What is the difference between folding bead and wire bead

The difference in outer diameters in bike tires is not seen because of bead type. Rather it happens because of the difference in manufactures, size and design of the bike, and purpose of the tire.

You can find tire diameters of all sizes for both types of beads on the market. Folding bead tires and wire bead tires both tend to have cross-ply or bias-ply in them. There is not much difference between them in this case. Both folding beads and wire bead tires come in both clincher and tubeless forms. The majority of folding and wire bead tires are actually clincher, however.

There are very few tubeless and tubular wire bead tires. In general, bead types do not make a great difference throughout different tube types. The answer depends on the purpose and usage. If you are a professional bicycle racer or use bicycles for long-distance tours, the folding bead will help you carry more spare tires in less space very conveniently.

They are also slightly lightweight. They also have a better grip. However, they are a lot more expensive than wire bead tires and last less than wire bead tires. Wire bead tires are also said to have fewer accidents by punctures even though there is no data to support the claim. So depending on your need, you have to decide which type meets your demand the best.

If you are using your BMX bike for day-to-day use for short-range travel and looking for a cheap, economical tire, then wire bead tires are the best for you. Even though some companies intentionally make their wire bead tires low specs compared to the foldable bead model, plenty of companies make the same quality tires just in different bead types. Folding tires are only better for long-distance travel, so if you are not into that, you can peacefully choose a wire bead tire because long distance or short, they are definitely more durable than folding bead tires.

Wire bead clinchers are tires with a pair of steel beads inside the inner tube, while the wire bead tubeless tires do not have any inner tube inside them. They are directly mounted on the rim and then floated. Folding clinchers also have an inner tube with KEVLAR fiber beads, and folding tubeless tires do not have the inner tube to put on inside.

Continental gatorskin is a famous series by cycle parts manufacturers Continentals. They have both wire bead and folding bead tires in the series, and both types are in line with the general features of continental gatorskins that make them popular.

It is good to mention that folding gatorskins are especially popular among all the folding bead models because of their quality. Inflate the tube slightly and fit it in the tire. Put the valve in the valve node. Install one bead at a time. Put beads over the rim with thumbs. Work the tube over the rim side and rim cavity.

Install the second bead. After that, inflate the tube partially. But its only drawback is that its tread will wear out quickly due to the soft rubber used in them. On the other hand, a dual rubber compound is used to make wire bead tires to make them durable. Its sides are made from a softer rubber compound to improve the traction while cornering and central treads are made with a regular rubber compound to improve traction between the tire and the surface. The Kevlar beads and high thread per inch count are the features of fold bead tires that make them lightweight and high performing tires.

To make the body of these tires tightly wound nylon threads are used. The fold bead tires with 60 TPI count are considered the best. The price of folding bead tires is higher than wire bead tires due to their premium design, lightweight, and materials used in them.

After going through fold bead vs wire bead provided in this write-up one can easily judge that the quality of wire bead tires is inferior to fold bead tires. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more.

What is the difference between folding bead and wire bead tires? Ask Question. Asked 11 years, 1 month ago. Active 1 year, 2 months ago. Viewed k times.

Improve this question. Nik Reiman Nik Reiman 2, 3 3 gold badges 19 19 silver badges 28 28 bronze badges. Sheldon Brown can show you how to fold a wire bead tire. Then just grasp the large loop of the figure eight, twist and push it towards the middle of the eight until you have three loops. Just tie it up with a strap and toss it into a bag.

Any other opinions? This topic has 11 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 12 years ago by mangoridebike. Viewing 12 posts - 1 through 12 of 12 total. MtbCol Free Member.