Mountain bike tires for mountain bikes are generally the most appropriate tires to put on a set of mountain-bike wheels. Bicycles fall into a few different categories, for the most part. People are usually most familiar with the two main categories; road bikes and mountain bikes. There is also a category of bike known as a hybrid, which has many characteristics of both road and mountain types.
Road bikes are distinguished by their extreme light weight in many cases and also the super-skinny wheels and tires that the bicycle frame sits on. One would never mistake a road bike for a mountain-bike, and one should never try to ride a road bike off-road, on the dirt or on any sort of mountain-bike trail. Mountain bikes, on the other hand, are specifically engineered for such off-road circumstances.
Mountain bike tires themselves come in a number of different sizes. Usually, they are classified by their inches in diameter such as 20 inch and 24 inch. Technically speaking, there is much more that goes into sizing of a tire for a mountain bike wheel than just calling it a 24 inch or even a 26 inch wheel. For instance, there is the matter of the width of the tire itself.
Mountain bike tires are distinguished by their very wide widths and knobby-looking rubber treads. This is because the tires are made for extreme riding on technical singletrack mountain trails or off-road environments. They are not very efficient and don’t ride easily on pavement or concrete. However, that is not where a tire for a mountain bike will excel.
Rather, mountain bike tires are at their best when they are being ridden over really rough terrain. Like most other bicycle tires that are what are called “clinchers, ” these tires are part of a unit which includes the wheel and a rubber or latex rubber inner tube. The tire itself clinches onto the rim of the bicycle wheel and is held onto the ride by a wire bead running along the rim of the tire.
Many people have memories of repairing a flat on a bicycle tire and can recall having to wrestle the tire off the wheel and fix or replace the inner tube that had been pierced by a thorn or a piece of glass that had made its way through the tire. With mountain bike tires, the likelihood of such a flat when the tire is properly inflated is much less likely because the tire is so sturdy.
Unlike road bike wheels, though, there is a great deal of rotating weight on a mountain-bike wheel. This means that the tire — because it is so big and thick — contributes to even more weight that is added along with the weight of the mountain bike wheel itself, which is also sturdily constructed and able to stand up to a lot of abuse.
This is one reason why a mountain bike can weigh over twice what a really nice road bike might weigh, though the two bicycles should not really be compared with each other, as they are built for different purposes. Mountain bike tires, just like road bike tires, have their place and generally tend to do the job they are called upon to do with a great deal of confidence and durability.
By: Doru I. P.About the Author:
