3 Tips and Tricks to Make Sure Your Unicycle and Bike Tires Last Longer

Whether you ride a unicycle or a bike, the notes you should follow to ensure the tires last longer are effectively the same. 

That’s the good news. The other news is that it’s work. But that being said, if you want your unicycle or bike tires to last longer, here are 3 ways to do just that. 

Keep Your Bike Tires Properly Inflated

Keeping your unicycle or bike tires properly inflated for the road conditions is arguably the most important aspect of tire maintenance and will help prevent damage. 

Riding on soft surfaces, like snow, sand or mud, warrants a slightly lower PSI rating as it will create a wider contact patch and prevent the tire from knifing into the substrate. 

But, riding on a hard surface with a lower than advisable PSI rating can result in what is known as a pinch flat, and then you will need to replace your tube or tire or both. 

On the flipside, if you ride with your tires overinflated, you’ll wear out the tread and potentially the sidewall more quickly. At the very least, your tread will suffer if you ride overinflated tires on rough or hard surfaces. 

All in all, keeping the unicycle or bike’s tires properly inflated will help prevent damage and premature wear, ultimately ensuring you get the most mileage (figuratively and literally) from them. 

Inspect Periodically and Keep Them Clean

After every ride, take a close look at your unicycle or bike tires to inspect them for damage and signs of routine wear that may indicate you need to replace them imminently (or just soon).

The sidewall is one area to inspect. As tires age, the sidewall will start to develop small cracks. Minor cracking is normal but once the cracks start to get deep, there’s only one thing you can do, and that is to replace the tires. 

As for the treads, you should inspect them after every ride as well. Small bits of wire, rocks, sand, mud, and other debris can get caught in the treads. 

In the case of the former (wire and rocks and even bits of glass) if allowed to remain in the treads these can cause premature wear or even eventually poke through the tire, causing a flat. 

In the case of sand and mud, while these won’t necessarily damage the tire, they can decrease the efficiency of the tread and on top of that there are often road salts in them that can cause corrosion to other parts of your bike.

So, one way or the other, the best thing you can do is inspect and clean the treads after every ride. For loose debris a brush should be all you need to dislodge debris from the treads, but in the case of small rocks, bits of wire, nails or chips of glass, you may need a pair of tweezers or pliers. 

Store Properly 

Lastly, if you want to get your money’s worth from your unicycle or bike tires, one of the most important things you can do is store them properly. 

Of course, for the sake of the unicycle or bike itself, this means out of the elements. High humidity can cause corrosion of exposed, uninsulated steel parts like the frame and chain drive, even if they are kept clean and oiled.

But with specific respect to unicycle and bike tires, direct exposure to ultraviolet light in sunlight is one of the prime causes of premature decay. The UV in sunlight photodegrades the rubber and causes discoloration (typically browning or fading) that ultimately gives way to brittle tires that crack and fall apart. 

So, the bottom line is to store your unicycle or bike out of direct sunlight. This will also protect any rubber coatings on the handlebars as well as the saddle, both of which are also damaged by direct exposure to sunlight. 

Bonus For Bike Riders: Rotate the Tires

One last trick for bike riders which is not applicable to unicycles since the latter only have one wheel. But since bikes have two, you can even out wear on both of them by periodically rotating them. That is, switch the rear tire to the front and vice versa. 

This will even out the wear on the tire so you should get just a little bit more mileage from each of them.

Shop Unicycle and Bike Tires Here 

Whether you need to replace your unicycle or bike tires, we have you covered. Shop unicycle and bike tires here as well as the tools you need to make the repair or replacement, such as tire levers. 

Also, if you have any questions before you buy, get in touch with us directly and we will be happy to help.