If you’re relatively new to riding a mountain bike, you may be asking yourself how long do MTB tires last? The answer is it can vary greatly, and depends on your riding style and the types of trails that you ride, as well as the model of tires you’re using. As a rule of thumb, you should consider replacing your mountain bike tires after about 1,000 hours of riding.
Factors that affect the life of a mountain bike tire
Terrain you ride
A key factor that can impact your MTB tire life is the types of trails and terrain you ride on. If you always ride smooth dirt singletrack, your tires will probably not wear too quickly and you’ll be able to get lots of hours of riding out of them.
By comparison, if you do most of your riding on rough terrain and trails with lots of sharp rocks and roots, your tires will tend to wear much more quickly. Hitting sharp rocks will tend to cause the knobs of your MTB tires to wear down and result in losing tread and the amount of grip you get from the tires fairly quickly.
Sharp obstacles can easily take chunks out of your mountain bike tires, especially the knobs. Beyond that though they can cause flat tires much more easily than would otherwise be possible on smoother, less rough trails.
How aggressively you ride
Your aggressiveness on the trails and the type of riding an usually do can have a big impact on the lifespan of your mountain bike tires.
Many riders, especially those newer to the sport, will choose the smoother, easier lines to get them through trails, and avoiding rougher terrain and obstacles.
More aggressive riders concerned with getting through a trail as quickly as possible will not. More aggressive riders will often try to take the most direct route to get through a trail, even if it means riding right over obstacles like sharp rocks and roots, and other rough terrain.
Riders taking these more aggressive lines will feel the impacts through their bikes and in their bodies. Their tires will also feel these impacts from obstacles and rough terrain. For that reason their tires will wear more quickly compared to more casual, less aggressive mountain bikers.
Tire pressure
Tire pressure can have a major effect on the life of a mountain bike tire. The best way to make your mountain bike tires last as long as possible is to ensure you’re riding with the correct tire pressure for your weight and the type of riding and trails you do.
Match the tire pressure to the trail surfaces
As a general rule, if you ride on soft dirt trails that stay relatively smooth throughout, you should run lower tire pressure to increase the contact patch and improve traction on these trails. This also goes for surfaces like sand, and otherwise soft trails or surfaces you ride on. This will also allow the trails to last longer when riding on softer surfaces.
If you’re riding on trails with a lot of hard surfaces, like rocky terrain, roots, or hard packed trails, you’ll want to keep your tires pumped up more with a higher tire pressure. Keeping your tires too soft over harder surfaces, and especially over sharp edges of rocks and roots will cause a lot of wear and tear compared to having them properly inflated.
You’ll notice the knobs disappearing more quickly than they should and will have to shell out for replacement tires much sooner than you’d probably like to.
Another downside of keeping your tires underinflated on rough terrain is the ever present risk of flat tires. Because of the sharp surfaces you’ll be hitting, and the increased impacts, the risk of a flat tire goes up significantly if you do not inflate your tires enough for this type of riding, on top of the extra wear your tires will get.
Flat tires are especially likely on the rear tire, which bears more of the force from impacts than the front tire does. For this reason you should be sure to keep your rear tire inflated a bit more than your front tire, which will also help both tires to wear more evenly regardless of the trail surfaces you’re riding.
Signs you need to replace your MTB tires
There are some signs to watch out for that are good indicators your mountain bike tires may need to be replaced:
Knobs worn down
If the knobs on your tires have been noticeably worn down, it means you’re not getting as much traction and grip from your tires as you did when they were new, which means they’re less than optimal.
Keep in mind that all tires wear, and that just because yours aren’t quite as knobby as they once were doesn’t necessarily mean it’s time to replace them. If your knobs on the outer corners of your tire have completely disappeared though, that’s a different story, and you may do well to get a fresh set of tires.
Flat spots
If you start to notice flat spots on your mountain bike tires, it’s a good indication that they are getting to the point where you should probably consider replacing them. Flat spots are a sign of uneven wear, but often results from simply trying to use tires past the time they should have been replaced.
Flat spots on tires can also occur on relatively new tires if a rider brakes and slides the tire too often or on an overly rough surface.
However the flat spots get there, having one means you have an area on your mountain bike tire that severely lacks grip and traction, which is of course bad news. Flat spots are an indicator your tires need replacing.
Threads/fabric showing through the rubber
Having threads and fabric showing through the layers of rubber on your tires is a definite sign they are past their best before date. If you’re seeing threads through your tire’s rubber, do yourself a favor and get it replaced to save yourself from poor traction and possibly a flat tire the next time you ride.
Bulges
Bulges in your tires can occur when the layers of rubber in your mountain bike tires separate from the wear and tear they have been through. This generally happens when tires are quite worn.
The result of the layers of rubber separating is that air gets between the layers creating a bulge. Having a bulge in your mountain bike tire means that the tire’s structure has broken down, and the you shouldn’t ride on it any further for your own safety.
Visible cracks
Visible cracks in your mountain bike tire are another sign that your tires are very worn and that its time for them to be replaced.
Noticing less traction
Just as important as any of the other signs that your tires are too worn and need to be replaced is how the tires are to ride on and how they feel to you as the rider.
If you start to notice your bike slipping more than usual when you hit the brakes, take a turn, or even while climbing, its an indicator that your tires could be starting to be too worn out. You should check for the other signs of wear mentioned above, and make sure its actually tire wear causing the issue.
Keep in mind that other factors can cause reduced traction including the trail conditions and also whether you have your tires inflated to an appropriate tire pressure for the trails you’re riding.
How to make MTB tires last longer
Regardless of what you do, tire wear is inevitable. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still take steps to help preserve your tires and get the most riding out of them as you can:
- Ride with the correct tire pressure in your tires. Mountain bikers typically ride with tire pressures ranging from under 20 PSI up to 35 PSI. How pumped up your tires are should vary depending on the trails you are riding. The softer the trail, the lower PSI reading you can ride with.
- Store your bike properly in a low light, low humidity environment that doesn’t get too hot or too cold.
- Clean and wipe down your tires after your ride to limit the moisture sitting on the tires, which can cause them to break down more quickly.
Frequently asked questions
Bicycle tires go flat when not in use as a result of the porous rubber they are made with allowing air to very slowly escape over long periods of time. Storing your mountain bike in a cold place can also cause its tires to lose air.
As a rule of thumb, you should start considering replacing your mountain bike tires after 1,000 miles of use. This can vary greatly though depending on what trails you ride on, how aggressively you ride, how you store your bike and what specific tires you are riding with.
The cost of a mountain bike tire can vary from as low as $70 all the way up to $300 or more for a high end racing tire.
Conclusion
Ensuring your mountain bike tires are in good working order is important for your safety out on the trails, and to get the best out of yourself and your riding. By replacing your bike tires when they’re worn out, you’ll improve your mountain biking experience. You’ll have superior traction and control, and be able to shred tight turns and winding trails with more confidence than ever!