Bike Tyres
The tyre is the most important part on your bike. I realize that this is a big statement to make but if you consider that the tyre is the only thing directly connecting you and your bike with the road it becomes quite obvious! Most cyclists clearly understand the importance of safe cycling so it stands to reason that choosing the right tyres for your specific application is not only prudent but also vital to your safety. How many times have you or your mates been guilty of stretching those last couple of kilometers out of your well worn tyres? I wonder how many cyclists have had accidents because their tyres lost grip with the surface and gave out from underneath them. Personally, I can think of an incident only 3 weeks ago.
A bike tyre consists of three parts: bead, fabric and rubber. The bead is the edge of the tyre. It is usually made of strong steel wire or Kevlar. The beads are considered the backbone of a tyre because they hold the tyre onto the rim. If the bead is not fitted correctly to the rim when you inflate they tyre the tyre will blow off the rim. This will not only make a very loud bang but it will also irreparably damage the tube and often damages the bead as well. It is a good idea to regularly check the tyre is seated on the rim as you inflate the tyre.
Cloth fabric or casing as it is commonly known is woven between two beads and forms the main body of the tyre. The casing, together with the beads, gives the shape to the tyre. Most common materials used for fabric in modern bicycles are nylon, some polyamides, Aramid and Kevlar. Cotton and silk are also used in high quality racing tubular tyres; these tyres can hold pressures in excess of 250 PSI. Casing quality in tyres is measured by its TPI (threads per inch) rating. Generally, the more threads per inch the better quality the tyre will be. Low quality tyres typically have between 15 and 50 TPI and high quality tyres between 100 and 300 TPI.
After the casing has been constructed, it is then coated with rubber. When applying the rubber coating on the tyre, the outer part that comes in contact with the ground is made thicker as you see in your bike. This part is called tread. The sidewalls are coated with thin rubber as they do not come in direct contact with ground.
The quality of the rubber in the tyre may vary depending on the additives mixed in the rubber, resulting in change in traction. In general, a softer rubber mix gives better traction, but is likely to wear at a faster rate. High end race tyres produced by Continental, Michelin and Maxxis used advanced technology to provide not only excellent grip and speed while at the same time increasing durability and longevity.
In Road tyres, the Continental GP4000S is currently rated as the best road tyre in the world. It is faster and provides more grip in all weather conditions and last as long as most heavy duty training tyres.
It is not always easy to know when to replace your tyres and if you are unsure, drop in to your favourite bike shop and ask. Personally, I replace my tyres when they are about ¾ worn. The reason I do this is because most of my punctures occur in this last ¼ of the tyres life and I HATE getting punctures! By Doing this I lose a few dollars in good rubber but save a mint on replacement tubes and air canisters.
We Stock a wide range of Road and MTB Tyres.
