MTB Tire Guide
By: Cy Whitling, Former Editor-in-Chief at Bike Mag, Mountain Biker & Artist | Last Updated: April 7, 2025
Mountain Bike Tire Guide - Size, Width & Types Explained
When it comes to mountain bike components, none are as important, and as personal as the touchpoints. And we don’t just mean the ones you touch, like your saddle and grips. Your tires are (ideally) the only thing connecting you and your bike to the trail. But choosing mountain bike tires can be overwhelming. There are so many different options in tread pattern, casing, compound, and more. So we’ve taken a two-pronged approach to breaking it down.
First, the simple version. We’ve put together three common rider profiles, along with our recommendations for front and rear tires. Figure out which rider sounds the most like you, grab a set of tires, and go ride your bike, no understanding of complex acronyms necessary. We’ve also included a short selection of attributes to look for in a tire for each profile.
But, if you want to go deep, and learn about all of the design decisions and features that make tires perform differently from each other, we’ve put together a guide to common terms, and how to interpret them below.
Choosing mountain bike tires is all about compromise, so we’ve put together graphics for each profile to illustrate how our recommended tires balance performance attributes to match each style of riding.
Tire Profiles: The Simple Version
Before you get started, check that your rims are tubeless ready, and make note of the tire diameters (26”, 27.5” or 29”) on your bike. You’ll want to match those with your new tires.
>> If you need to convert your bike to tubeless tires or learn how to add tubeless tire sealant, we've got you covered!
>> For more on rims and tire width, checkout our guide on How to Choose Bike Wheels, Rims, Hubs & Spokes.
XC / Lightweight Trail Tires
If your bike has between 100 and 130 mm of rear travel, and you’re focused more on exploring new places, and riding mellower trails efficiently, you might fall into this class. You’re not a full-on XC racer, but you care about weight and efficiency more than riding the gnarliest moves or going big. Your trails generally fall on the smoother, flatter end of the spectrum.
Tire Attributes to Look For
Keep an eye out for tires between 2.3 and 2.4” wide, with a lightweight casing, firm compound, and a tread pattern that uses many smaller nobs, spaced relatively close together. If you’re looking to ride this style of bike more aggressively, you can bump up the front tire’s tread pattern to one of our recommendations for rear tires in the “All-Mountain” profile.
Lightweight Tire Recommendations
- Maxxis Dissector (Front) / Maxxis Rekon (Rear)
- Specialized Eliminator (Front) / Specialized Ground (Rear)
All-Mountain Tires
If your bike has 130-150 mm of rear travel, and your riding focus is, well, everything, this is the class for you. This is by far the most expansive category, and most folks will fall into this class. This is where folks who like to ride all the trails hang out. That means that your tires will need to balance the widest range of riding conditions, and terrain. Luckily tire brands understand this and have put a bunch of work into designing tires that can do it all, well.
Tire Attributes to Look For
Look for a tire that’s between 2.4 and 2.5” wide, with bigger, more blocky knobs, a midweight casing, and a mid-soft compound. Bigger folks, more aggressive riders, and anyone suffering from pinch flats will want to upgrade to a heavier casing in the rear. Anyone dealing with wet conditions, especially with roots and rocks, will want to go with a softer compound in their front tire. All of our recommendations include a grippier front tread pattern, with a faster-rolling rear.
All-Mountain Tire Recommendations
- Maxxis Assegai (Front) / Maxxis Minion DHR II (Rear)
- Continental Kryptotal (Front) / Continental Xynotal (Rear)
- Specialized Butcher (Front) / Specialized Eliminator (Rear)
- Schwalbe Albert (Front) / Schwalbe Tacky Chan (Rear)
Enduro / DH Tires
If your bike has 150+ mm of rear travel, and you’re focused on the descent, this is the category for you. Enduro is the inverse of lightweight trail. You’re pedaling uphill (or riding a chairlift) to enjoy the way back down. Your trails are steeper and more technical, and you’re riding them with more aggression. Tire choice here is based on traction, durability, and predictability, not weight and rolling speed.
Tire Attributes to Look For
Tire widths in this class will typically range between 2.4 and 2.6” and you’re looking for the burliest, meanest tires in a company’s catalog. That means DH or Gravity casings, sticky compounds, and big, blocky tread patterns. If you’re typically riding more hardpack, consistent trails, consider running our rear tire recommendations on both ends of the bike. Similarly, if you’re riding more loose, variable trails, our front tire recommendations bring even more braking traction to the rear.
Enduro Tire Recommendations
- Maxxis High Roller III (Front) / Maxxis Minion DHR II (Rear)
- Schwalbe Albert (Front) / Schwalbe Albert (Rear)
- Specialized Cannibal (Front) / Specialized Butcher (Rear)
- Continental Kryptotal-F (Front) / Continental Kryptotal-R (Rear)
Breaking Down the Jargon
Tire Width
This is the simplest descriptor of a tire. It’s meant to reflect the actual width of the tire casing (not the tread) when it’s installed on a rim. However, each tire brand measures this in their own way, so, for example, not all 2.5” tires will be the same width. That’s not a big deal though, since it’s mostly used as a comparative scale. Typically, narrower tires roll faster, are lighter, and provide less traction. Wider tires are slower, heavier, and grip better. That means most folks either run the same width both front and rear, or run a slightly wider tire in the front for more traction.
Tire Tread Pattern
Tread pattern is where tire design becomes more art than science. There are so many factors at play, and every company has their own methodology. But there are a few overarching factors that apply to any tire. First, low, small knobs roll faster than tall, blocky ones, but don’t dig in and grip in loose terrain. They also do less to slow you down when you need to brake fast.
Similarly, on hardpack trails, tall knobs tend to squirm in corners, leading to a disconcerting sensation. So a good tire will be aggressive enough to deliver predictable traction on your typical trails, without being a slog to pedal to the top.
Finally, the knobs on different parts of the tire do different things. The center knobs typically handle braking and climbing traction, while the ones on the sides are engaged when you corner. So tire manufacturers will try to find a balance of rolling resistance and traction by tweaking the ratio of those sizes.
Generally, you want bigger, wider-spaced knobs on the front, for extra cornering traction. Then, in the rear, where cornering traction matters less, a lower-profile tread pattern will roll faster and be more efficient. That said, it’s totally fine to run the same tread pattern both front and rear, especially if you’re on the XC end of the spectrum, and want to run something fast on both ends, or you’re an aggressive enduro rider looking for all the available traction.
Tire Compound
A tire’s compound is basically a measure of how sticky the rubber is. Softer compounds use stickier rubber, which in turn grips the trail better, but rolls slower, and wears out faster. Typically you’ll want to run a softer compound tire on the front, with a firmer one in the rear. The more aggressive terrain you’re dealing with (and the more moisture your trails get) the stickier of rubber you’ll want to run. Some brands offer hybrid compound tires, with softer rubber in the cornering knobs, and firmer rubber in the center to deliver better durability without sacrificing as much grip. That’s a great compromise for do-it-all tires.
Some folks like to run very hard compound tires, and put up with the less-than-ideal traction because they appreciate the rolling speed and longevity. Others are fine burning through softer tires because they love that grip. There’s no wrong answer here, but typically the wetter your riding conditions are, the more you’ll appreciate softer tires.
Front vs. Rear Tires
To summarize: Front tires are typically wider, and use a softer compound, lighter casing, and more aggressive tread pattern than the rear, so that they can maximize traction on slick terrain, and in corners.
Rear tires are typically narrower, with a firmer compound, heavier casing, and less aggressive tread pattern, so that they roll faster, resist pinch flats, and last longer.
Tire Casing
A tire’s casing is its carcasse. It’s the layers of rubber, fabric, and other materials that make it hold its shape. Every brand has their own casing naming strategy, and they’re all a little complicated. But overall, the trend for every brand is that thicker casings are heavier, less likely to get flats, and offer more support and damping in rugged terrain.
So if you want to go fast on smooth trails, get a lighter casing. If you want to jump into rock gardens, get a heavier one. Lighter folks can get away with lighter casings, and heavier folks, or those who ride more aggressively, will want thicker ones. Similar to compound, many folks prefer to run a lighter casing in the front, and a heavier one in the rear. This saves them some weight, while still giving them flat protection and support on that rear tire which typically sees more abuse.
Ride & Refine
At the end of the day, tires are one of the most impactful ways to change how your mountain bike handles. So experiment and find what works best for you and your style of riding. Maybe you’ll find one tire combo that makes you happy all the time. Or maybe you’ll settle on one setup for the wet season, and another for dry trails. Regardless, know that your tires make a huge impact, and a little thought while shopping for them makes all the difference.
CY WHITLING
Former Editor in Chief at Bike Mag, Mountain Biker, Writer
Cy Whitling enjoys riding, writing about, and drawing mountain bikes. Most recently, he was Editor in Chief at Bike Mag, and his work has appeared in many bike publications such as NSMB. He also reviews candy at About the Ride. If you meet him on the trail, ask if he has any sour candy to share.