What Qualities Make For A Good Bicycle Tire?

Generally speaking, when describing the characteristics of tires, they are roughly divided into several directions: rolling resistance, grip, road feel, wear resistance, explosion-proof, weight, and price. In addition, there are two characteristics that are often overlooked but are very important: power transmission and manufacturing quality.
1. Rolling resistance When the wheel starts rolling, you will hope that it will keep rolling and not slow down. Of course, this is impossible because it will face wind resistance and other resistance. As for the resistance of the bicycle itself, a small part of the reason is the resistance of the hub bearing, and the other main part is the "rolling resistance" of the tire. The smaller the rolling resistance, the easier it is to maintain the speed. In other words, you will speed up with the same force. Needless to say, the smaller the rolling resistance, the better.
2. Grip When you are turning or braking, the last thing you want to happen is slipping. At this time, the "grip" of the tire is a key. Even when accelerating in a straight line, you will need grip when the force is strong. The greater the grip, the better.
3. Road feel When you encounter an uneven road surface, some tires will make you feel very bumpy and uncomfortable, some tires are dull and feel nothing, and some tires make you feel the change in road conditions but not bumpy. These feelings are collectively called "road feel". You will want a comfortable road feel, not a road feel that makes you dizzy.
4. Wear resistance Bicycle tires are generally expensive. If you calculate the amount of money required per unit of rubber, they are many times more expensive than car tires. So of course you will hope that such an expensive thing can last a little longer, and this is the responsibility of the tire's "wear resistance". The better the wear resistance, the longer the mileage it can be used.
5. Explosion-proof tires can be said to be the most common fault encountered in bicycle leisure sports, and in order to reduce weight, the tire skin is often only a thin layer, which is not easy to withstand the puncture of stones, glass, and branches. Most tires used outdoors have an "explosion-proof" design to prevent foreign objects from piercing the mesh cover.
6. Weight
Perhaps you are a person who pursues lightweight, and any spare parts on the bicycle must be calculated for those ten or twenty grams. Undoubtedly, the inner and outer tires are also a target of lightweighting. The difference between the inner and outer tires of a car can be as much as 100 grams or 200 grams. Regardless of the effect of reducing the weight of the tires, just seeing the weight reduction of the whole car on paper may make you pay for lightweight tires. 7. Power transmission
If you are like me, you have ridden a mountain bike with grain tires and then changed to slick tires. You can definitely feel that when starting, you can accelerate more obviously with the same effort, and it becomes lighter when climbing. This is because the "power transmission" of the tire has become better, or it can be said that the "rigidity" of the tire is better. Tires with poor power transmission seem to be stuck to the asphalt road, and it seems to be stepped into the mud when you step on it with great force.
8. Manufacturing quality Some tires have different colors for visual effects or other reasons, but have you found that the intersection of colors is crooked? After some tires are installed on the rims, turn them around and see if they are not actually "round" and have ups and downs? Even manufacturers should not be happy to see these unpleasant aspects of their products, but it may be that the quality control does not meet the requirements or the sacrifices are made under cost considerations.
9. Price The price of tires varies greatly. A lightweight tire for competition may cost two or three thousand yuan, but a practice tire may cost less than five hundred yuan. There are some tires on the market with outstanding features, such as being extremely light or able to be inflated to ultra-high tire pressure. It often depends on how much you are willing to pay for these features, and these features may make you feel happy when riding or make your competition performance better.
In addition to price, it is almost possible to take all the features into account, depending on the design ingenuity and industrial technology of the manufacturer. However, compromises are often made after the cost and selling price factors are added.