Tyres can completely change how a bike feels. Width, tread pattern, casing and compound all affect how quickly the bike rolls, how much grip you have, how comfortable it feels and how confidently you can push across different surfaces. A fast road tyre and an aggressive mountain bike tyre may both be round and black, but that is pretty much where the similarities end.
The important bit is choosing a tyre for the riding you actually do. A wider tyre can add comfort and control, but that doesn't automatically make wider better. Likewise, a heavily treaded tyre might look reassuring, but if most of your riding is on smooth tarmac or hard-packed gravel, you're potentially creating extra drag for no real benefit. Below, we've picked out some of our road, mountain bike and gravel favourites and explained where each one makes the most sense.
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Ride The ForestWhat do tyre sizes actually mean?
Take 700 x 28c as an example. The 700c refers to the wheel diameter standard, while 28c is the nominal tyre width, roughly 28mm. Road and gravel tyres are commonly described this way, so moving from a 28c to a 32c tyre means increasing the width and overall air volume of the tyre. Mountain bike sizing works slightly differently. A tyre marked 29 x 2.40 is designed for a 29-inch wheel and is approximately 2.4 inches wide, while a 27.5 x 2.60 tyre fits a 27.5-inch wheel and offers a larger footprint on the ground.
As a rough guide, narrower tyres tend to feel sharper and lighter, while increasing tyre width gives you more air volume, allowing lower pressures and usually improving comfort, grip and control. Just remember that your frame, fork and wheel rims all need to be compatible with the tyre size you choose, and the number printed on the sidewall doesn't always tell the full story.
How you set the tyre up can also affect its final size. Tubeless tyres can inflate to a different width and profile than the same or similar tyre fitted with an inner tube, with rim width, tyre construction and pressure all playing a part. We've seen this first-hand: a 43c gravel tyre fitted with an inner tube appeared to leave enough clearance to move up to a 45c, but once the 45c was set up tubeless, it inflated too wide for the available space. Dropping down to a 40c tubeless tyre resulted in a similar overall width to the original 43c tyre. If you're getting close to your frame's maximum clearance, don't rely purely on the number printed on the tyre — leave yourself a little extra room.
For rough gravel and mountain biking, a tubeless tyre insert might be your next best friend. The insert sits inside the tyre to help protect the rim from hard impacts and support the tyre when running lower pressures, giving you more grip and comfort with less risk of rim strikes or excessive tyre movement.
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Which tyre is right for you?
Your tyres are the only part of the bike actually touching the ground, so choosing the right ones makes a bigger difference than you might think. From fast road rubber to aggressive MTB tread and everything gravel in between, here we have selected some of our tyres to show you what each tyre is designed to do and where it performs best.
Road Tyre
Contiental Grand Prix 5000 S
The Continental Grand Prix 5000 Sis a brilliant choice if you want one premium road tyre that can handle almost everything. Its BlackChili compound delivers low rolling resistance and dependable grip, while Vectran puncture protection and a tubeless-ready construction make it practical enough for regular riding. Choose 25c or 28c for a sharper, race-focused setup, or move to 30c or 32c for more volume and comfort on longer rides and rougher UK roads without giving away much in speed. Comfort = Speed, remember!
Best for: Fast road riding, racing, sportives and high-performance everyday use.
Terrain: Tarmac, fast country lanes and poorer road surfaces in the wider options.
See Available SizesRoad Tyre
Pirelli P-ZERO Race TLR RS
The Pirelli P ZERO Race TLR RS is the more focused choice for riders chasing outright road speed. Its SpeedCORE construction is designed around reducing rolling resistance, while the SmartEVO compound provides confident handling in both wet and dry conditions. 26c and 28c suit riders looking for a quick, responsive race setup, while 30c and 32c add some extra comfort for longer events and imperfect roads without taking away the tyre's performance intentions.
Best for: Road racing, fast group rides, events and performance-focused riders.
Terrain: Smooth to moderately rough tarmac in wet or dry conditions.
Explore This TyreRoad Tyre
Vittoria Rubino V Fold Full Black G2.0
The Vittoria Rubino V is built more around dependable everyday mileage than chasing every last watt. A Graphene and Silica compound, 100 TPI nylon casing and additional puncture protection make it well suited to training, commuting and endurance riding, with plenty of width options to tune the bike towards your roads. 28–32c gives most riders a strong balance of speed and comfort, while 34c is worth considering if your frame allows it and rough lanes regularly feature on your routes.
Best for: Training, commuting, endurance riding and everyday road miles.
Terrain: General road riding, rougher tarmac and mixed-quality country lanes.
See Full DetailsMountain Bike Tyre
Maxxis Assegai WT 60 TPI 3C MaxxGrip EXO+
The Maxxis Assegai is built for riders who would rather have too much grip than not enough. Its aggressive tread and sticky 3C MaxxGrip compound work particularly well across roots, rocks, loose soil and steep technical terrain, while EXO+ casing protection helps deal with impacts and sidewall damage. The 2.50 WT profile is designed around wider modern MTB rims and makes particular sense as a front tyre on aggressive trail and enduro bikes where predictable cornering and braking grip matter more than outright rolling speed.
Best for: Enduro, trail, downhill and bike park riding.
Terrain: Loose dirt, wet roots, rocks, steep descents and technical trails.
Choose Your SizeMountain Bike Tyre
Schwalbe
The Schwalbe Tacky Chan comes from World Cup downhill development, so subtlety isn't really the point. Its large shoulder blocks and strong braking edges are designed to provide support when cornering hard and braking on steep terrain, while the Ultra Soft compound prioritises traction. The Super Trail casing keeps it usable on bikes that still need to pedal uphill, making the 29 x 2.40 version a strong option for aggressive trail and enduro riders who spend most of the climb thinking about the descent.
Best for: Enduro, all-mountain, trail and gravity riding.
Terrain: Steep descents, technical trails, loose corners and demanding natural terrain.
Find Out MoreMountain Bike Tyre
Michelin E-Wild Performance Line
The Michelin E-Wild Rear is purpose-built for the extra weight and torque of an electric mountain bike. Its broad 27.5 x 2.60 footprint creates plenty of traction, while a reinforced casing and additional protection help deal with hard impacts, rim strikes and the stresses generated under e-bike acceleration. Michelin combines Gum-X for durability and efficiency with a grippier shoulder compound for cornering, making it a proper rear tyre for e-trail and e-enduro riding rather than simply a wider conventional MTB tyre.
Best for: Electric mountain bikes, e-enduro and e-trail riding.
Terrain: Hard to mixed trails, technical climbs, rocky ground and steep descents.
Explore Michelin E-WildGravel Tyre
Pirelli Cinturato Gravel RM Performance
The Pirelli Cinturato Gravel RM sits at the rougher end of the gravel spectrum, with a more substantial tread designed to keep finding grip when hardpack turns into loose dirt, forest roads and increasingly technical terrain. Its SpeedGRIP compound balances off-road traction with enough rolling efficiency for the road sections linking everything together, while the TechWALL Gravel casing adds protection for longer and rougher rides. This is the tyre to look towards when your idea of a gravel route is getting suspiciously close to mountain biking.
Best for: Adventure riding, gravel events and rough mixed-surface routes.
Terrain: Technical gravel, loose ground, forest roads, hardpack and softer dirt.
Find Out MoreGravel Tyre
Panaracer TLR GravelKing X1 R-Line
The Panaracer GravelKing X1 R-Line is aimed at riders who want gravel grip without sacrificing too much speed. Its lightweight R-Line casing and fast-rolling tread make it particularly suited to quicker riding and gravel racing, with 35c working well for smooth routes with plenty of tarmac, 40c providing an excellent all-round balance and 45c adding more comfort and control as the terrain becomes rougher. It's a useful middle ground for anyone who wants a proper tread pattern without dragging a heavily knobbed tyre around all day.
Best for: Gravel racing, fast adventure riding and performance-focused mixed-surface riding.
Terrain: Hardpack, dry gravel, fast forest roads and mixed terrain.
See Available SizesGravel Tyre
Vittoria T30 Fine Loose Gravel Endurance Full Black G2.0
The Vittoria Terreno T30 is designed for that awkward middle ground where the surface is too loose for a near-slick but not rough enough to justify a big aggressive tread. Its fast fish-scale centre keeps the tyre rolling efficiently, while the shoulder tread adds extra bite as you lean into corners, and the Endurance casing provides additional protection for longer rides. In 45c, there is plenty of volume for comfort and control over forest roads and loose gravel while still keeping the bike feeling quick when the route returns to smoother surfaces.
Best for: Fast gravel, endurance rides, gravel racing and long mixed-surface days.
Terrain: Fine loose gravel, hardpack, forest tracks and moderately technical gravel.
View Sizes & SpecsSo, which tyre should you choose?
If you're riding road, start by deciding if outright speed or durability matters more. The P ZERO Race TLR RS is the race-focused option, the GP5000 Sstrikes an excellent balance between speed and everyday usability, and the Rubino V makes a lot of sense when you're putting in the training mileage.
For mountain biking, think about how aggressive your trails actually are. The Assegai puts maximum grip at the top of the list, the Tacky Chan brings World Cup gravity influence to trail and enduro riding, while the Michelin E-Wild (both front and rear)is specifically built to survive the extra torque and weight generated by an e-MTB.
With gravel, width and tread should follow the surface. The GravelKing X1 R-Line is the quick option for riders looking for race pace, the Terreno T30 strikes a strong balance for fast loose or compact gravel and dirt roads, and the Cinturato Gravel RM starts to make more sense as routes become unpredictable and increasingly adventurous.
The most important takeaway from this is that there isn't one tyre that's best everywhere...and that's kind of the point. Choose the tyre around where you ride, make sure your bike has the necessary clearance, and you'll notice the difference long before you've started worrying about the next component upgrade.