Mountain Biker Tests Bald Tires With Predictable Outcome
Finding the right mountain bike tire is a game of tradeoffs. Riders must weigh the benefits of grip with the downsides of rolling resistance.
To demonstrate one extreme, a rider cut off his side and center knobs. Watch him struggle down the trail below.
In this video, Jasa Vodopivektook an exacto knife to his side knobs to make a slick tire. Predictably, he struggled down the trail and slid down the whole trail.
The sections that Jasa struggled with make sense. Slick tires like this are popular for dirt jump riders who prioritize speed and ride on pump tracks with supportive berms. The off-camber trail sections are where the need for side knobs really comes into play.
For this perfect compromise, some riders enjoy a semi-slick tire, in which riders have very low-profile center knobs with big side knobs. This means that they can have fast straight-line speed while having grip to corner.
Sometimes experiments like this can help riders gain perspective on why tires are the way they are.
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