My Trek 800 has lasted me for quite a long time and one of the tires on it was the original equipment that the bike came with. As I was riding home from work on Friday, I realized that the rear tire’s sidewall had three holes in it and the tube was poking through and the front tire needed to at least be reset. I was concerned enough about it that I drove to work on Monday (and will likely have to drive the rest of the week for other unrelated reasons). After work, I headed over to The Ambridge Bike Shop to purchase two new tires, two new tubes and a tire change kit.

This is the old 26″ x 1.95″ tire. Notice how it is worn it is. 800 miles+ would probably do this to any bike tire.

Gary, the manager of the bike shop assisted me with my purchase and I decided on replacing my 26″ x 1.95″ knobby off-road tires with 26″ x 1.5″ road tires designed for on-road riding. I made the decision because most of my riding is done on paved concrete roads and any bit of effort that I can spare myself is a good thing. So, 45 minutes later, I was home and had the new tires installed on my bike.

This is the new 26″ x 1.5″ front tire.

A preliminary ride around the neighborhood revealed that these new tires are indeed faster than the old ones. By faster, I mean that they have far less rolling resistance than what I had before and allow me to ride farther with less effort.