Why do mountain bicycles use wide tires, while racing bicycles use narrow tires?
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Filed under: mountain bicycles
Racing bikes have narrower tires for less drag/resistance. Less drag/resistance= more speed/efficiency.
MTB need wider tires to get better off-road traction.
Its not the width, its the thickness that matters. Road bikes need to more aerodynamic and the wheels don’t need to be as durable where as a mountain bike needs durable wheels to ride over rocks and such.
On mountian bikes the wider tire gives more traction because there is more friction
Racing bikes have narrow tires to reduce friction. With less friction the bike can move at higher speeds
aerodynamics, and rolling resistance.
wide tires allow lower tire pressure (without flats), and that gives better traction. a big tire with lower air pressure can conform to your riding surface better–giving you a larger area of contact. also mountain bikes average a lower speed than road bikes for a given level of input–so a wider, less aerodynamic tire is less of a problem than it would be on a road bike. XC racing tires are usually much thinner than say a DH or Freeride tire–to lessen the rolling resistance (but they do sacrifice traction). also, in the early days, before suspension a big fat soft tire took care of smoothing out some of the bumps.
roadbike tires are narrow for aerodynamics, and to offer less rolling resistance (traction), which is ok because pavment is much more regular than dirty/rocky/rooty trails–it also makes it easier to build a tire strong enough to hold much higher air pressures.
The wider tires on mountain bikes allows for lower pressures, which increases traction. But, the MTB tires’ wider profile and lower pressures also aid in suspension, especially with fully rigid MTBs.
The skinny tires of road bikes reduce rolling resistance and also increase cornering speeds due to the narrower profile.
Hi Lauren,
I think mountain bikes have big and beefy, larger tires because, it gives more traction off road, the tire has a higher sidewall for better rim protection, the fatter tire gives you better shock absorption and the wider profile gives you better flotation over loose sand and dirt. Also the tire is more durable. Just like the off road race trucks have big, tall, beefy, wide profile tires.
Road bikes have wimpy, skinny, low profile tires with super high pressure for less rolling resistance and weight savings.
Just my opinion!
Kimber
the terrain is what matters. like an suv will go in to mud, rocks and stuff need bigger tires for more traction on the loose terrain. road tires are like sports cars, they need speed and less friction, means more speed
carlos
http://www.bikingthings.com
Mountain bikes require a wider footprint to keep traction in loose and varied terrain. Their speeds aren’t as high, so rolling resistance isn’t as big a factor.
Road bikes are all about efficiency, and a narrower tire gives lower rolling resistance on pavement.
My top speed on a mountain bike: 46 mph.
My top speed on my road bike: 60.5 mph.