amenahmw wrote: What tyres would you recommend for road riding? I'm thinking of Schwalbe City Jets as they seem affordable. Thanks for all of the help
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Hello amenahmw
I started road cycling some years back by putting Scwalbe City Jets on my mountain bike – they made a big difference; faster than knobblies, stable and reliable with, so far, only two punctures (one was from a rogue drawing pin outside Morrisons so unavoidable). I've used the bike for everything I need - commuting, shopping, group rides and camping holidays. It's also done London to Cambridge with full camping gear (because I was en route for a two week trip round Norfolk and
not because I take that sort of kit on a day's sportive – thankyou Mr Sarcastic Roadie
). Excuse my digression
. There are lighter and faster tyres to be had but for starting out, I'd opt for puncture resistance and durability over speed. I still use the mountain bike as my runaround and, interestingly, it's no slower than my 'road' bike for getting across town due to all the traffic lights (yes, I do stop), hold ups and poorly surfaced roads. A big advantage to using a heavy mountain bike for a while is the increased fitness – when you finally get a lighter bike you'll fly
!
Regarding basic maintenance, how about looking for courses in your area? Depending on where you are, there can be a variety of inexpensive ways to learn ranging from council funded courses to local community workshops. There are also lots of very helpful 'how to' videos on You Tube.
Good luck - and enjoy it!