Tips for Buying BMX Tires

Tires can make or break your BMX riding experience. That's why it's so important to find the right kind of BMX tires for your BMX bike. Here are a few things to keep in mind when shopping for BMX tires for sale online.  

Know Your Bike and Terrain

The kind of bike you ride and the surface you want to ride it on will determine the type of BMX tires you need. Here are three main categories of BMX bikes for sale and the types of tires that match them:

·         BMX Bike: nimble, rugged bike with knobby tires and lightweight frame designed for off-road riding and BMX dirt track racing. Race tires need to offer traction and facilitate speed.

·         Flatland/Freestyle Bike: very sturdy bike with beefy frame, pegs, and pavement-friendly tires designed for skateparks, stunts, and tricks. Freestyle tires should have relatively smooth tread for easy rotation.

·         Dirt Jumper/Jump Bike: lightweight bike with sturdy frame and knobby tires designed for jumping ramps and riding trails. Dirt jump tires should provide maximum traction, but speed is not essential. 

Width Matters

Size is not as important as width when it comes to searching for BMX tires for sale online. Most BMX tires are 20 inches in diameter. There are some BMX bikes that are fit with 24-inch-diameter tires to accommodate larger riders. Most likely, all you need to check is the width of the tire and which riding application it's intended for. BMX race bikes have the thinnest tires of all BMX styles, measuring about 1 or 1 1/8 inches wide. Some dirt jump bike tires can measure up to 2.35 inches in diameter. A freestyle BMX bike tire size will usually measure somewhere in the middle range between racing tires and dirt tires. 

When Rubber Meets the Road

Most BMX tires for sale are made of rubber. Although usually black, you can find a variety of colored BMX tires to fit your personal style. Some super lightweight BMX tires are made of kevlar. Tire bead material also makes an impact on the weight of the tire, with folding bead tires weighing less than steel beads.