When to Replace Mountain Bike Tires: Everything You Need to Know
You only ride your mountain bike with specialized tires, but even those don’t last forever. You’re beginning to wonder if you should replace your tires, as you don’t want them to pop or otherwise fail you when you need them. When should you replace mountain bike tires?
If the rubber of your mountain bike tires has begun degrading or the tread is worn, then it’s time for a new set of tires. The average lifespan of mountain bike tires is five years, but how often you use the tires, how hard you are on them, and where you store tires will affect their lifespan.
In today’s in-depth guide to mountain bike tire replacement, I’ll delve further into the signs that your tires need to go. I’ll also discuss what affects mountain bike tire duration and how to replace your tires. You won’t want to miss it!
How Often Should You Replace Mountain Bike Tires?
As with all things in life, a set of mountain bike tires will go bad sooner than later. The average duration of these tires is five years, but keep in mind that that’s just an estimate.
If your tires are bald and lack traction, then even if they’re only two-and-a-half years old, you don’t want to keep pushing those tires. Doing so only puts your own wellbeing at risk, and nothing is worth that.
In some instances, if you only go mountain biking a few times per year, then you might find that your tires outlast even the five-year mark. If the tires are still in usable condition, then there’s no need to throw them away just because it’s been five years.
Use that timeframe as an estimate only. Later in this guide, I’ll talk about the signs that indicate when your mountain bike tires are no longer safe to continue using.
That should be your framework for when you need new tires.
The Factors That Affect Mountain Bike Tire Lifespan
Even if you had two sets of tires that were the exact same type, width, and from the same manufacturer, lots of factors can influence how long those tires will last.
Let’s take a look now.
Tire Quality
Speaking of the manufacturer, that is an important factor, so I don’t want to gloss over it.
If you buy cheap mountain bike tires, then you can’t be surprised when the tires blow a flat after an afternoon or two of riding.
Higher-quality tires, although they’re more expensive, are built more durably and will typically last longer.
Note how I say typically, because the factors I’m about to go over are all at play as well.
How Often You Use the Tires
If you keep a pair of expensive sports sneakers in their box stuffed in your closet, then sure, the shoes may collect dust, but they’ll look good years from now. They’ll certainly outlast your every day sneakers.
Although not everyone agrees that shoes are meant to be worn (especially when it comes to high-end, limited-edition shoes), the consensus is a lot clearer that mountain bike tires are meant to be ridden.
As I mentioned in the section above, if you only use your mountain bike a few times per year, then you could easily squeeze five or more years out of your tires. It’s like keeping the nice shoes in the closet.
Compare that to a weekend warrior who never skips a week on the mountain bike. Those types of riders will find themselves replacing their tires far more frequently than every five years. It could be once every two years or even more often than that.
Terrain Types
The type of terrain you use is a huge determining factor in the lifespan of mountain bike tires.
Although mountain is in the name, those kinds of craggy, hard surfaces are not the only kind that mountain bikes are suited for. You can take your bike through a rainforest, farmland, flowery fields, deserts, and alpine forests.
A mountain bike has tremendous versatility!
If you ride over a lot of softer surfaces like dirt or sand, that’s far easier for your mountain bike tires to withstand than if you’re constantly riding over hard asphalt, concrete, or rock.
If you favor a mix of terrain types when riding your mountain bike, then your tires might last the average amount of time, or they could need replacing faster.
How Hard You Ride
Mountain bikes aren’t meant for leisurely riding around the local park. There’s nothing wrong with riding your bike that way, but it’s just not a mountain bike’s M.O.
If you do a lot of stunts and tricks with your mountain bike or even some tremendous jumps, each time you make a landing, the impact will affect your tires as well as the rest of your bike.
The accelerated rate of wear and tear means you’ll go through a set of mountain bike tires rather quickly.
How and Where You Store Your Tires
The last factor is how and where you store your mountain bike tires. This is a factor that’s often overlooked but can kill your tires if you’re not careful.
Exposure to ozone can destroy the rubber compounds in the tires, be that from sump pump discharge or furnace discharge.
Fluctuating temperatures, especially when you get into temperature extremes, can also wreck a set of bike tires. Rubber will expand in the cold, and as it then contracts and expands over a long winter, its structure and durability can suffer.
UV exposure not only delivers ozone but can degrade the rubber of your mountain bike tires. You don’t want your tires to sit in a sunny spot for months on end.
Signs You Need New Mountain Bike Tires ASAP
How do you know when your mountain bike tires are on their last figurative legs? Fortunately, you don’t have to guess or ponder much. These signs will be a clear giveaway, especially if you notice more than one at the same time!
The Rubber Is Deteriorated or Damaged
Once the rubber of your mountain bike tires is damaged, it’s game over. Any signs of deterioration such as thinning and balding should give you pause about using those tires again.
The Treads Are Gone
Going back to the shoes example again, have you ever worn down a pair of shoes until the sole was practically nothing? The shoes once provided traction, but since the soles are so worn, you could now slide on ice and other slippery surfaces too easily.
It’s the same scenario once your mountain bike tires have no more treads since time and use wore them away. If you’re riding through mud and other slick terrain, you won’t have traction to stay upright. You could crash and get seriously hurt.
The Casing Is Bulging
Any kind of bulging from your mountain bike tires is a cause for concern, as it means that something somewhere along the way got distended. There’s typically no fixing that once it happens.
The Rubber Is Cracking or Dry Rotting
Rubber can dry rot, and before that happens, you’ll usually see telltale cracks. Sunlight exposure can accelerate dry rotting, as can storing the tires for a season if they’re dirty. Temperature extremes can contribute to dry rotting as well.
The Beads Are Damaged or Gone
Mountain bike tires, like many other types of tires, feature balancing beads for weight distribution. The beads are internal but can quickly become external depending on the state of your tires.
Buying New Mountain Bike Tires – All You Need to Know
Now that you mention it, you suppose your mountain bike tires could use a replacement. Allow this section to be your guide as you select which tires will replace your worn-out pair.
Buying Mountain Bike Tires by Tire Type
You can select from two types of mountain bike tires, tubed or tubeless.
Tubed bike tires are the ones that more people are familiar with, which is probably why they’re cheaper.
No matter which type of rims your mountain bike has, a set of tubed tires should be compatible.
Since tubed tires are so inexpensive, you shouldn’t have any qualms about picking up a spare or two so you never have to stress long about what will happen if your tubed tire blows a flat. If not a replacement tire, then a patch kit is even cheaper still.
Installing a set of tubed replacement tires is very simple, especially once you get the hang of it.
Now onto the downsides of tubed tires. These tires will deflate…a lot. There are no two ways around that.
Tubed tires lack traction compared to tubeless tires especially, which doesn’t make them the best choice for mountain bikers. The tires are surprisingly heavy too.
Onto tubeless tires. Tubeless tires weigh less than tubed tires and have a much, much lower risk of going flat due to the way that tubeless tires work.
Let’s say you hit a rock, which is likely when mountain biking. The tubeless tire would deform rather than roll over the rock. That’s what allows a tubed tire to pop so easily.
Now, I’m not saying that a tubeless tire can never go flat. It happens, but infrequently.
Tubeless tires also have much better traction than their tubed counterparts. The reason is that tubeless tires can operate at a low pressure (which tubed tires cannot), which increases the rate of contact the tire treads have with the dirt.
As great as tubeless tires are, they aren’t perfect. These tires are costlier than tubed tires and not nearly as easy to install.
You should have a tubed tire ready to go in case your tubeless tire bites the dust. Since mounting a tubeless tire is rather inefficient, it’s not a task you want to toil with for an hour while stuck on the side of the road. You’ll just want to put on a tubed tire and get out of there.
Buying Mountain Bike Tires by Tire Width and Size
The next consideration when shopping for mountain bike tires is the width and size of the tires.
Trail tires are between 2.25 and 2.4 inches wide and cross-country tires are 1.9 to 2.25 inches wide.
You’ll also have to choose between three mountain bike tire diameters, 26 inches, 27.5 inches, or 29 inches.
Buying Mountain Bike Tires by Tire Tread
The last factor to consider when browsing around for mountain bike tires is the tire tread style.
Your tires might include specialized slits known as sipes. The sipes enhance the performance of the tire lugs on slick and hard surfaces.
Transition lugs boost your grip when you turn your mountain bike, putting less reliance on the side and center lugs.
Ramped lugs are middle lugs that reduce your rolling resistance and help you achieve better speed.
Some lugs are spaced close together and smaller. You’ll have better speed and decent grip. Larger lugs that are further apart from one another can handle muddy terrain especially well.
How Much Do Mountain Bike Tires Cost?
You’ve found some mountain bike tires that you quite like. How much is a tire going to set you back?
The average price of a mountain bike tire is between $30 and $99 apiece.
Do you necessarily have to replace both tires or only one at a time?
Well, that depends. More than likely, both mountain bike tires are going to begin wearing down about the same, but some riding styles could cause the front or rear tire to wear down faster.
If both tires are on their way out, then yes, replace them both.
However, if one tire seems fine and the other is in rough shape, then there’s no need to get rid of a perfectly good tire. Keep the second tire but monitor it, as you’ll have to replace it sooner than later.
How to Replace Mountain Bike Tires
You bought a new mountain bike tire or two, but admittedly, you have no idea how to get the old tires off and the new ones on. This section will tell you everything you need to know in a handy step-by-step format.
Step 1 – Put Your Bike Upright
Park your mountain bike and flip it on a level surface such as a workbench. You want the bike upside down so you can see the tires. A bike stand will be useful here for preventing your mountain bike from falling.
Step 2 – Start by Removing the Front Tire
With your mountain bike in position, it’s time to take off the front tire.
If your bike uses disc brakes, then you’ll need to turn the frame lever by the axle. The lever should be in a closed position, and you want it open. If your lever is labeled, then this part is even easier to figure out.
For a mountain bike with rim brakes, take the aluminum pipe or cable known as the noodle and apply firm pressure on it. At the same time, grip the caliper and the brakes are now disengaged.
Once you do that, the front mountain bike tire should come off without difficulty.
Step 3 – Take Off the Rear Tire
You’ll have to disengage your mountain bike’s clutch to get the back tire dislodged. You should find the clutch near the bike chain and the pedals.
Once you locate the clutch, look for a switch by the gear encasing. This is known as the cage. Turn the switch on the cage.
The wheel will have a nut screwed in on the other side that you’ll have to detach with a screwdriver. This separates the frame, tire, and thru-axle, with the thru-axle being the part that keeps the frame and wheel connected.
Step 4 – Separate the Rim and the Tire
The whole tire is off, but you have to take the tire off the rim of both the front and rear mountain bike tires.
You’ll need tire levers for this job. The lever should have a rounded side for inserting under the tire’s outer edge. Use your second tire lever to move it clockwise along the rim. Then you can pull the tire off the rim.
Repeat this for the other tire.
Step 5 – Put the New Tires on the Rims
If your new mountain bike tires are tubed tires, then you need to align the valve stem to the valve hole in the rim when mounting the tires. Move the stem all the way through the hole and then gradually send the tube into the tire along the rim.
For tubeless tires, use tubeless tape and place it around the rim.
Next, with a Phillips head screwdriver, insert a hole into the tire’s valve hole and direct the tubeless tire’s valve into the hole. Put the O-ring cover atop the valve and finish with a locking nut.
Position the tubeless tire so its tread is aimed forward and then install it.
Inflate the tire with a floor pump head. You might notice that the tire seems to audibly pop, sometimes more than once.
This can be scary, but it’s all standard procedure, so don’t panic. The tire is forming over the rim once you inflate it.
When you’re happy with the tubeless tire installation, you can leave it inflated or deflate it. Apply sealant to the valve, no more than three ounces, and put the valve core in its place when you’re done.
Conclusion
Knowing when to replace your mountain bike tires is for your safety, as worn-out tires could pop easily, and they lack traction as well.
Although mountain bike tires generally last five years, you should inspect yours ideally after every ride and be ready to replace them a lot sooner than that!
