How to choose a mountain bike tyre casing

Choosing the right casing for your mountain bike will depend on three main criteria. These are the diameter of the wheels, the riding style and the surface most often ridden. You'll also need to consider the width and weight of the casing, the design of the bead, the quality of the material and, if applicable, the tubeless design.

If you don't know what to do even then, remember that we're not just an online shop. We will be happy to welcome you directly in our brick-and-mortar shop, where our cycling specialists will help you choose the right model of bike casing.

Casing size and weight

Driving style

Your riding style or discipline should also be taken into account when choosing a casing. MTB casings can be divided into the following categories:

XC Race / Marathon
For races and marathons, the priority is maximum speed and the lowest possible weight (315 - 400 g), albeit at the cost of a greater risk of punctures.

XC Tour
For long rides, the priority is good stroke, decent speed and durability and low weight (400 - 500 g).

All Mountain / Enduro
For technical riding, excellent durability and grip even at the cost of extra grams (600 - 1000 g).

DH / Freeride
For downhill and freeride. Great stroke and durability in tough terrain, high durability and weight (900 - 1400 g).

The predominant surface you ride on

Manufacturers also categorise their casings according to the surface on which they give the best performance. The usual classification of surfaces by casing manufacturer is as follows: hard, mixed, rocky, sandy, mud, road.

The behaviour of a casing on a given surface is determined by the pattern used, which is based on years of testing by manufacturers and riders. For example, a casing with minimal tread pattern or a smooth casing with no tread pattern at all behaves best on the road, while in mud and wet conditions the so-called self-cleaning ability of the casing is important. Mud casing has wider gaps between the pattern protrusions so that the mud that is applied falls off and does not contaminate the pattern. A clogged pattern would of course not work and not provide sufficient stroke.

Therefore, when selecting a casing, think about the prevailing conditions on the trails where you most often ride and choose your casing accordingly. It's best to have one set of more versatile casings for most conditions (hardpack, mixed and rocky surfaces) plus some casing for more specific conditions like mud where most all-purpose casings fail.

Bead of the tyre

The bead is a very important part of the casing, i.e. the edge that holds the casing in the rim. The bead can be either wire or kevlar. A Kevlar bead is more expensive, but it is lighter, fits better in the rim and allows for easier mounting. A kevlar bead can usually be mounted without the use of a mounting lever. The casing with kevlar bead itself can be folded into a small package, the casing with wire bead cannot be folded.

Casing material

The construction of each casing consists of a textile skeleton and a rubber compound. The EPI (Ends Per Inch) or TPI (Threads Per Inch) value, which indicates the number of textile fibers per square inch of the skeleton, plays a role in the performance of the casing. The higher the value, the lighter the casing and the less rolling resistance. In general, casings with a high EPI (TPI) are suitable for racing cycling, while low EPI (TPI) casings are suitable for recreational cyclists.

The quality of the rubber compound used is also important. Simply put, a soft compound is suitable for rough terrain conditions where it provides more grip, better traction and more confident bike handling, while a hard compound offers less rolling resistance, more puncture resistance and greater durability.

To optimally combine the benefits of different compounds, manufacturers use two to three different rubber compounds per casing. These are positioned on the casing to achieve the best possible properties for the casing type.

Special casings

There are also special purpose casings on the market today. These include, for example, expedition or studded winter casings. Expedition casings have extreme puncture and cut resistance and are therefore suitable for longer expeditions to remote areas where it would be difficult to find a new casing or inner tube.

Winter casings are designed for riding on snow or ice and are studded for sufficient grip on these surfaces. These casings are of course heavier, weighing well over 1000 grams.

Tubeless casings

A special category of casings is the tubeless casing tyres. As the name suggests, these casings are used without a tube, but require a special rim and valve. Their advantage is that they can be inflated to lower pressures, as there is no risk of the tube puncturing the rim. Less inflation provides better contact with the terrain, more grip and greater riding comfort.

Most MTB casings with kevlar bead are now directly designed for tubeless use. These casings are labeled Tubeless ready. These still use a special latex solution (called milk) that can seal any hole up to 4 mm in diameter. In practice, this means that it doesn't even matter if the casing is perforated by a smaller shard or nail. And thanks to this, you can also use thinner and lighter casings for off-road use, which means less rolling resistance, allowing for higher speeds and better performance. On some rims, you just need to use special tape to seal the nipple holes.

If you are unsure about the right choice of MTB casings, we welcome you to our Ski and Bike Centrum Radotín shop where our expert sales staff will be happy to help and advise you.