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Fat Tire or Narrow Tire?

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AOSTIRMOTOR01

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Fat tire and narrow tire have their own advantages and disadvantages, how should we choose? Here are some points for your reference.

Fat tire: The tire has large contact area with the ground, large friction force, strong grip on the ground, and stable riding on wet and slippery roads. But at the same time, because of its strong friction and heavy tires, it also consumes more electricity.

Narrow tires: Narrow tires are light in weight, less in friction and smaller in floor space, which saves more electricity than fat tires. However, the tread's contact area is small, and the grip is affected to some extent. When the road condition is bad or the slope and curvature are large, the riding will be unstable.

The above is the most basic difference between fat and narrow tires. If it were you, which one would you choose?
 
#2 ·
What you say here is not universally true. I ride a fat bike almost exclusively. The contact patch is indeed larger than a narrow tired bike but the pounds per square inch of contact is also lower. That translates to some conditions, particularly soft surfaces where the fat tire has more traction. On hard surfaces, the narrowr tire can often rule as the traction king.

All you have to do to prove it to yourself is go out with a narrow tired bike and a fat bike rounding a curve on pavement. Now hit either some peanut butter mud or and inch or two of slushy snow on the pavement and see which tire you like better.
 
#6 ·
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#7 ·
AOSTIRMOTOR01 said:
Fat tire and narrow tire have their own advantages and disadvantages, how should we choose? Here are some points for your reference.

Fat tire: The tire has large contact area with the ground, large friction force, strong grip on the ground, and stable riding on wet and slippery roads. But at the same time, because of its strong friction and heavy tires, it also consumes more electricity.

Narrow tires: Narrow tires are light in weight, less in friction and smaller in floor space, which saves more electricity than fat tires. However, the tread's contact area is small, and the grip is affected to some extent. When the road condition is bad or the slope and curvature are large, the riding will be unstable.

The above is the most basic difference between fat and narrow tires. If it were you, which one would you choose?
Click to expand...
Thank you for your question.
 
Discussion starter · #8 ·
PierreR said:
What you say here is not universally true. I ride a fat bike almost exclusively. The contact patch is indeed larger than a narrow tired bike but the pounds per square inch of contact is also lower. That translates to some conditions, particularly soft surfaces where the fat tire has more traction. On hard surfaces, the narrowr tire can often rule as the traction king.

All you have to do to prove it to yourself is go out with a narrow tired bike and a fat bike rounding a curve on pavement. Now hit either some peanut butter mud or and inch or two of slushy snow on the pavement and see which tire you like better.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for your advice and sharing. Different tires are suitable for different road surfaces, and how to choose the right tire is ultimately up to yourself.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
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