Mountain Bike Tire Sizes Front Back

Mountain bike tire size and width.

Mountain bike tire sizes front back. In other words a tire which is 2 5 inches or bigger can be set to an air pressure between 28 and 30 psi. Additionally rear tire tread designs should complement the front tire but can be very different to achieve rear specific goals. Trail and all mountain bikes will have tires in the 2 25 to 2 4 width range. Trail all mountain and enduro bikes benefit from added volume to increase traction and comfort.

Mountain bike tires have a large range of widths. Read our review on the michelin wild rock r2 all mountain tire. Xc riders often opt for tire widths between 2in. In ideal circumstances you can even choose a different approach for the front and for the back tire.

Once you ve identified your tire diameter 29 27 5 or 26 you ll want to dial in your width. It s lighter requiring less energy to rotate. For example 26 x 2 1. An example would involve a thicker tire and its casing which allow a lower pressure.

When buying bicycle tires the size is specified by a number that has the diameter listed first and then the width. A cross country bike will have tires in the 1 9 to 2 25 width range. The front tire is responsible for direction changes. Cross country riders generally use narrower tires while downhill mountain bikers tend to go for wider ones.

Your rims will have a range of tire sizes that it can accommodate. Mountain bike tire widths. This is also why a narrow tire goes on the rear wheel. Using different tire sizes is possibly a bit out dated now as most now accept that some large tires roll as fast or faster than small tires it used to help those who didn t have confidence sliding the front tire or needed to slow down there steering for extreme terrain it s still an option if you want to cut that little bit of weight off your tires and or need a narrower tire for bite in the slop.

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.