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When replacing your Bike Tires, you have to choose them carefully. They have to match your bicycle. If you plan to replace them, the first thing you have to do is to determine the kind of bike you have. Experts categorize bicycles into three groups - road bike, mountain bike, and 29ers.
Each of these bikes has a certain size wheel and requires a specific type and size of tires and bicycle tube. Measure your wheel size so that you can ask your bicycle shop about those size tires.
Generally, road bikes in our time use 700C. However, some bikers prefer to use 650C for the front wheels for two reasons. Bikers either want to speed up acceleration or they are small and they need to lower the stand-over clearance.
Even road bikers differ in the way they determine their needs for bike tires. Most of the racers like their tires better with 18-23 millimeters in width, while tour bikers prefer to use tires with 25-28 millimeters to have comfort and stability.
If you are not sure of the size, you can check it on the bike rim. You can also bring it to the bike shop. Their sales representative will have the right tools to determine its size. It would also be convenient to ask them about the bicycle tubes.
Mountain bikes use 26" diameter for its bike wheels. Mountain bikes come in two types as well. If you are using downhill bikes, you should use bike tires that have the width size between 2.5" and 3.0". However, if your bike is all-mountain bike, the ideal widths for the tires are between 1.8" and 2.4".
The latest breakthrough in the biker's world are the 29er bikes. It uses a wider variation of 700C. Its shape also resembles the knob more than any other 700C bicycle tires do.
After the size, consider the surface that your bike rides on. For dirt riders, they need a mountain bike wheels because of the tractions in different conditions. If the road surface you are riding is uniform, use a tire that is designed for that surface.
If the road is asphalt, the ideal bike tires are the slicks tires for maximum velocity and smooth riding. In addition, they provide good grip in most types of road condition. If the surfaces vary such as asphalt, concrete, gravel, or single track, the perfect match is the cyclo-cross tires or semi-slicks.
Treading of the bicycle is the next consideration, particularly the knobby tires for mountain bikes. Minor difference in treading can have great impact on your ride. Experts recommend sharp tread edges for balance. Semi-slicks have smooth center designed to have faster acceleration for least rolling resistance.
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