Tires come in three diameters.
Mountain bike tire sizes front back.
Tubeless tires are recommended when you want lower tire pressures.
It s lighter requiring less energy to rotate.
Alongside the tire size you have the option of running tubeless or tubed tires.
Fat bikes have tire width over 3 7.
Mountain bike tire size and width.
Measurements like 26 1 which is the 27 5 size and 28x two fractions which is the 29 size are fractional inch markings.
At the extreme end there are 69er and 96er mountain bikes that mix and match 29 622 and 26 559 wheels on the same bike as well as terry women s bikes with 24 520 front wheels and 700c 622 rear.
This varies from 1 6 to 2 5 inches.
As tires continue to trend wider so too are the tires in our test.
Check your tire s sidewall the numbers there indicate your tire size roughly its outer diameter and its width but not always in that order.
Read our review on the michelin wild rock r2 all mountain tire.
We selected tires in the 2 3 to 2 6 inch width range.
By necessity those run very different tires front and rear.
Once you ve identified your tire diameter 29 27 5 or 26 you ll want to dial in your width.
We now have several models in the 2 5 and 2 6 widths that are becoming much more common in the current mountain bike tire market.
All mountain and trial bikes have tire width in the range of 2 25 to 2 4.
Sticking with only a wide front tire is a good compromise.
2 2 and 27 5 indicate a tire that has a width of 2 2 and an outer diameter of 27 5.
Typical mountain bike tire.
It s important to note that you cannot mix fractional markings with decimals.
For downhill bikes the tire width can go up to 2 5.
Some special tires can even be wider up to 3 inches with some models.
On the typical cross country mountain bike you won t get bigger than a 2 1 tire back there.
A cross country bike will have tires in the 1 9 to 2 25 width range.
Trail and all mountain bikes will have tires in the 2 25 to 2 4 width range.
Cross country bikes have tire width between 1 9 and 2 25.
Downhill bikes which are meant to withstand the abuse of drops and rock gardens are typically equipped with tires up to 2 5 wide.
Tread profile is also important.
Previously the tire was only available in a 2 3 inch width and the brand released the new version in june 2018 in 2 5 and 2 6 inch widths.
Frame limitations while there is generally quite a bit of room in the front suspension fork a 2 3 2 5 tire can probably fit the frame can only accommodate a certain size tire.
Tires are also measured in width.
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We mounted tires to 30 mm internal diameter wheels.
This is also why a narrow tire goes on the rear wheel.
26 inches 27 5 inches and 29 inches.
With mountain bikes you re mostly safe from fractional sizes but it s worth mentioning them for completeness.
When wtb redesigned the vigilante last year they went all out on a modern front tire for aggressive mountain biking.