Touring & Hybrid Bike Tyres

Keep the rim braking surface clean, remove flint / grit from brake blocks, particularly after wet rides.

Usually yes, imperfections can be trued out using a spoke key tool – get a mechanic to true them if you are unsure. More serious damage to the rim can be too bad to straighten out.

Watch out for anything in the road which could cause damage to your wheels. Avoiding holes, rough patches, grates and traffic debris can also prevent damage to your bike and yourself. However! Always check traffic around you iif you are pulling out to avoid something. Using slightly lower tyre pressures on rougher roads and gravel tracks can help smooth the pathway for your wheels and give them (and you) an easier ride.

Keeping wheels clean and running true will help them perform to their best. Make sure tyre pressures are kept at manufacturer recommended levels. Fitting lighter tyres and inner tubes can be a budget way to increase performance from a wheelset.

Because tyres have flexible side walls, it is possible to use wider tyres on narrower rims. However using 2.8” tyres on a narrow rim, for example, would result in a lightbulb shaped tyre which would negatively affect cornering and the feel of the tyre. It is best broadly speaking, to stick to manufacturers recommended guidelines to get the best performance. If you are planning on using wider tyres, also make sure they will fit your frameset before purchasing.

Stick to recommended tyre pressures and avoid speeding up the wearing process by skidding and regularly loosing grip (although it can be fun...). Nice smooth roads tend to wear road tyres less

Check tyre size on the sidewall of the tyre. Most road, hybrid and gravel bikes are 700c diameter, so the tyre size would be 700 x the width of the tyre, a 25mm tyre, for example, would be 700 X 25.

No. Sometimes harder tyres are slower because they bounce around a lot more on rougher roads, trails and tracks. On perfectly smooth roads or in the velodrome, harder tyres are usually faster - however always inflate to manufacturers recommended pressures.

Firstly, think about where you inflate your tyres. Do you need to inflate in the garage before your ride? Or out on the roads / trails, for emergency punctures? Floor pumps are best for keeping at home and offer the quickest and easiest way to inflate tyres to the right pressure. Mini pumps are best for taking on your ride, to use in the event of a puncture.

Tubeless pumps have an extra capacity tank which can release a large volume of air in one go. This helps seat tubeless tyres onto the rim.

Check which type of valve your pump needs to fit. Presta valves are thinner and have a screw closure at the end of the valve. Schrader valves are like car valves, fatter with a metal pin closure system. There are lots of pumps that can do both valves, if you need both types for different bikes.