Types of Bike Tyres and Their Purpose Explained

There are several types of tyres, each made for a different purpose. For getting the maximum performance, your bike needs the right tyres. 

 

Whether you are a novice or an experienced bike rider, you must know about the different types of bike tyres. As the two-wheeler market has grown drastically during the last two decades, plenty of motorcycles from Hero, Bajaj, to Honda, Kawasaki, KTM and Yamaha, with different tyre models may confuse you about their serving purpose.

 

Picking up the right tyre for your bike can significantly improve its performance. Know the different types of bike tyres and in which category you fall.

 

Regular street commuting bike tyre

 

The most widespread types of tyres are the ones used for everyday street commuting. These tyres offer the best and balanced performance of everything, with focus on mobility, durability and mileage. They are used by office goers, food delivery agents, and lower-middle-class people.

 

The tyres come with medium quality toughness with higher sidewalls, delivering good performance on potholes or imperfect road conditions. Normal street tyres are also low on maintenance and inexpensive.

 

Street commuting and Touring Sports bike tyres

 

These tyres are also called cruisers as they are used for long-distance touring. They come at a relatively higher price tag than the regular tyres and are made using soft rubber with lower sidewalls for superior cornering performance.

 

These tyres serve the dual purpose of street commuting and touring, so the grip on wet and dry roads is excellent.

 

Performance Sports bike tyres

 

If you own a performance bike, then this is the right tyre for you. As these are purely performance-oriented tyres, they are made using very soft rubber for delivering quick acceleration, high-speed stability, and fast turnability.

 

These sports bike tyres generate a great amount of heat. They also require high braking efficiency, so they are highly heat-absorbent, while the rubber compounds offer increased traction.

 

Off-Roading bike tyres

 

As the name denotes, these tyres are meant for pure off-roading, so they are made using very hard rubber compounds. It is important to note that these tyres are not optimized for everyday driving therefore, one should expect only a reasonable amount of grip and ride quality in the cities.

 

In fact, if these tyres are driven more on normal roads, they would wear quickly, as compared to unpaved roads.

 

All-Terrain bikes tyres

 

A hybrid version of the street and off-roading tyres, these are equipped with muscular sidewalls for enhanced strength. These tyres feature deeper grooves and open treads for getting an additional grip on muddy and gravel-laden surfaces.

 

The all-terrain bike tyres offer adequate grip and comfort on normal roads, as long as they are not driven on longer routes.

 

As there are a great variety of tyres available, expert advice might play a valuable role.