In addition to the frame suspension, mountain bike players should consider the most tires. For mountain bikes, the tire is the only component that directly touches the ground. The tire has a great influence on the riding experience and performance of the whole vehicle. It's important to choose a tire that suits your gameplay and road terrain. Otherwise, even if you have this top-level configuration, you won't get a good ride. Today, We will let you read the mountain bike tires from the aspects of tread, width and hardness. In the end, We will also explain the characteristics of the tires suitable for this terrain based on the terrain conditions used.

▲ Photo from: pinkbike

Let's look at the tread pattern first. The tread pattern has three major elements: 1. the shape of the tread. 2. The size of the tread. 3. The spacing between the teeth.

▲ Photo from: pinkbike

We don't intend to expand talk about teeth (not because I am lazy). The shape of the teeth is basically the same in each big terrain. Everything is basically the same. The brand will have its own unique design, and it will be a bit big when it is spread out. In addition, as long as the big direction is correct, no big mistakes will be made in the choice of the tooth shape.

▲ Photo from: pinkbike

Here, the verdict of wtb is taken as an example to roughly explain the action of the teeth at each position. The middle teeth have two shapes and are mixed. The middle teeth are mainly responsible for “biting into the ground” to provide sufficient grip and to provide a brake surface according to their different shapes. In the bottom middle tooth of the picture, the edge of the tooth in the forward direction is more "plate positive" to better grasp the ground to provide grip. The middle teeth next to the top, the edge of the tooth in the forward direction is more "comforting with the road surface". Relatively speaking, the rolling resistance will be smaller. The combination of the two types of teeth can be more moderate (suitable for the grip required for this tire positioning). At the same time, the middle teeth have a flat shape, a square shape, and a good brake surface. The side teeth are very "radical" high and large, which can help the pebble in the pumice road, the teeth can pass through the surface pumice, contact the ground, and maintain the grip controllability of the vehicle. At the same time, the higher side teeth can still provide good guidance when the grip is insufficient.

▲ Photo from: pinkbike

Enduro forest roads and even soft tail players such as DH are mainly selected to have larger and deeper tires for better downhill performance. Of course, don't go buy those small tires and tires of XC, intent to get small rolling resistance, you will regret it. Common things like maxxis dhf, dhr, onza's citius, ibex, Schwalbe's Magic Mary.

▲ Photo from: pinkbike

XC or "light forest players" like epic evo, the main choice is that the shape of the teeth in the shallower forward direction is more "sharp" to meet the ground, to obtain less rolling resistance, to facilitate climbing, and to maintain speed. Common ones are BEAVER, FREE FLOW, aspen, and Rocket Ron from Schwalbe.

▲ Photo from: pinkbike

Let's take a look at the second major element of the tread: the size of the teeth (height). In most cases, the larger the tooth, the stronger the grip, because the teeth can "bite the ground" deeper. Of course, it depends on the situation. It is not the bigger the more the more the ground. Like the dry and hard soil conditions, large and protruding teeth can even be a disadvantage. Because the soil is hard, the teeth can't “bite into the ground”, and the contact area will be less, which will result in greater rolling resistance and less grip. The softer the road surface, the larger the teeth, the more the protrusion will be more gripping. Like the regular version of the wtdict's verdict and the rain tire version, we can see that the tire version on the left is deeper and more prominent.

▲ Photo from: pinkbike

Let us talk about the interval between the teeth. The larger the interval between the teeth, the better the mud discharge. The most suitable tooth gap can not only provide good grip, but also prevent the tire from being quickly filled with mud and become a heavy "gray tire". However, when choosing a tire, in general, in addition to the rain tire, do not need to pay too much attention to the tooth gap.

▲ Photo from: mtb-mag

After finishing the tread, let's take a look at the width of the tire. The width of the tire, this is a metaphysical value, different manufacturers of the same size of the tire (such as the tire in the figure is 2.5 inches wide, which is not the height of some small partners), basically They are all different in size, and Schwalbe's tires are very wide. The same specifications will be much wider than other homes. At the same time, the inner width of the rim will also affect the actual width of the tire after loading. The wider the rim, the wider the width of the tire will be a little wider (really only a little). What will the tires widen? The contact area with the ground becomes larger and the grip is stronger. Of course, the width should be wide and moderate, and it should be within a suitable range. Otherwise, the ultra-wide tires are not long gone. The wider the tire, the greater the rolling resistance. So fit is the most important thing. The XC tire width is generally around 2.1", and the soft tail tire width is between 2.3" and 2.6".

▲ Photo from: pinkbike

Finally, let's take a look at the hardness. If you have two tires of the same type, different hard rubbers and soft rubbers (like the blue and purple lines of the world), the hard ones usually roll faster. But the soft rubber usually provides better grip. Of course, except in some cases, it will be elaborated later. But the softer the rubber, the faster the wear and tear. If you want the grip of the tire to increase to a higher level, they will wear faster. Of course, the current tires are also full of technology. It is not uncommon to use different synthetic rubbers according to the different positions of the teeth. By the way, I didn't mention the anti-puncture performance of the tire. It didn't mean that it wasn't important. It was that this thing had to be experienced by myself. Everyone said that they were good at puncture, but in fact, you know.

▲ Photo from: ews

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