Why are mountain bikes always sold with mud tires?

Canada
August 27, 2012 3:45pm CST
Fact is where I live virtually everyone rides these bikes as commuter bikes. They never ride them in the mud. So why not sell them with road tires? It would make for easier pedaling and a smoother ride. I'm too broke to change the tires right away so I wear the mud tires out first and then I buy road tires for them.
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5 responses
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
28 Aug 12
Simply,it's because you're buying a specialist bike where mud tyres would be an advantage,and using it for another purpose..if you want a bike for road use,they'd expect you to buy a road bike instead.I get your point,where MTB suspension would be good for soaking up bumps and road damage when commuting..I bought an MTB before because it was an inexpensive purchase,but the upright posture didn't suit Me..and I didn't like the tyre noise! Dunno if I'd have liked it any better (or kept it!) if it had the option of road tyres or I'd tried replacing them..I suppose you COULD get road tyres for an MTB..I've never looked for them,but I've only seen replacement mud tyres available..and you could try selling on the mud ones if you could get road ones,getting some of your money back..
• Canada
28 Aug 12
The cheap bikes are all configured as mountain bikes and come with standard knobby tires. Well made inexpensive road bikes are not easy to find. Usually the choice is mountain bike or racing bike. Neither is ideal for commuting. I really like my old touring bike. Just don't have the cash to rebuild it. They are either expensive or hard to find. It isn't that road tires in those sizes are hard to get. An inexpensive mountain bike with road tires serves the purpose quite well.
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• Omagh, Northern Ireland
11 Sep 12
I remember Raleigh had a bike Model here called the "Grifter" around the late 70's when I was still in my teens..looking back,it sorta resembled a MTB road bike cross,but had twist grip gears..
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• Omagh, Northern Ireland
11 Sep 12
maybe my hindsight's not 20/20..I just looked the grifter up,and found some on ebay....its picture looks more like a BMX than the model I remembered!
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• United States
5 Sep 12
You will actually find that a lot of the low end mountain bikes, are sold with an on/off road tire like the AlphaBye or some knock off of this. These tires have a strong center bead so that with higher pressure you just ride on the smoother center line of the tire, but if you run a lower pressure or on a softer surface you get a little more bite. The Higher end mountain bikes are expecting to be performance mountain bikes rather than commuters so they typically will stock a more specific off road tire. WalMart bikes always use a beefy tire because Walmart is selling what looks cool but doesn't work rather than functional pieces of equiptment. Also you will note that many of the race tires are starting to use a more minimalist tread like a Kenda Small Block 8, or a Continental Race King. THese look like they should be fast on the road, but you will find that they will just wear out fast if used that way. If you truly want a street tire on your mountain bike, your shop will probably just trade you tires at purchase, so you don't have to wear out a tire you don't want.
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• Canada
5 Sep 12
Canadian Tire here in Canada does the same thing as Walmart. I wish they would do the on/off road tires because that's how the majority of them are getting used. I have a couple of friends at work who do a lot of trail riding and have switched to those. I'd likely have to go to Bob's to get them though because most of the stores here don't sell them. Bob's is that dusty old bike shop with piles of old bike parts and all laying around. I think every town should have one of those. If he hasn't got something he'll order it. He's also a top notch bicycle mechanic. There aren't many of those around either.
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• United States
5 Sep 12
My favorite is the Alpha Byte. Lots of companies have knock offs, like the ChengShin Alpha Copy, but it is jut the tread pattern that matters, so the knockoffs work fine.
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• Canada
5 Sep 12
Will look into that when the ones on there start to wear down. I figure I'm good until the spring.
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@lampar (7584)
• United States
30 Aug 12
I assume it is because most of the back country bike trail is full of mud and make of rocks and gravel. This type of tire is a better choice for the rider and serve the original purpose of the design. The commonly used tires on street bike may not last long on a mountain bike if they are put to use under this type of bike trail. The manufacturer may not know that his buyers will never ride their bike on mud road instead on public street and concrete road only.
• Canada
30 Aug 12
It shouldn't be hard for manufacturers to realize that inexpensive mountain bikes are for the most part not ridden anywhere but on roads and proper pathways. I would think that they would at least put on a crossover tire that is good for both. I think they are on there for image purposes only.
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@toniganzon (72317)
• Philippines
28 Aug 12
Get a racer bike instead. They don't come with mud tires. Or you can opt to set up your own mountain bike. My brother does that. he buys parts individually and set it up himself.
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• Canada
28 Aug 12
Racing bicycles are way to expensive for my budget. They also are not tough enough for some of the riding I do. For commuting and kicking around town the least expensive option for me is an inexpensive mountain bike. I'm able to buy one of those new for less than it would cost me to buy parts to build something similar. I do have an old touring bike that I love dearly. I put more than 32,000 kilometers on it. The rear wheel needs to be rebuilt and so does the bottom bracket. If I had the cash to do so I would repair it. It is fast and rugged. Only place it doesn't outperform my other bike is when we get snow on the ground.
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@beenice2 (2967)
• Sackville, New Brunswick
10 Sep 12
First of all dear, I think the reason why they sell mountain bike with mud tires on them is that they expect you to go on dirt roads. And the other reason is that you might want to ride in snow and it gives more traction. And the other reason can be just for the look, like usual. That is about it for my opinion.
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@beenice2 (2967)
• Sackville, New Brunswick
10 Sep 12
There is no mud hole until the fall's rainy days, until then will see dear,my legs has to get in better shape I know it I can use more bike rides. Even if I've reach over 50 ( still young).
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• Canada
10 Sep 12
I think it's just the look because they don't actually give better traction in the snow and you and I both know that most people don't actually ride in the mud. We could go ride in the mud sometime if you like. I'm sure we could find a really good mud hole after all the rain we've gotten over the last couple of days.
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