Are Wider Tyres REALLY Better?

Mountain bike tyres have been getting wider… now even cross-country bikes are being built to accommodate up to 2.6″ rubber! We thought we’d apply some science and see if we can decipher the difference in feeling and performance, both up and downhill, between iterations of Vittoria’s Mezcal XC tyre which comes in 2.1″, 2.35″ and 2.6″. Let’s get rolling!

🚨 Use Code GMBN20 for 20% off non-discounted Peaty’s Bike Care Products on https://gmbn.eu/Peatys * 🚨

⏱ Timestamps ⏱
00:00 – Intro
00:43 – Tyre Widths Explained + Actual Science!
03:25 – 2.1″ Tyres Up & Down
06:06 – 2.35″ Tyres Up & Down
08:47 – 2.6″ Tyres Up & Down
11:38 – Tyre Width Conclusions

Useful Links:
Join this channel to get access to perks: https://gmbn.eu/YouTubeMembership
Subscribe to the channel for more! 👉 https://gmbn.eu/Subscribe
Support The Channel Through The GMBN Shop 👉 https://gmbn.eu/Shop
Submit your Photo and Video to us 👉 https://www.gmbn.com/uploader
Looking for MTB Insurance? Check here 👉 https://gmbn.eu/insurance
Sign-up to our newsletter 👉 https://gmbn.eu/newsletter

Do you opt for narrower or wider tyres on your bike?

Watch more on GMBN…
📹 Are Tuned Mass Dampers Worth The Hype? 👉 youtu.be/AjoNPixWSiA
📹 Watch our Editor’s Choice Playlist 👉 https://gmbn.eu/EditorsChoice
📹 Watch our weekly show, The Dirt Shed Show 👉 https://gmbn.eu/dirtshedplaylist

🎵 Music – licensed by Epidemic Sound 🎵
BUZZER – Cushy
Cacti – Cushy
Down South – Cushy
Electromagic – Akibakid
Hasta Luego – Timothy Infinite
Hay Bale – Chelle Ives
INTAKE – GHOSTSLIDE
MAMMOTH – Cushy
Mi Fiesta – Beiba
Mystery of Being – A Path Untold
Nightingale – A Path Untold
Sun Rings – Ooyy

#GMBN #GlobalMountainBikeNetwork #MTB #MountainBiking

📸 Photos – © UCI Mountain Bike World Series / © Getty Images / © Sprint Cycling Agency

The Global Mountain Bike Network (GMBN) is the world’s largest and fastest-growing online mountain bike channel and community – and your destination for the best mountain bike content in the world.

GMBN is dedicated to inspiring and unlocking your riding potential. Our videos cater to fans of every mountain bike discipline: from mile-munching cross-country (XC) riders, through adrenaline-fuelled dirt jumpers, gravity-hungry downhillers or aspiring enduro racers, and beyond.

Our ex-pro presenting team are on hand to entertain and inspire you while also providing a uniquely qualified insight into the world of mountain biking. Every week we deliver original daily videos that include:

Adventurous and entertaining features
Mountain bike skills coaching
Technical advice and guidance
Mechanical know-how to keep you rolling
A place for the riding community with our weekly Dirt Shed Show

Thanks to our sponsors:
Canyon Bikes: http://gmbn.eu/Canyon
Propain Bikes: https://gmbn.eu/Propain
Orbea Bikes: https://gmbn.eu/Orbea
Park Tool: http://gmbn.eu/ParkTool
Smith Helmets & Eyewear: https://gmbn.eu/Smith
Crankbrothers Pedals: http://gmbn.eu/crankbros
Shimano Footwear: https://gmbn.eu/ShimanoShoes
Ergon: http://gmbn.eu/ergon
Vittoria Tires: https://gmbn.eu/Vittoria
Reynolds wheels: https://gmbn.eu/Reynolds
FSA: http://gmbn.eu/fsa
Topeak: http://gmbn.eu/topeak
Garmin: https://gmbn.eu/Garmin
Peaty’s Products: https://gmbn.eu/Peatys
CamelBak: https://gmbn.eu/CamelBak

Watch our sister channels:
GMBN Tech – https://gmbn.tech/YouTube
Electric Mountain Bike Network – https://embn.me/YouTube
Global Cycling Network – https://gcn.eu/YouTube
GCN Tech – https://gcntech.co/YouTube
Global Triathlon Network – https://gtn.io/YouTube
GCN Italia – https://gcn.eu/ItaliaYouTube
GCN en Espanol – https://gcn.eu/EspanolYouTube
GCN auf Deutsch – https://gcn.eu/DeutschYouTube
GCN en Francais – https://gcn.eu/FrancaisYouTube
GCN Training – https://gcn.eu/TrainingYouTube
GCN Racing – https://gcn.eu/RacingYouTube

*Discount code is valid until 13th February 2025. Code cannot be combined with other offers or promotions.

oh my God way better yeah okay what is the optimal width tire for a cross country bike is it a 2.1 a 2.35 A 2.6 or a 2 more well today we’re going to find out I’ve got Victoria Mescal on a set of FSA I29 Wheels in those ious sizes and we’re going to do a couple of experiments we’re going to do climbing set Power and some single track to see if there’s an optimum number why use wider tires in well over the years Tire width has been getting progressively bigger and there’s a few reasons for this well for a start we know that wider tires generate lower rolling resistance at a certain tire pressure which when it comes to cross country that’s pretty crucial thanks to phys concepts with fun names like hoop stress we know that wider tires need lower pressures to have the same characteristics as narrower tires with higher pressures these lower pressures in your tires will they help the tire conform to the ground giving you extra grip and comfort with all this talk of a broader contact patch and more grip then shouldn’t we be riding around all on fat bikes well not so fast well that extra grip does come at a cost mind and it is of course weight now a set of two .1 in tires they’re going to weigh about 1,380 G for the pair a set of 2.35 is 1,500 G and a set 2.6 is 1,750 G that’s a difference of 370 G from the lightest to the heaviest set that additional weight is added in kind of one of the worst places that you want it on the bike that rotational mass and it’s one of the reasons why XC Riders have been sort of late to the game in adopting wider tires however XC Riders are slowly making the change the goat Nino shirter has been using 2.4s on his bike for a number of years now but other Riders such as Tom Pitcock are still slightly more reserved running 2.2 still as always it’s about finding that compromiser of speed Comfort grip and weight so on that note let’s see if we can find [Music] it before we get going let’s talk tire pressures now I’ve used these tires at 2.35 many times in the past and I’d normally run 24 PSI out front 26 PSI out back and we’re going to use that as our Baseline first up then the climbing experiment ahead of me is about a 3 minute hill now I’ve got my Garmin head unit here sync to my power meter cranks we’re going to try and hold an average wattage of about 270 to 300 watts the whole way up first up is 2.1 tires then 235 and then 2.6 and once we get to the top you’ve got to come back down so it’s some single track smashing we’re going to time that but also going to look at how it feels on the way down as well so then to keep things fair and square we’ve run the numbers we’ve done the calculations and we’ve crunched the data and it works out that we need to roughly drop the pressures by two PSI each time we go between Tire widths this means we’re going to start out at 28 PSI and 26 PSI front and rear on the 2. ons by the time we get to 2.6s we’ll be at 22 and 24 [Music] off we go then 21s and they look ridiculous super duper narrow the first half of this kind of Fire Road Off-Road climb they are going to be a little bit quicker because it’s pretty smooth and very hard right now we transition off the Fire Road onto kind of the muddier rockier Routier part of the climb now the 21s are running the firmest pressures I think this is where we’re going to get a bit cuzz it does sill although faster on the smooth stuff soon as we hit this kind of bumpier slippy oh you can hear it there bumpier slippier stuff it struggles to grip doesn’t mold to the ground doesn’t mold over the roots and things like that so wheel spinning is much more [Music] likely hey and finish so that’s our first 2.1 climb done we’ll get into the details later but first we got to go back down to the single [Music] track and here we go single track downhill 2. ons are on it’s a Rowdy bit of trail that flattens off at the bottom oh my God these things feel lar I’m not enjoying this vehicle oh my goodness [Music] me oh I hear that ping going have to be a bit cautious I don’t like it I don’t like it there we go my inside line so a huge difference I notic is actually confidence while riding it does not Inspire confidence oh he’s got oh no gone offline it does not Inspire confidence when riding 21’s done uh that was a wild ride I’m not going to lie not overly fond of it I can see why we’ve all moved on should we say but anyway let’s get back to the van quick pit stop and the 2.35 is on like we said wider tires need less pressure than narrower tires to keep the same case in tension there are some websites and calculations and equations that you can find online to work out the exact casing tension that you might need for the width Tire you’re running that’s enough talk about pressure let’s crack on with them runs here we [Music] go I’ll be honest with you the drag feels minimal at the moment in comparison to the first width tires so BS well but you know power don’t lie times don’t lie see what we [Music] got okay so now we’re back onto the proper woo muddier rockier slipperier section of the climb that’s really hard to show on certainly a GoPro but like I went over a little rocky patch then and didn’t wheel spin and I did on the first run you add that up over lots of little sections makes a big [Music] difference yo okay 2.35 climb done definitely felt a lot better on the climbs let’s go hit some single track 2.35 [Music] dropping like being old Old Faithful at the mo yeah Manuel Oh my days might have got a bit over confident but no jok there is a humongous difference here people in both noing the width and the softer pressure that larger contact pack is giving me better grip and better breaking which perks up the old [Music] confidence carry speed over the normal line there if that’s not quicker I’ll eat my Clips so much better people 2.35 that felt like my normal XC bike so very much at home on it like a slightly softer pressures didn’t look weird I think that’s you know a mental side of it is what it looks like as well looking down and seeing a skinny Tire or a slightly fatter tire but that run felt good if that’s not fast like I said I’ll eat my hat um we got to go swap out for two sixes so let’s show you that look at the size of the balloons on the thing 2.6s look massive on the XE bike 22 PSI up front 24 out back plenty of Tire clearance luckily on my Canyon Lux Trail but if you are thinking of going tires this big on an XC bike check with a manufacturer first but anyway we got to go climbing off we tro then with the 2.6s I’ve made my bike look like a monster truck they look huge we’ll find out at the end but I should only imagine that they will be way slower on this first fire Road part the additional width the lower pressures that’s got to be drag right okay this is where I expect it to pick up as always we come off the Fire Road onto the proper Offroad better grip on the mud I would hope that there’s no slipping at all when we hit rocks and Roots yeah plowing through but at what cost feels good on all this loose Rock squishy mud doesn’t cut through like the narrower tires kind of sits on top a little bit more but when it gets suited like that kind of more bed Rocky stuff yeah no wheel spins no sliding around no pinging off each bump that’s a big [Music] thing now we’re nearly there and finito wo that 2.6 got me puffing a little I mean there was definitely Pros I think a bit more cons you’d be hard pushed to convince any XC Rider to run 2.6s let alone race on them that’s hard work I reckon over the course of a race or a big ride you’re going to be losing some time and some power there and energy but for a well-rounded view we got to go back down oh yeah okay oh that was the best man yet 2224 PSI combo such a large amount of grippin comparison over the 235s so the 2.1 is not even worth talking about right now because there is no comparison see that front end went a touch there but actually like fit in if I was on the narrow tires I’ll be uh checking out the front door there okay the roots are work it’s going to matter got my line [Music] nice oh that is so sketchy today and we go up oh dreamy [Music] 2.6s and he holds all the tight lines haven’t done that on any of the other tires to the line [Music] okay that was by comparison to 2.1 a dreamy downhill run but how fast was it how did it feel well for that let’s head back to the set thank goodness then we’re back in the set and it’s considerably warmer and drier but the results is kind of what we all want to know right so let’s dive straight in on the 2.1 in tires The Climb average power was 266 wat so I was just just shy of kind of the range I wanted to be in there and the time was 3 minutes 43 whilst the 21s on the single track was 1 minute and 44 seconds moving on the 2.35 in tires on the climb and average power of 273 so 7 wats more with a time of 346 so actually 3 seconds slow I’ll get into that in a second and on the single track was 1 minute uh 31.5 so it’s considerably quicker and I’m going to put that down to quite plain and simply slightly wider better grip and a lower pressure I don’t think that’s any secret out there the 2.6s and I think this is what we all kind of want to know I think this is what could throw a bit of a curve ball to some of our thinking cuz 2. 6 on an XC bike just seems wild right well on the climb the average power was 289 so the highest of all three so you can put that down to additional weight and drag I think it just requires more effort to get the same kind of thing out and that’s that’s reflected in the time the time was 3:51 so it was also the slowest time so you can definitely see where that bigger tire is less beneficial however on the single track it was 132.5 going back down actually a second slower than than the 2.35 so barely anything in it and on a a wet slippery day like that you know a second you could put down to maybe a slightly offline choice for myself or not maybe carrying so much speed so quite negligible on the downhills which I think is is surprising right now what I most want to talk about is how the 21s were actually quickest on the climb I’m going to put that down to the type of climb that we use they were 3 seconds faster now the climb use was mainly fire Ro on the beginning so pretty smooth and you can hold a good pace and actually for that pace you don’t need as much effort as shown in the average PA where I lost maybe a a bit of time and brought those times closer together it was the second half of our climb where it did get muddier and slippier we had a few turns in there as well and I think that’s where that real firm pressure as well just wasn’t biting in to kind of the rocks and The Roots and through the mud just quite as well it does sort of show by this though that for the effort required and the times that you do that 2.35 is sort of that that optimal tire size on a cross country bike and it shows because that’s what most of the pack in the men’s and women’s field are using these days but I want to know what you think in the comments down below would you go wider would you go narrower you still old school using a 2.1 or even narrower do they I don’t if they even make a narrower tire than that anymore let me know I’d be fascinated I’m going to stick my 2.35 I think for now but it’s been an absolute pleasure let me know if you’d like to see more CrossCountry content on the channel in the future and I’ll do my best to deliver but for me for now from the set see you later