The Secret to Tyre Performance | Why Rim Width Matters

In this video, Owen Coutts, aka Owen The Bike Nerd, breaks down everything you need to know about rim and tyre width compatibility, including how the right combo can enhance your mountain biking experience. Whether you're upgrading or just curious about the science, Owen's got the insights to make it simple. Don't forget to subscribe and give us a thumbs up if you enjoy the content it really helps us keep making videos you love! 👊
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[@stevevarga8621]

It’s funny when the Plus tires first came out there were numerous technical videos showing how superior they are to narrower tires but the market didn’t respond. I guess sometimes better is just not enough. I use plus tires and I love them but I’m very much alone in that decision. I’ll be ok.😉

[@dylan-5287]

Seems like 2017/2018 plus tires were crazy popular.

[@rider65]

Plus tires are better in almost every aspect. Jan Heine. Rene Herse. Tires & Technical data.

[@Sunspot-19]

Frankly, you are not remotely alone!! I have 3 plussers. One FS, affectionately known as my Fleetwood Brougham, a singlespeed enduro HT and a geared HT. All are wearing 3.0's on i45's. I cannot get enough of the singlespeed Punkass bike. The Wildcat aka, Fleetwood Brougham is plush and is a real hoot on the trails.

[@Sunspot-19]

@@rider65 Heine is notorious for some very good tire writeups.

[@shopan1547]

I believe that plus tires were discard from the industry more than the users. I mean they were concerned about redesign geometry and building process for bike/wheels that are more fun than racey, so they focus just on the race side. I love how fun and capable my hardtail is with 2,8 or 3,0"

[@RideYearRound]

29x3 on a 45mm rim will forever be my favorite combination. Now I just have to hope there will be enough demand to keep it alive…

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

There's very few "normal" frames that would fit them 😅

[@richardaltman7468]

Maybe I'm missing something, but where's a table, or a link to a table, to decipher rim width and tire width combinations?

[@exothermal.sprocket]

Search engines provide that. I've looked up that data before.

[@ltrtg13]

On both my Laufey and Rallon. I'm running 30mm rims on both bike. On the Laufey I run 29x2.6 tyres. On my Rallon I run 29x2.5 front and either 29x2.4 or 27.5x2.4.

[@fredEVOIX]

after damaging one of my wheels on a 2016 cross-country bike which had 27.5x2.25 with 21mm jaw width I had to replace one with 24mm jaw width nothing else was available in my axle size and pretty quickly replaced the second rim because the wider rim wheel felt stabler so I totally believe you, my bike was always unstable (obsolete geometry 70° head tube angle) and that little difference helped it I can finally pedal without holding the handlebar yay

[@hindesite]

27.5+ rider here. Nothing wrong with them - especially since the bike was converted using CYC Photon. Extremely grippy and perfect for where I usually ride. Don't care about the higher rolling resistance, since this is an ebike.

[@RicardoPetrazzi]

Having te ETRTO info, why can't the Tyre and Rim manufacturers just publish a table of which works with which! Or even ave a Reddy-reckonner from the ETRTO? It's does not have to be and endorements from either manufactuer either way.

[@SonnyDarvishzadeh]

I'm not shredding trails, but go on very long rides. My Orox came with 35mm rims and replacing its rear 2.6" Johnny Watts to Barzo 2.1" made it far more comfortable. Yes, it's not always the tire and rim size ratio, but also tire compound, treads, layers, sidewalls stiffness, etc. I probably have to replace tires much faster now, but comfort and speed are what I seek.

[@Sunspot-19]

Everything comes down to tire construction. So many are using a low TPI, heavy tire when they can go with a higher TPI. Tread design and compound makes a difference too. Think of it like this. Install Load Range E tires on a Subaru and let me know how it performs and what the ride quality is like. Now install Load Range B and test drive again. Biiiig difference, no? Well, yes!!!

[@charlesb7831]

I have a 2013 Giant XTC that I absolutely love, I have Mavic Crossmax ST rims that are 19mm with and run Maxxis 2.25 tires. It definitely has some flex in the corners, but has a nice comfortable ride. Problem is finding tires these days that fit my rims. The front is through axel, but the rear is a scure. Not much else I can do unfortunately. This bike is completely built, the only thing original on the bike is the frame lol. Even installed a nice set of RocShox SID forks.

[@Sunspot-19]

I couldn't take the road rims on mountainbikes back in the 90's. I hoarded rims back then since I hated narrow rims that required overinflation to ride in a straight line without peeling tires off the damn things. The 90's was the weight weenie era and people thought narrow, lighter rims were wonderful. Sure, they dropped rotational weight but 65 psi for a 135 pound rider was like filling tires with tungsten! I love my i45's and 3.0 single ply tires!! I was running Ukai back in the 70's that were wider than anything else at the time. That worked nicely with 2.125's that were the fattest available in the beginning.

[@armanclark2401]

i always think of the movie throw momma from the train when i see OWENNNNNN!

[@Doniyorbek_Turgunov]

I believe that tire production companies test their products on both types of rims and that tire specifications are designed to accommodate various stresses 🤔

[@marklouieadame]

Why DH world cup competition most of them uses 23-25mm inner with

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

I use 25 internal width on my DH rig... Not sure where I'll get replacements when I bust a rim but I still have a few spare. It's to avoid rock strikes and to round off the thread btw.

[@RalphIvanDelaTonga]

Interesting stuff

[@gmbntech]

Do you know what width rims you have? What size tyres do you run on your bike?

[@RalphIvanDelaTonga]

29x2.4 on a Chinese 30mm rim

[@octodadmtbmartyrichards2862]

2.4 with 30mm dt Swiss rims they don’t like low pressure! Dhr2 front and back on my yt Jeffsy. Pretty good on loam. I still like my plus hard core hard tail! 2.8 tyres very good winter bike silverback slade 120mm

[@mkenyon7429]

Stock Fuel EX8 with 2.6 inch XR4s on 30m IW rims. I'm just about ready for new tires soon and thinking about lighter narrower tires. I'd like to see how much faster I am with 2.35 inch tires or may just stick with 2.6 so to keep running the low pressure and not get pinch flats on our rooty trails. So many tires to choose from.

[@Paganiproductions84]

29x2,40 front and back on 30 mm wide carbon wheels and 29x2,35 and 29x2,25 front and back on 25mm wide alu wheels

[@jsebtremblay]

26” wheels on 19 mm Mavic inner width rims with 2.2” Continental RaceKing Tubeless

[@davidgolieri4218]

Thank you for a very informative video My bikes are hybrid not MTB but rim width does matter One bike has 21mm rim width and the 40-622 Schwalbe tires measure 40mm One bike has 19mm rim width, the Kenda 44-622 measures 40mm and the Continental 42-622 measures 38mm Both the Kenda and Continental are labeled 700-42c, the Continental is also marked 1.60 inch (which is 40mm) ETRTO markings are much more accurate than 700-xxC Rim width does matter when deciding on tire size versus measured tire width

[@soundwavesaudio1]

Got some i29 with some hillbilly 2.6

[@marksandoval5361]

All this rim to tire width optimization is a bunch of malarkey. Practically speaking, running an i30mm to i32mm rim with anything from a 45mm tire to a 2.8 tire is reasonable. Zipp recently released i32 rims for gravel bikes. Nearly every mountain bike comes with i30 rims with 2.3 to 2.6 tires. If it was up to me, all mountain and gravel bikes would come with i32 rims and all tires from 45mm to 2.8 would be designed for i32mm rims. The bike industry has too many options which just drive up prices. Maxxis has done this for it's Mountain tires with the WT, Wide Trail, designation which means the tires are designed for i30 to i35 rims which is essentially i32 rims. I run 2.6 mountain tires on i30 rims at 18psi and it works great. I also run 47mm gravel tires on i30 rims at 26psi and it also works great.

[@MarvinConnell]

LET'S ADDRESS THIS!!! 1. Tyre shape as a result of rim width is IRRELEVANT!!! Due to 'Tyre Sag', ALL of the tyre thread(& perhaps some of the sidewall when using low pressures)makes contact with the ground when a rider is sat on the bike... I(at about 110kgs)experience this with 50PSI & 2.2/2.1 tyres - so those of you running super low pressures are GUARANTEED to share the experience... Go on - sit on your bike & look at how much of the thread is making contact... 2. When a tyre is used with a rim that is considered 'too wide', the resulting tyre wall 'stiffness' - when running properly high pressures(low tyre pressures DO NOT promote ANY sort of wall stiffness - which is why tyre manufacturers compensate by making sidewalls thicker & hence, heavier) - RESISTS compression which In Fact Would REDUCE Pinch Flats, ESPECIALLY in cases where the bike has SUSPENSION(which is what should be dealing with absorbing of impacts with roots etc anyway - NOT TYRES)... 3. Running tyres hard narrow with high pressures DOES INCREASE rolling efficiency & speed......on hard surfaces(on the road)... Come on man... P.S. & come to think of it(I just thought of this whilst watching this video), running tyres at low pressures in order to prevent ''Impedance Losses'' may also prevent said tyres' thread from digging into dirt reducing grip - because tyre carcasses using a low PSI are less able to support their thread(knobs), making them less able to push said thread(knobs)into dirt, which will reduce grip... But I guess the Industry will again compensate for this, by making tyre threads(knobs) longer(& hence, heavier)... 🤔

[@burningatthetrailhead]

32 id 2.5 on my trail bike 32 id 2.35 on my jump bike. 30 id 2.4 on my BMX

[@soundwavesaudio1]

I think the best benefit of a fatter tire is that it looks cool 😎 😂

[@racocook6449]

On a recent tour of France and Spain I noted the locals were using 2.6 wide tyres. On the tracks I rode nearly every hardtail came so equipped. Was this because of the nature of the tracks where I was, not so, as guys from the Holland were similarly kitted out! On return I looked on line for 2.6 wide tyres, sadly nothing doing. I have the wide rim ready but nowt to put on it. Owen do me a favour and advise where a 26" x 2.60 can be obtained to fix, Thanks Ray.

[@NonLegitNation2]

that's your problem right there. You are trying to find a 26" tire but most tire manufacturers aren't really making 26" tires anymore. It seems even 27.5 may be going away soon since most bikes nowadays are sold with 29 inch rims.

[@Chops00]

I’m running a 2.35 on a ENVE AM30 and it looks pretty weird. Very squared off, and shallow.

[@nikolaibohachevsky2301]

And then there’s Loic Bruni who runs a 25mm rear rim width with a 2.4” tire for extra compliance….to debunk all of this. Run what you brung…

[@rider65]

🙄

[@deanemberley2333]

what a stupid comment. Most people aren’t world cup DH racers

[@gregoryschmidt4676]

I have royal traverse with 30 internal. Can I run a maxxis 2.5 minion dh casing. The tyre the bike comes with are 2.3 butchers. 29" front and 27.5 rear.

[@KaizersPOV]

30mm DMR inner to 2.35 hans dampf

[@burningatthetrailhead]

I like FSA bearings but 2k for a wheel set is just bs.

[@berserkeraribal8685]

is it okay to put on my maxxis forkaster tire 2.35 in a 26mm inner width rim? i need advice. thank you so much

[@mchereja]

yes, you can go up to 2.4 on a 25mm rim.