Bicycle tire

A bicycle tire is a tire that fits on the wheel of a bicycle or similar vehicle. These tires may also be used on tricycles, wheelchairs, and handcycles, frequently for racing. Bicycle tires provide an important source of suspension, generate the lateral forces necessary for balancing and turning, and generate the longitudinal forces necessary for propulsion and braking. Although the use of a pneumatic tire greatly reduces rolling resistance compared to the use of a rigid wheel or solid tire, the tires are still typically the second largest source, after wind resistance (air drag), of power consumption on a level road. The modern detachable pneumatic bicycle tire contributed to the popularity and eventual dominance of the safety bicycle.

Bicycle tires are also used on unicycles, tricycles, quadracycles, tandem bicycles, hand cycles, bicycle trailers, and trailer bikes.

The first bicycle "tires" were iron bands on the wooden wheels of velocipedes. These were followed by solid rubber tires on penny-farthings. The first patent for "rubberized wheels" was granted to Clément Ader in 1868. In an attempt to soften the ride, rubber tires with a hollow core were also tried.

The first practical pneumatic tire was made by John Boyd Dunlop in 1887 for his son's bicycle, in an effort to prevent the headaches his son had while riding on rough roads. (Dunlop's patent was later declared invalid because of prior art by fellow Scot Robert William Thomson.) Dunlop is credited with "realizing rubber could withstand the wear and tear of being a tire while retaining its resilience". This led to the founding of Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co. Ltd in 1889. By 1890, it began adding a tough canvas layer to the rubber to reduce punctures. Racers quickly adopted the pneumatic tire for the increase in speed and ride quality it enabled.

Finally, the detachable tire was introduced in 1891 by Édouard Michelin. It was held on the rim with clamps, instead of glue, and could be removed to replace or patch the separate inner tube.

Three main techniques for attaching a bicycle tire to a bicycle rim have been developed: clincher, wired and tubular. Clinchers originally did not have wire in the beads and the shape of the bead interlocked with a flange on the rim, relying on air pressure to hold the tire bead in place. However, this type of tire is no longer in general use and the term clincher has transferred to the modern wired-on tire. For the remainder of this article, the modern use of the word clincher will be assumed.

In an attempt to provide the best attributes of both wired and tubular methods, tubular clinchers have also been offered.

Most bicycle tires are clincher types for use with "clincher" rims. These tires have a steel wire or Kevlar fiber bead that interlocks with flanges inside of the rim. A separate airtight inner tube enclosed by the tire supports the tire carcass and maintains the bead lock. An advantage of this system is that the inner tube can be easily accessed for a patch repair or replacement of the tube.