Advantages of Tubeless Tires

Advantages of Tubeless Tires for Mountain Bikes

Using Tubeless Tires on Mountain Bikes and how they effect your riding

by Edward Aguilar of Blue Sky Cycling

     

     The most common bicycle tires used today are tubed. Also known as tubular tires if you want to get a bit technical.  But we don't want to make it too complicated so lets just go with tubed tires and tubeless. If you are riding on these traditional tires and need to switch to tubeless tires, you may have to change either the tires only or the whole set of wheels depending on the type of rims you are riding on. But why should you change your tires? Why should you switch from the tires you are currently riding that have tubes?  Tubeless tires have got several merits over the more traditional tires with tubes. Tubeless tires can run on low tire pressure, they provide a less rolling resistance, and when using tubeless tires, you will experience very few incidences of flat tires.  Check out the Blue Sky Cycling tubeless tires for more information on specs.  

Lower Tire Pressure

Since there is no tube in these tires, you are able to run on lower tire pressures without the fear of pinch flattening. Riding on low tire pressure will allow your tires to take shape into the ground and provide you with a comfortable ride. With less air, the jumpy nature of a fully inflated tire is highly reduced. It results in an increase in the surface area of the tire that is in contact with the ground. With more surface area on the road, you get increased grip, hence more traction. When you are riding in a situation that demands good traction such as in a cross-country race, you can run up to 15 percent less air pressure with your tubeless tires and get terrific traction.

Less Rolling Resistance

The performance of a fully inflated tire on a road bike is different from the performance of a fully inflated tire on a mountain bike. As we talk about the rolling resistance, consider that a road bike uses smooth narrow tires and rides on flat hard surfaces while a mountain bike uses fat knobby tires and rides on rough, bumpy, rocky; even soft, loose surfaces. In this case, we are talking about mountain bikes and not road bikes.

The interaction between the tire and the ground is what causes rolling resistance. Therefore, forgetting about road bikes and its terrain, reflect the picture of your mountain bike tire in motion, on rough terrains. When it hits a bump, the wheel will either move upwards or sideways. This deflection requires some energy, which is snatched from your forward momentum. This will cause you to slow down. Now can you imagine hitting all those rocks and holes on a rock garden; how much forward momentum will you lose?

    Using a lower tire pressure allows your tire to deform inwards rather than moving your tires up or sideways, acting more like a shock absorb-er. And thus, you will lose less forward momentum and ride faster over obstacles. This will also result in more stability and balance as you ride over obstacles because there will be less upward and sideways movement on your wheels.

When you are riding a mountain bike with low pressured tubular tires, you will not get a good amount of deformation on the tires when it hits a bump because of the friction between the tube and the tire. You must get rid of this kind of friction to allow the tire to deform properly. By getting rid of the tube; and using tubeless tires, there is no more friction to reduce the energy needed to deform the tire.

Fewer Flat Tires

First of all, when you are riding on tubeless tires, you never worry about pinch flats because there is no tube to be pinched. Since you will be using a sealant when installing the tire, many small punctures will get sealed up by the sealant without you noticing. And when you get a puncture that is too big for the sealant to repair, you can simply install a tube and use the tire as a tubular tire; at least for the time being as you find better ways of solving the problem. Moreover, many manufacturers will provide an internal liner within the tires that will prevent leaking and constrain damages to the casing. According to IRC, applying a thin rubber coating to the inner wall will prevent leaking and allow the tire to be repaired easily even when you are in the field.

Here is a great video on how to convert your mountain bike tubed tires to tubeless tires...

     As a mountain biker, getting rid of tubes from your wheels will give you an improved feel of what your wheels are doing on the road. Your ride will get smoother, faster and easier and the tires will also sound differently on the trails. You get all these benefits because you are able to ride on lower tire pressure which greatly contributes to less rolling resistance. You will also experience fewer flat tires. With less tire pressure, you get you tire to mold more into the ground giving you a comfortable ride and more traction. Less rolling resistance will enable you to ride faster over obstacles. Riding on tubeless tires will also present you with the convenience of riding long distances without experiencing a flat tire. If you still want to research going tubeless on your mountain bike check out an article on tubeless tires I found useful while researching. I hope you were able to gain some great information on tubeless tires for your mountain bike or even road bike.  As always, please feel free to leave a comment with any questions you might have.  Thank you and get out there and ride!  

Blue Sky Cycling

2530 Randolph St.

Huntington Park, Ca 90255

(323) 585-3934

https://www.blueskycycling.com

info@blueskycycling.com

Shimano M670 Crankset by Blue Sky Cycling

Shimano M670 Crankset by Blue Sky Cycling

Cross-Country Mountain Bikes vs Trail Mountain Bikes

Cross-Country Mountain Bikes vs Trail Mountain Bikes

  Differences between Cross-Country Mountain Bikes and Trail Mountain Bikes

           

    A lot of people usually find it hard to identify the correct mountain bike for them. Although choosing a bike may all depend on your riding style, the terrain you will be riding on and who you will be riding with, getting the right bike that fits your style is tricky. The trail mountain bike and the cross-country mounting bike are quite identical and can easily be confused at first glance.  There are several areas where you can find a significant difference between the two bikes. Physical features of the bikes such as the length of the stems, the width of the handlebars, the braking system, the suspension travel, and tires are normally taken into consideration when identifying these types of mountain bikes.  You can find all your mountain bike parts and accessories below on the Blue Sky Cycling website.  

The Handlebars - The cross country mountain bike has a narrow handlebar.  Since the cross country bikes are built for maximum speed and agility, a narrow handlebar enables the rider to get a feel of what the front wheel is doing. It is also quick to steer around corners. A wide handlebar on trail bikes gives the rider enough leverage to maneuver technical terrain. It helps the rider not to be thrown around when going through rock gardens. 

The Stem length - The cross country mountain bike features a longer stem length of approximately 90mm - 100mm. The long stem positions the rider in a posture that pushes the rider's body further forward for enhanced grip on flat terrain, and maximum acceleration. On the other hand, the trail bike has a shorter stem length of approximately 40mm -80mm. A short stem keeps the rider's posture laid more backward for better stability during steep downhill riding.

The Suspension Travel - A cross country mountain bike has a shorter travel of suspension than the trail bike. A shorter travel of suspension enhances a quick uphill sprint. For real fast cross-country mountain bikes, the comfort of the rear suspension has been eliminated to boost pedaling efficiency.  A longer suspension travel provides comfort and easy crawling capabilities over obstacles. 

The Head angle - Due to a longer suspension travel in the front, trail bikes also have a wider head angle which is good for down hill riding. It positions the front wheel far much ahead of the rider making the bike stable even on steep downhill maneuvers. On the other hand, the short suspension travel on a cross-country bike forces it to have a narrower head angle which makes a cross country bike more twitchy when riding on steep down hills.

The Brake Rotor - A trail bike has a relatively large brake rotor compared to the cross country bike. A large brake rotor of about 140mm - 160mm is key to a more powerful braking system, which is essential when down hilling at a fast speed. Due to its wide surface area, a large brake rotor is less likely to overheat and cause brake failure than smaller brake rotors. Since cross-country mountain bikes are quite twitchy on the downhill ride, a powerful braking system will only make things worse. Therefore, its brake rotor is much smaller and less powerful.

Tires - A Cross-country bike has smoother tires to enhance faster rolling for maximum speed while the trail bikes feature wide and heavily threaded tires for better grip and stability on unstable grounds.

     Apart from the physical features of theses mountain bikes, they can also be identified by their capabilities, or what they can do better than the other. For example, cross country mountain bikes are slower on the descent and faster on climbs and flat surfaces. Trail mountain bikes are slower on climbs and fast and fun to ride on down hills. Considering the overall speed, the cross country bikes are far much faster than trails bikes. While the trail bikes can take a corner quite aggressively with more grip, the cross country is able to maneuver sharper corners with more agility. The trail bikes do break faster and more precisely. The cross country bike is lighter and quicker in acceleration and steering while the trail bikes are heavier and optimized for descends. Today's mountain bikes have become extremely specialized in terms of their intended use. On one extreme you will find the cross-country racing mountain bikes. On the other extreme, you will find the downhill racing mountain bikes. The trail mountain bike sits in between the two types of bikes and tries to serve the purposes of both ends but to a limited extent.  How to set up your mountain bike is important.  Click to check out how to set up a mountain bike.  Or you can watch a quick video below that will show you the steps...

     You can tell the difference between them by having a closer look at the handlebars, the stem length, the suspension travel, the brake rotor, the tires, and the head angle. The handle bars vary in length with the shorter ones for cross country bikes and the longer ones for trail bikes. Long stem length creates the appropriate body posture for cross country bikers while short stem lengths pull the cyclist backward for safer down hill riding on the trail. A long suspension travel is fit for trail bikes while cross country bikes feature a shorter travel on the suspension. Trail bikes have a large brake rotor for a more powerful breaking experience while cross-country bikes have smaller brake rotors. The tires on a cross country mountain bike are thinner relatively smoother for maximum speed compared to trail mountain bikes which have rougher and wider tires for better grip on technical terrains. With all these features in mind, you can easily tell the two types of mountain bikes apart.  If you have any questions please feel free to leave us a comment.  Thank you! 

Blue Sky Cycling "Mountain Bike Parts Specialist"

2530 Randolph St.

Huntington Park, Ca 90255

(323) 585-3934

www.blueskycycling.com