swapping to slicks for the road?

[steel_is_real_nice]

Longtime lurker, first post. Super grateful for this community: props to the regulars who keep it alive.

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So I'm planning a big ride beginning in March that will start with the GDR in New Mexico, then move west on the GET. The part that sucks is our "prologue" -- we will probably have to pedal the 900 miles from Austin, TX to Antelope Wells, or north of there, before the actual trail riding starts. Additionally, there will probably be multi-day road stints in the future as we make our way northwards (in Utah, for example).

My question: would it be worthwhile to swap to lower-volume road tires when we've got days of road riding ahead? Will 900 miles of road waste 2 good sets of Nanos before they even see the dirt? Or, is it a waste of space to carry the spares, and should a low rolling-resistance mountain tire do fine on the pavement?

OR... is anyone driving west from Dallas/Austin in early March 

[ocary]

A different approach:  I did a road tour this summer and took Amtrak home.  It worked very well as Amtrak has bike boxes that are very large that require very minimal bike dis-assembly.  Might be an option for getting from Texas to New Mexico.

[steel_is_real_nice]

Yeah transport is definitely an option... but amtrak? Dallas to el paso is coming up as $180.  We'd rent a car before that.

[Racingguy04]

I admittedly have little experience with this kind of challenge, but it seems to me that slicks, or some tires that are nearly slick in the middle with some knobs on the edges would be the best bet if you're planning on long days on pavement. If you wanted to save yourself the hassle of carrying full knobby trail tires, you could always mail them to yourself in antelope wells and pick them up at the post office. And if you think you'll need them again in utah, you can mail them ahead to yourself.

[bpeschka]

I admittedly have little experience with this kind of challenge, but it seems to me that slicks, or some tires that are nearly slick in the middle with some knobs on the edges would be the best bet if you're planning on long days on pavement. If you wanted to save yourself the hassle of carrying full knobby trail tires, you could always mail them to yourself in antelope wells and pick them up at the post office. And if you think you'll need them again in utah, you can mail them ahead to yourself.

If you want to mail to Antelope Wells, the closest is Hachita.  Next closest would be Columbus, on the border to the East of Hachita (maybe 30 mi).

HACHITA
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HACHITA, NM 88040-9800

800-ASK-USPS® (800-275-8777)
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[steel_is_real_nice]

Thanks!

[Mike McElveen]

I do all of my road training (outside Austin by the way), on my mountain bike using skinny (1.25 and 1.5) slicks.  This includes 100+ mile rides on our coarse Hill Country chip seal.  Yes, they are faster and yes, you will totally wear out your knobbies on 900 miles of pavement.  They are also much quieter, cheaper, and lighter.

Having said that, I rode the Great Divide last year and didn't mind the knobbies on paved roads.  However, I do think with 900 unbroken miles you'd be better served with slicks.  I'd mail your knobbies ahead to Columbus since you'll be passing through there on your way to Antelope Wells.  I wouldn't mail an empty letter to Hachita.  That place will give you the creeps.  I also can't imagine they still have a post office.
 

[dave]

Mike, thanks for posting that.  I'm currently training for the Divide by riding increasingly long days on my mountain bike, and every ride I find myself wondering whether temporarily swapping my knobbies for other tires would let me go faster and save money.  --To the OP, this does seem like your best bet (or Amtrak, I have done that before and it works great).

By the way, Mike, I recently read your journal on crazyguy--thanks for doing it, it was both inspiring and informative.