disc bake mount for the front. It is a standard 1 and 1/8″ steerer tube on that fork so you could very easily replace it with one that is disc ready.
Hello, i have recently purchased a Boston 8 for my daily commute, and want more speed! Whats is the thinnest size tier i can use for this model?
The Boston 8 was equipped with a 28mm tire which is pretty narrow. Even true road bikes are being equipped with 28s these days. The rim isn’t made for anything a lot narrower, but you could probably do a 25? If you want to go faster and you feel like you’re spinning, I’d suggest putting a cog on the rear that’s smaller than the stock 20 tooth to increase the gear ratios you have with that hub. It would need to be a cog specifically for a Nexus 8 hub.
Hi. I have Montague Navigator with 37-622 (700x35c) Kenda Kwick Roller tires. What is the biggest size tires can I install on this bike?
Hello – what is the widest tyre I can fit on a Montague Paratrooper – considering buying one before Christmas but need to know I can swap over my current downhill rims which are clad in 26 x 2.4 rubber. Thanks!
Hi!
What is the widest tire I can fit on a Montague FIT frame?
Thank you!
It depends what year the bike is. Our current FIT has clearance for a 35mm (possibly 38mm depending on the tread) on the rear and maybe even a bit wider on the front. Pre-2016 models with the dark green paint color and frame quick release on top can only fit about a 30mm tire.
Thank you very much. So, I understand than I can ride with 35 mm tire on New (2017 year) FIT frame.
I have Montague bike which is Pre-2016 model with the dark green paint color and frame quick release on top. If I want to use my bike for commute what’s the best size tyre I can install
Thanks in advance
I like a 28mm tire for commuting. I don’t think you need anything wider unless you’re riding unpaved surfaces. – Ryan
What are the fattest tires that can be installed on the Paratrooper bikes? I have the original Montague Paratrooper (camo green) bike bought nearly 7 years ago. Want to know if I can fat tires on it (Kenda, etc.).. Thanks..
You could probably fit a 2.3 inch tire on a Paratrooper. It depends a little on the tire and tread pattern since labeled size and true size aren’t always accurate.
Hi I am given a paratrooper MX (old model) and I want to make it more of a hybrid. Do you know if I can swap a 700c*32c wheel on it?
I know the v-brake will likely sit too low, so I plan to use an adapter like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Components-Brake-Post-Extender-Black/dp/B0781XX9Z9/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532038840&sr=8-1&keywords=brake+post+extender
My concern is would the frame and front-fork not able to accommodate 700c or would the dropout width be too wide to not able to accommodate 100mm dropout spacing?
Hi Jordan. The front hub spacing on that fork is standard 100mm and the rear hub spacing should be 135mm. You’ll find many wheelsets available with those hub widths so that shouldn’t be an issue. We haven’t tested any adapters like the one you linked so I can’t comment on if that will work or not. Good luck!
Hi, i have a few question about paratrooper pro
1. what is the smaller wheel set for paratrooper pro ?
can paratrooper pro use 24 inch wheel set ?
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2. How to reduce paratrooper pro weight ?
can i replace carbon seat post or carbon handle and bike stem ?
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3. Any good travel bike case recommended for paratrooper pro ?
Using a smaller wheelset would lower the frame to the ground and risk the cranks/pedals striking the ground, especially while cornering. So it’s not really possible. You could reduce weight by changing a variety of components. The wheels and tires are one place where you could certainly shave some off. The suspension fork adds considerably weight as well so a lighter option there could help. You can certainly go with carbon components in some areas, including the handlebar and stem if you’d like.
We used to recommend a case from a company called Bike Pro USA (which is now out of business) that was 34″ x 27″ x 15″. That case did require more disassembly than just folding the bike — both wheels, the pedals, and handlebars needed to be removed. I don’t know of a specific alternative that is the exact same size, but one like that would work fairly well.
Hi,
I have a 2011 Crosstown. I replaced the tires some time ago with 700c x 25
I want to fit a slightly wider tire. I tried a 700c x 32 but this was too big (not wasted, it’s a spare for the wife’s bike now).
Looking at the specifications for 2011, the tire fitted was a Kenda Kwick. Multi tread. 700c x 30mm.
Am I right in thinking a 700c x 28mm will fit?
Thanks
In case anyone else is looking at this.
I switched my 700x25c tyre to Schwalbe Marathon Plus Reflex Tyre 700x28c.
Fitted perfectly.
When is this company finally going to release a Paratrooper with FAT tires?I see all folding bikes releasing a model with fat tires,being 20 to 25 inch rims.Why do you keep holding back?Not marketable to the general public?E bikes appeal to them but not an aggressive fat tire option?
What kinda of tires does the paratrooper pro come with. On the website it’s said new kenda kozmik light but when look it up on google it looks different then what’s displayed on the website. Want to know the spec on the tires it come with.
The current tire on the Paratrooper Pro is the Kenda Slant Six (K-1080), although we have used the Kozmik Lite on recent productions. Both tires are comparable and we sometimes change specs based on availability from our suppliers. The photos are not always up to date and specifications are subject to change without notice.