Mark Twain once wrote, "Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live." Fortunately, rubber eventually replaced the wooden and metal tires of Twain's time and now help ensure a rider's survival. Today's bicycle tires come in a variety of styles and tread types, although nearly all of them are so-called "clincher" tires, which consist of a "backbone" of steel wire or Kevlar around the edges and a nylon "carcass" with a rubber coating.
Road Bike Tires
The late writer and bicycle expert Sheldon Brown noted that "bicycle tires for on-road use have no need of any sort of tread features; in fact, the best road tires are perfectly smooth, with no tread at all!" Unfortunately, he lamented, "unsophisticated" cyclists often assume that smooth tires will be slippery, which forces tire manufacturers to carve fine patterns in their road bike tires. They serve no practical purpose. Most road bike tires are 700 or 700C size. They range in widths from 18 mm to 23 mm for racers and 25 mm to 28 mm for tourers who prefer comfort and stability over speed.
Mountain Bike Tires
Brown noted that the knobby treads used on mountain bike tires actually provide worse traction on hard surfaces than smooth road bike tires because, he said, the knobs may bend under side loads. Those knobby tires are just what you want when you get off the road and onto the trails, however. Most mountain bikes come in a 26-inch tire diameter, ranging in width from 1.8-inches to 2.4-inches. Semi-slick tread options are available for gravel and slickrock, while more aggressive knobbies will help shed mud and manhandle roots.
Hybrid Bike Tires
The famed science fiction author H. G. Wells once said, "When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race." The green alternative to the automobile is the hybrid, or commuter, bike. The best tires for commuting have a slick or inverted tread that allows you to cruise on asphalt. Some come with small knobs that, while they may slow you down a little, will provide more traction on gravel or dirt. The best mix of speed and comfort, according to outdoor retailer REI, is a medium-width tire of 28 mm to 32 mm, or 1.5 inches to 1.75 inches.
Other Tires
BMX tires are a smaller version of the mountain bike tire and usually come in a 20-inch diameter.
Cyclo-cross bikes use a variation of the 700C road-bike tire that is a little wider than its street-smart relative. These tires feature small knobs for use on pavement, grass, trails and the variety of obstacles that riders will encounter in their races.
A variation of the mountain bike, the 29er, uses a wider, knobbier version of the 700 tire as well, which, advocates say, handles technical trails, mud and sand better than its smaller-diameter brethren. Proponents also cite such advantages as better climbing and cornering traction. According to REI, initial studies seem to bear out those claims.
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