Mountain Bike Tyres Selection Guide

Yes, you can also use tubeless MTB tyres with an inner tube. However, our advice is to use this as an emergency solution, as it actually increases the rolling resistance of the tyres enormously. It is also at the expense of other riding characteristics such as grip en comfort but also weight.

The front tyre generally has taller and coarser knobs than the rear to maintain maximum grip on the front wheel when cornering. When your front tyre slips, correction is very difficult and so you want maximum grip. The rear tyre, on the other hand, has shorter knobs to maintain good rolling resistance and speed. When your rear tyre slips, it is easier to correct, so it's worth the trade-off for more speed.

The qualification mud is not specifically tied to the season but is more often found in the post-season, autumn and winter. In summer, it would have to have rained more than 2 days in a row on a busy route for the same result. Even though some grip can often be gained with lower tyre pressure, you will have no grip with tyres that have shorter knobs.

Skinwall tyres are light brown in colour and are also called Classic Look. Vittoria is a brand that often produces skinwall tyres. Tanwall is currently used by Maxxis and has a slightly darker colour. You can also come across this colour on Schwalbe MTB tyres which have brown sidewalls. Some WTB gravel tyres also feature this colour.

Starting with Schwalbe, you have the DD (double defence) protection layer around the entire tyre that protects against cuts from thorns or sharp stones. Then you have the Schwalbe Snakeskin technology that protects only the sidewalls from thorns, cuts and sharp stones. At Maxxis, you see similar techniques in the EXO protection which is resistant to cuts and wear. The EXO+ protection Protects the entire tyre with a double layer against cuts and has very good durability properties. Vittoria tyres also feature extra protection of the sidewalls against punctures caused by cuts. The technologies of the various brands we offer are further explained in detail under Technology on the product page for each tyre.

The main difference between folding tyres and wire tyres is the external feature of a hard steel bead in the case of wire bead tyres. Folding tyres fold up, come in a small package and are much more supple. They also have lower rolling resistance, more grip and are lighter than wire bead tyres; but more expensive to buy. Wire bead tyres are more durable and in some cases more puncture-resistant and cheaper to buy.