When Should I Replace My Mountain Bike Tires?

Mountain bike tires are what keep you connected to the ground and are one of the most important parts when riding. The best mountain bike tires will ensure you have adequate grip and it also serves as a safety feature for your bike while giving you more performance. However, many people ask “When Should I Replace My Mountain Bike Tires?”

In the following article, we will need to look at some of the reasons when and why you will replace your mountain bike tires. There are tons of safety checks that you should do, but your tires are one of the biggest safety features you need. Here are some of our thoughts on the mountain bike tires and when you will need to replace them.

How Long do Mountain Bike Tires Last?

Mountain bike tires have a ton of grip and while they do not take as much strain as your motor vehicle, the tires will eventually start to wear. When it comes to mountain bikes, the average lifespan of these tires can be around 3000-8000 miles. However, it will vary greatly depending on the different terrains and how you ride.

Since there are hardcore terrains and terrains with softer gravel, some of them have fewer effects on the tires. There are a few things that affect the degradation of mountain bike tires. Here are a few things that could speed up the degradation of tires:

• Tough Terrains: You will need to look at the different terrains and each terrain can have a different effect on the tires.
• Tire Quality: You can find cheaper tires, but the better your tires, the longer they will take to degrade. If you are looking for high-end tires, the Specialized Butcher GRID TRAIL 2Bliss Tire is one of the top options along with the Maxxis Minion DHR II Wide Trail EXO/TR are both one of the best options available. High end tires might cost more up front but will save you money in the long run.
• Cycling Skill: If you are skilled at braking, you can reduce the strain on your bike tires. However, better braking will remove the strain on the tires. If you go around skidding it will reduce the life of the tire drastically.
• Trail Types: When you are riding on angular gravel, you will need a durable tire, due to the faster degradation of the tires. Pavement or gravel will speed the process up and should be avoided with certain mountain bike tires.

These are 4 of the main reasons that mountain bikes degrade. When you have a nice mountain bike, you’ll want to bring it to a ton of different trails and for a variety of terrains. You can use some of the above-mentioned tires to reduce some of the strain. The strain will reduce your spending and keep your tires in better shape and help the traction last for longer.

How To Make Mountain Bike Tires Last Longer?

If you don’t want to replace your tires every so often, you will need to look at how to make the tires last longer. We have looked at a couple of the top tips that you could integrate into your cycling experience and these tips will improve the life of these tires. Much like Formula 1, it does require some safe riding from you:

Use Apps To Track Tire Mileage

There are numerous different applications that one can use to ensure you are up to date with the mileage of your tires. Once you are up to date with your tire mileage, it becomes much easier to know and save for the day you need to replace them. Strava is one of the top apps that can be used to track your miles.

Another decent mountain bike tire you can find on backcountry is the Continental Trail King Performance Tire as a replacement.

Heat Is Not Your Friend

While you are looking at warm days to go mountain biking, you need to keep in mind that your tires will also be warmer. Since tires are made from rubber, the rubber will deteriorate or melt and you will be more susceptible to damage the tires. These tires will also wear much faster and you will need to replace them. Riding on hot pavement will wear a mountain bike tire out fast and aren’t designed for that type of terrain.

Swap The Front And Rear Tires

While it is not always possible to swap these tires out because you will have a designated rear and front tire. If your front and rear tires are not specifically designed for the area, you will need to alternate them. The rear tire on a mountain bike tends to take the bulk of the strain and the strain will rapidly wear out the tires. While alternating them does not reduce the wear, it will make sure that wear happens evenly.

The Maxxis Aggressor EXO/TR Tire is perfect to reduce strain.

How do you Know When your Mountain Bike Tires are Worn Out?

Before asking “When Should I Replace My Mountain Bike Tires?”, you will need to learn the signs that your tires are worn out. There are a couple of things to look at. These will let you know that it is time to replace your mountain bike tires. Here are some of the most prominent things to look at before you go out riding:

Flat Spots

Flat spots are areas along the tire that have been worn down significantly. You don’t have any more studs in the area. It can be dangerous to ride with some of these flat spots. It will also reduce the number of grips you have along with your connection to the trail.

Having flat spots on your tires will only increase your risk on sliding out or losing control of your bike. You want that tire to bite into the dirt while you ride keeping on on the trail.

The Specialized Purgatory GRID 2Bliss Tire is one of the better tires on the market to help reduce flat spots.

Fabric Shows Through The Rubber

Underneath each set of tires, you will find the fabric on the inside. The fabric is the final part of the tire protection. If you continue to ride on the tire, you will find that you create friction inside of the tube. Once there is enough friction created, it could lead to the tire exploding.

Irregularities And Lumps

Finally, you will need to look through the tire. You need to make sure that it looks the same as it did when you were using it. The tire should be smooth and no unnatural sections. Unnatural sections mean that too much friction is created. Having so much friction could potentially damage the tires and lead to the tires exploding.

Conclusion

If you have been wondering when to replace your mountain bike tires, you need to look at some of the key tips. These tips should ensure that you remain on top of the bike. Also, it will help keep the tires in the best conditions.

You must ensure your bike is in peak condition to avoid maintenance issues. More importantly with tires because they are your lifeline to the trail. Always check on your tires to make sure they have enough tread and are at the correct PSI.

Below is a Pinterest friendly photo… so you can pin it to your Mountain Bike Board!