Are Wider Tires Safer for Bicycles?

If you're ready to start a lively discussion, bring up the topic of tires or chain lube. This is because the conversation often centers around safety, not comfort or speed.

Tire Safety on Paved Surfaces

On paved roads, wider tires do not significantly improve safety. The primary concern is a catastrophic tire failure, especially on the front tire, which can lead to an immediate loss of control. To avoid this, it is crucial to invest in a high-quality, durable tire. For common wheel sizes, I recommend the Continental Gator Skin.

For less common wheel sizes, such as 20 inches, Continental might not produce a Gator Skin tire. In such cases, the Schwalbe Marathon is a solid alternative. The Marathon Plus offers even more puncture resistance, though a standard puncture is not particularly dangerous. It will give you enough time to stop safely. However, both the Marathon and Marathon Plus are quite heavy.

The Safest Way to Ride

The safest place to ride is generally the far left lane on limited access roadways. Always use your signal lights and take up the entire lane. Trust me, you'll be just as safe as if you were sleeping in your bed.

Factors Affecting Bicycle Tire Safety

Wider bicycle tires offer more grip, but any bicycle tire can lose adhesion under the right circumstances. Loose gravel, an oil spill on a paved road, or black ice can all cause a crash. Wider tires can enhance safety in several ways:

With less pressure, a sharp object is less likely to puncture a tire. A wider tire is less prone to pinch flats from small bumps or potholes. At lower pressure, if a tire gets punctured, it is more likely to deflate slowly rather than suddenly.

Juggling Safety and Performance

Sound safety is fundamentally about how you ride and the confidence you have in your equipment. However, tires play a role in this too.

On paved surfaces, wider tires can let you focus more on the traffic around you, reducing the need to constantly monitor the road. On dirt and gravel, wider tires distribute the load more evenly, allowing for tighter turns and easier rolling.

When riding on loose surfaces, softer tires with wider sidewalls better absorb energy from the surface, reducing the energy absorbed by the tire and maintaining better control. This is due to the greater flex in the sidewalls of wider tires, which can lead to lower rolling resistance.

The concept that wider tires can roll as easily as narrower ones was rediscovered or better understood. Velocio, a renowned cycling expert, noted over a century ago that wider, smaller-diameter tires could roll just as easily as the larger, narrower tires commonly used at the time.

In summary, wider tires can make handling more predictable on soft surfaces, allow you to focus more on risks around you on the road, and potentially reduce rolling resistance slightly.