
Some riders opt for wider tires, for example, to give them more traction and a somewhat cushier ride.

While tire diameter should be an exact match, you do have the option of putting on a tire with a slight variation in width. This system states the 622mm inner tire diameter, rather than the 700mm outer tire diameter, because a key concern is ensuring that wheel size (outer diameter) and inner tire diameter align with one another.Įven though ISO numbers are starting to show up on tires, they aren’t commonly stated elsewhere so you only need to pay attention to an ISO number if it’s the only sizing number you have to work with. As long as your new tire’s size matches one of these sets of numbers, the new tire should fit your bike.Ī tire size you might see on a mountain bike:Ģ9 x 2.3 indicates a tire with a 29" outer diameter and a 2.3" width.Ī tire size you might see on a road bike:ħ00x25c indicates a tire with a 700mm outer diameter and a 25mm width.Ī third type of tire size might appear on either a mountain or a road tire:Ģ5-622 is the International Standardization Organization (ISO) way of identifying the 700x25c tire in the example above. You might see just one set of sizing numbers on a tire, or two or even three.
