Looking for a quick guide to MTB tyres? Well, read on!
Getting the right tyre for you mountain bike is vital to not only performance but safety too. Maintaining the right contact with the terrain you’re riding is very dependant on the type of tyres you’re running. Whether on country trails, downhill tracks or cross country rides having getting the right tyre will make all the difference.
Before diving into the types of tyres available and their features, it’s important to understand mountain bike tyre sizing first.
MTB Tyre Sizes
Mountain Bike tyres come in a variety of diameters from 26” through 27.5” and onto 29”. 26 Inch was the classic size and the newer breed are 17.5 inch and 29er MTBs. Bigger tyres mean higher rolling resistance but can also give more grip, however it’s a constant trade off for one over the other. Depending on the tyre of riding you do and the terrain different tyres are suitable.
The width of MTB tyres is massive and it’s the same story with trading off rolling resistance (and therefore effort required) and grip levels offered. However its not always the case as a narrow tyre will cut through mud and find the grip under it as opposed to a wider tyre than can dissipate weight over a wider area but still lead to a slippy ride (yet you’d think more tyre, more grip!).
Mountain Bike Tyre Tread Patterns
Unlike BMX and road bike tyres MTBs need tread. Two basic ways of defining tread types are the size of the knobbly bits to put it simply. They are either small and low profile or high and aggressive.
Second to this is the arrangement of the afore mentioned nobbles, either open or closed.
A low profile closed pattern will be fast and more useful on hard packed surfaces and a high profile open tread pattern will be slower but more useful on loose packed surfaces or mud.
Finding the right balance of grip and speed is what you’re looking for depending on the riding style you enjoy and the terrain you’re doing it on.
Mountain Bike Tyre Pressures
The performance of any tyre really does depend on the pressure recommended you run it at. You can seemingly gain a wide variety of benefits with your tyres by varying the pressure (within the manufacturers recommendations of course) of the tyre. The harder the faster rolling, the lower the pressure the improvement of grip.
MTB Tyre Protection
If any bike tyre is going to get punished its going to be a mountain bike one. You’ll find MTB tyres are thicker not only on the main body of the tyre but also the sidewalls are really beefed up to take cycling abuse.
We hope the above guide gives you some indicators of what to look out for and prioritise when it comes to selecting your next pair of mountain bike tyres.
So why not check out your next set of MTB tyres from our great range here at Click Cycle.
Check out our 26 Inch MTB Tyres here.
Check out our 27.5 Inch MTB Tyres here.
Check out our 29 Inch MTB Tyres here.
