Kids Bicycle Tyres

Bead: The tire's bead holds the tire onto the rim and is only applicable for clincher and tubeless tires. The bead is typically made from either wire or kevlar, wire featuring on inexpensive tires, kevlar featuring on more premium options. Clincher tires with kevlar beads are also referred to as 'folding' tires.

Casing: The casing is the foundation of the tire, connecting the beads to one another and providing enough resistance from stretch to keep the air in while conforming to the ground surface. The casing is made from either nylon, cotton or silk and measured in 'threads per inch' or 'TPI'. Tires with a lower TPI count (e.g: 60 TPI) provide good puncture protection but poor rolling resistance, conversely, tires with high TPI counts (120 TPI +) provide a more supple ride with good rolling resistance but often with reduced puncture protection.

Puncture protection: In order to improve their resistance to punctures many tires will add a 'sub-tread' layer or 'puncture proof belt'. Some tires will simply feature more rubber, increasing the thickness of the tread, while others will use specific compounds to enhance their resilience. Sub-layers increase a tire's rolling resistance and add weight, and so it is a balancing act for manufacturers to create a fast, lightweight tire that can offer good levels of puncture protection. Some sturdier tires designed for winter training and commuting will feature puncture protection in the sidewall too.

Sidewall: This is literally the side of the tire, and is part of the casing that isn't intended to touch the ground, as a consequence this part of the tire is the thinnest. Important details such as the wheel and tire size, and recommended tire pressure will be found on the sidewall.

Tread: Tread is the part of the tire that contacts the ground and will be made from varying compounds with different tread patterns depending on it's intended use.

Tire pressure is important to a kid's riding experience. A properly inflated tire will make the bike perform better, and help reduce the risk of flat tires.

The basics
PSI. PSI or “pounds per square inch” is simply the measure of pressure resulting from a force of one pound-force applied to an area of one square inch. This gives us a number which we can use as reference for how much or little air is in the tire. Most quality bicycle pumps have gauges which read in PSI but pump gauges are often inaccurate. A dedicated pressure gauge will give you a more accurate reading.

All pneumatic tires, like car tires and bicycle tires, are pressurized by an “air-tight” chamber. In bicycles, this sealed air chamber is either a tube or a sealed tubeless tire. The higher the PSI, the harder the tire. The lower the PSI, the softer the tire.

Measuring tire pressure
With experience you can often check tire pressure by squeezing the tire with your thumb. For neighborhood riding, a good rule is that the tire should feel about as firm as a soccer ball. For casual neighborhood riding, a thumb pressure check is often enough to make sure the tire pressure is within a safe operating range. During certain types of riding, like trail riding, small differences in tire pressure can make a big difference. So, many performance oriented riders use pressure gauges almost every ride.

Tire width and tire pressure
Tires require a certain amount of air pressure to prevent them from bottoming out on the rim. Because wider mountain bike tires have more air volume, it is possible to ride them at lower pressures, increasing both comfort and traction on the trail. By comparison, narrower road tires have much less volume so they need more PSI to prevent bottoming out and pinch flats.

Ontrack was created in 2009 with firmly committed to the progression of more people riding bicycles by engineering and producing quality, long-lasting bicycle tires that are attainable by the masses.