Improve Bike Performance With These Simple Tire and Wheel Upgrades

There are a number of simple things you can do to your tires and wheels to improve the performance of your bike.  By making these upgrades you will benefit in a number of ways, depending on what you choose to have done.  Your bike will roll faster, it will have a smoother ride, and you will get less flat tires and more.  Here are simple upgrades you can have done to your tires and wheels to increase your bikes performance.

Improving your bike performance by upgrading your tires and wheels can be a simple and very helpful idea.   You can put wheels on your bike that are lower in weight than you currently have. Even a slight drop in weight, will yield significant improvement.  There are a number of rim choices to consider that are made of light weight components.   There are also many new wheel designs that feature fewer spokes, lowering the wheel weight, yet are still strong and durable.

There are also many types of tires to consider that are light weight and will have improved rolling resistance that will return huge returns in overall cycling performance.  By going with a higher quality tire that has more threads the tire is held together better.  A tire like this can hold higher air pressure and makes less contact with the surface-that means the bike will ride faster.

By installing tires that are narrower you will improve your bike's speed. The less the width of the tire the less the rolling resistance and the higher the speed will be.  Wider tires will improve the comfort of the ride as they will absorb shock better than thinner tires.  So if you want improved ability for speed, go for thinner tires.  If you are looking for increased ride comfort, go for wider tires.

If you want better protection from flats there are a number of things you can do to your tires.  There is a sealant that can be injected through the valve and it will help to seal up small holes you might get in the tube.  You can still add air with this sealant in the tube.  If this is too messy for you special tubes can be purchased that already have this sealant in them.

There are also special thorn resistant tubes that can be purchased to help prevent against flats.  These are thicker than normal tubes.  A tire liner can be placed in between the rim and the tube and this will also help to prevent flats.  For added protection there are tire liners that are made of a durable substance called Kevlar.  These can be a great upgrade idea that will help prevent flat tires.

The biggest downside to all these suggestions for flat tire protection is that it adds weight to the tires and wheels.  This added weight will reduce overall bike performance.  So you have to decide if you want the convenience of better protection from getting flats or improved bicycle performance.

In the off-season spend the time to upgrade your bike tires and wheels and it will pay off for you in the spring.

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