Tires are the only place on the vehicle to touch the ground and have a crucial impact on our riding comfort and roll resistance efficiency, which is often more direct than the frame handle group feedback. Choosing a good tire, coupled with a reasonable setting adjustment, the ride experience may have a qualitative leap, or even two different styles of tires, will give you a completely different cycling experience.
Mark the “password” on the tire
Attention riders may notice that the edges of the outer tire are often marked with a long list of symbols, which are usually composed of numbers and letters. Do these “password” outer tire marks have their unique meaning?
The above figure is an example, first, say “700x23c”, 700 refers to the whole wheel group and the outer tire diameter of about 700MM, which is also the current diameter specification of most road cars. Some road cars will use 27.5 wheelsets, and the outer tire mark here is 650B / 27.5. The later 23C refers to the width of the outer tire, approximately 23 mm, and the wider as the number grows.
On the mountain bike outer tire, you use another set of different standards from the road car, tire diameter specifications are 26,27.5, or 29 (tire diameter per inch 1 inch =2.54 cm), tire width is 2.1,2.2,2.3 (tire width per inch), etc. But no matter how the standard changes, it is a meaning, “tire diameter x tire width.”
The later “130 MAX PSI” refers to the highest tire pressure it can withstand, and many riders will use this standard to pursue the minimum roll resistance. But in fact, it is not correct, although it did not exceed the highest range of air pressure, too high tire pressure will not only make the road feel stiff, but also aggravate the central wear of the outer tire, and even the risk of a flat tire. Therefore, the outer tire will usually mark the recommended tire pressure or the recommended tire pressure range below. In addition, some tires will also be marked with the arrow to the tire rolling direction, the rider should pay attention to the installation, so as not to install the wrong outer tire.
Two common air nozzle specifications
On bicycles, there are two mainstream air nozzle specifications, namely Auto Valve and Presta Valve, in addition to a partial door English Valve, which often appears on some old bicycles and is not easy to see now, so you don’t introduce it. The specification of the nozzle is determined by the specifications of the wheel ring, and the selected pump joint is also different. The following is to introduce these two different specifications of the nozzle.
The Auto Valve is now common on low-end bikes and consists of a valve set with automatically closed spring valves. The valve inflation needle is flush with the top of the outer pipe. Press the air needle when discharging. The spring design of the valve doomed the structure to dust contamination, so Auto Valve valves are usually recommended to screw the plastic dust cover to help fully seal the valve.
Presta Valve originated in road bikes and is currently widely used in mountain bikes. The Presta Valve’s body is smaller and more slender than the Auto Valve, meaning smaller vents in the rim. The Presta Valve does not use the spring valve design. When the tire pressure reaches a certain amount, the tire pressure pushes the valve up, the valve is automatically locked and sealed, and then the bolts on the valve can be tightened and fixed. Due to the different structure, compared to the Auto Valve dust cover, the Presta Valve dust cover is more of a decorative effect, even if not the dust cover is used, it will not affect the sealing performance of the Presta Valve.
Due to the different diameter and structure, the pump interface of the two air nozzles is also completely different, so you need to pay attention when choosing the pump. Of course, many of the pumps currently support air nozzle conversion, which switches freely between the Presta Valve and Auto Valve specifications by simply flipping the interface. In addition, the thin and exposed Presta Valve valve core is also more fragile than the Auto Valve valve core. Once the pumping force is too hard, it is likely to cause the valve core to bend, or even break, so be extra careful when pumping the Presta Valve tires.
Three common outer tires
Clincher
A clincher is the most widely used, the most common type of tire. The clincher system is composed of inner and outer tires, with its simple maintenance, many products and deeply loved by the majority of riders. But the disadvantage of the clincher system is also very obvious, that is, the weight is not light, the air pressure is difficult to control, especially the air pressure is difficult to control this disadvantage, which is more obvious in mountain bikes. Too high air pressure makes it difficult for drivers to obtain the ideal shock absorber performance through the tires, but too low air pressure can easily make the inner tire is crushed by the ring, resulting in a flat tire, so it is difficult to see the clincher in the current world-class mountain bike field.
However, in the field of road vehicles that do not pay attention to the low pressure, the clincher is still the most mainstream applied tire, even for the current promotion of the Tubeless tire, it is difficult to quickly replace its position. Its simple repair method also makes the clincher a necessary tire for a long-distance ride.
Tubeless tire (no inner tube system)
Tubeless tire, also known as the no inner tube system, as the name suggests, Tubeless tire is no inner tube, but with the fit of the outer tire lip and the inner wall to maintain airtightness, the air nozzle (usually Presta Valve) is independently installed on the car ring. Because the inner tire is removed, the inner wall impact damage is greatly reduced, so the Tubeless tire can play a lower tire pressure than the clincher, to obtain a greater grip and shock absorber performance. Tubeless tires are generally used with self-tonic fluid, so some small damage can be quickly repaired through a self-tonic fluid. These features all make the Tubeless tire popular with mountain riders.
But the Tubeless tire also has disadvantages, the first is to pump, with a portable pump to pump the Tubeless tire is a very difficult thing, you must use the ground pump or air pump to be easier to operate. Secondly, compared with the clincher, the Tubeless tire stripping tire will be relatively difficult, and the suitable Tubeless wheel group price will be more expensive. With the promotion of the road car Tubeless tire, it is also gradually popular in the road car circle.
Tubular
The tube, the ancestor of tires, was invented more than 100 years ago and then clinchers. The tubular structure is relatively special, the inner tire is completely wrapped by the outer tire, forming a coherent “rubber pipe”, and is glued to the wheel group through the special tubular glue. The tubular can play a relatively high tire pressure, soft and comfortable road feel, and lightweight, so it is widely used by professional drivers and has long been considered the best choice for race-class tires.
But the installation and disassembly of the tubular are the most difficult of these three kinds of tires, first of all, we must use special glue, and then there is excellent technology, to ensure that the tire is installed in place, these put forward high requirements for ordinary car friends. Not only that, but the high price also makes many car friends discouraged. tubulars are generally the most used in the road bike sector but are rarely seen in the mountain bike sector.
The focus that needs to be considered for fetal selection
How to choose a suitable tire suitable for you? These all need to be considered in terms of the use environment, personal needs, and car models!
Road cars generally pursue of higher speed, so the need of riders can choose shallow tread even almost no tread tires, the tires can help you get lower roll resistance, improve rolling efficiency, 25c width by professional drivers considered is the most suitable for the width, rolling resistance, comfort, and control can get the best balance, with the promotion of the disc brake road, road tire width also has the trend of further expansion. If you are riding a road bike, then the above tires don’t meet your requirements, and you can choose a 32c or even wider to get enough grip off-road and keep the ride steady.
Mountain bikes, on the other hand, require greater grip, so the 1.95-inch to 2.1-inch width tires are the most commonly used XC mountain bike, and can also meet the off-road needs of most riders. At present, as the 29-inch rim is designed wider and wider, the tire width can adapt to expand, even reaching 2.25 inches and 2.3 inches, the only purpose is one —— to get a stronger grip. But if you don’t often off-road, just want to walk casually, then these wide tires not only have huge tire noise, higher roll drag, will cost you unnecessary effort, when a 1.75-inch width light tire may be more suitable for you.
In addition, your tire choice also considers the weather environment. When riding on rainy days, road cars can be replaced with drainage grooves or decorative tires, and when the drainage, increases friction. If you are a mountain driver, the race is muddy, you can choose a “rain” tire with a large tooth gap and narrow width, to avoid mud stuck into the frame and affecting the ride. Of course, if your requirements are not that strict, just install a versatile outer tire.
From www.biketo.com
