Cycling UK Forum

I have just bought a second hand Specialized Rockhopper, it seems in very good nick it rides well and all the gears work and it stops I have been buzzing about my tiny village in the mountains of Crete.

It has slick road tyres and I want to get out of the village up to my olive trees , veg plot and wine grapes ...so I think I need to buy a pair of off road tyres.
What do I look for ?
The tracks around here are stony , rocky, dusty, uneven and steep in places.
Is fatter better ?
I don't mind spending some money on good tyres as the bike was very cheap - your suggestions please.

Does anyone know the year of this bike?
It looks very new but the style is at least ten years old ..axel front forks ,shimano gears and hydralic disk brakes ...any clue or tips on this machine.. thanks in anticipation ...

I like the Schwalbe Nobby Nic as a decent general purpose tyre. Available in 2.35" width which is probably as wide as you could go. In your dryer conditions you might get away with a faster rolling tyre but it's not bad itself.

I just had those Schwalbe tires recommended to me as well, so it seems like a good way to go.

Or Smart Sam if you plan to spend a significant time on road...

Yeah ...More newbee questions .... well I went to a bike shop in town today and bought some continentals 2.4 Xkings ...but ...I discover the sunrims DS2-XC's I have are 23 mm od is that a bit narrow for 2.4 tyres ? I don't know what the inside measurement is as I have not yet removed the slick 1.40's 'cos the bike shop I went too did not have any of the correct tire levers only steel ones that I think will damage the black finish on the rims ...(so I ordered some plastic on line )....and while I was measuring I found the lower rear wheel stays have only a 75 mm gap is that a bit tight for the 60 mm tyres? front forks and upper stays are 80mm ...I think I should have got the 2.2s...wad do ya think ...oh and when I looked up the sunrims DS2-XC they where described as "clincher " what does that mean ?..sorry.. this is a steep learning curve....

MTBers have been running fat tyres on narrow rims for ages. The clearances shouldn't be a problem but check there's clearance between where the front tyre meets that plastic loop at the top of the fork. Unfortunately, you probably won't be able to tell until you fit the tyres on the rims, meaning probably too late to exchange them for smaller tyres, but generally speaking, tight clearances are more of an issue in muddier places than sun-baked Crete. The 2.2" X Kings would have been better. "Clincher" is the most common type of tyre (wire or nylon beads that hold the tyre on the rim). Good bike and good tyres.

The seat post looks to be back to front. This will put the saddle too far forward.

the_twin wrote:The seat post looks to be back to front. This will put the saddle too far forward.

Well spotted - agreed!!!

the_twin wrote:The seat post looks to be back to front. This will put the saddle too far forward.

Yeah thanks for the heads up . the twin and hamster ..It felt odd I have now turned it around ....much better .... And I ended up swapping the 2.4 's for 2.2's thanks jezrant ...now I'm just waiting for some plastic tire levers to arrive !.... I have been to 5 bike shops in two local towns and no one had the broad plastic /nylon levers ...so I ordered some on-line...

Saddle position is a personal thing, however for most a level saddle is about right, perhaps with the front about 2-3mm above the rear.
I fear your current position will have you sliding off the back all the time.