differnce in folding and wire?

fourcrossjohn

whats the differnce in foldig tyres and wire?

like what are the main pro's con's sort of thing

just wondering is all

nicklouse

weight.

mudsucker

Folding are much easer to get on and off the rim, and alot lighter.

fourcrossjohn

which is better in your opinion?

stevet1992

fourcrossjohn wrote:

which is better in your opinion?

Folding ... Saves much weight and you can easily take a few spares to events using minimal space

And you can get them off the rim easier without the use of tyre levers !

fourcrossjohn

any compromise in strentgh?

nicklouse

stevet1992 wrote:

And you can get them off the rim easier without the use of tyre levers !

it depends More on the tyre than the bead. and more so the tyre rim combo. in both cases the bead is the same size.

i fit and remove both without levers. and sometimes both can need a lever.

nicklouse

fourcrossjohn wrote:

any compromise in strentgh?

what do you mean by strength?

it is relative.

Raymondavalon

nicklouse wrote:

stevet1992 wrote:

And you can get them off the rim easier without the use of tyre levers !

i fit and remove both without levers. and sometimes both can need a lever.

I find that too.
I do prefer folding for the sheer convenience of being able to carry a few pairs of different tyre types in the car without compromising too much space.

stevet1992

nicklouse wrote:

stevet1992 wrote:

And you can get them off the rim easier without the use of tyre levers !

it depends More on the tyre than the bead. and more so the tyre rim combo. in both cases the bead is the same size.

i fit and remove both without levers. and sometimes both can need a lever.

Makes sense :oops: ive only ever had panaracer cinders in folding bead and they just flop off the rim without me touching them !

nicklouse

To sum up tyres can be found with wire or "kevlar" beads in all flavours from road to DH.

Aramid fibres are as strong as steel but lighter.

So the equivalent tyre can be made lighter, as the folding tyres tend to be a bit more costly they tend to improve the construction as well. (or offer some other improvement/option).

fourcrossjohn

okey doke
cheers guys

ESHER SHORE

something to consider is that the tire casing (carcass) and tread pattern make a much bigger difference to the tire weight, than the actual bead itself (kevlar vs. steel)

the best place to see this comparison is in the BMX tire market....bear with me on this

in BMX, most of the brands will offer the same tire in both steel bead and wire bead - from my own experience buying, weighing (!!) and using BMX tires, there is often very little weight difference between the cheaper steel beaded tires and the more expensive kevlar beaded tires - if we are talking about the same brand / model and not comparing a super cheapo "Duro" tire with a KHE Premium kevlar model (which burst or tear by the way - too thin in the casing!)

I've weighed tires in both bead types (same brand, same model and same size) where its only been 30-50gm lighter despite a £10-15 price premium for the kevlar model

now obviously the beading on a BMX tire (20")is a smaller diameter than the beading on a MTB tire (26") but the actual weight difference between wire and kevlar is not so noticeable, compared to differences in tread pattern (more aggressive, deeper tread = alot more rubber) and most importantly the tire's "casing" style (i.e. single ply, silkworm, 1.5 ply, UST, dual ply)


in MTB, you tend to find kevlar beads on the lighter XC and Trail tires, and on some all-mountain tires like the Specialized Control Eskar

all of these tires have relatively thin casings and less aggressive tread patterns

compared to the FR and DH tires which have heavy casings, very aggressive treads (which add a good heft of weight) and steel beads (no point in putting kevlar beads on a dual ply 2.5" DH tire)

the best way to choose tires is too look at the intended use, and ask some fellow riders what works out well for them in your local terrain

supersonic

You can still save 60-80g on some MTB tyres purely from kevlar beads.

I think they are the most cost effective upgrade for most bikes.

Northwind

Quite often there's other differences too, mind, with Kenda frinstance the wire bead versions that come as OEM fitment on a lot of bikes are a harder, less grippy compound than the standard DTC folding version you can buy aftermarket. That seems to be fairly common, the cheaper wire versions tend to also get cheaper overall construction, Conti seem to be the same.