How to choose hybrid tires

Hybrid and commuter tires deliver speed, durability, and traction across multiple surfaces, including city streets, bike paths, and even light trails. As you’re choosing the best tire for you, consider where you’ll ride. If you'll stick to paved surfaces, a smooth, fast-rolling hybrid tire will suit your needs. If you’ll venture onto rougher roads or gravel, a wider tire with heftier tread can give you more grip and confidence.

Types of hybrid tire treads

Hybrid tires come in a variety of tread types designed for use city on city streets and even light trails. A tire’s tread is the best indicator of which surface(s) it will perform best on.

Smooth tread

Tires with this type of tread are designed for mostly city and street riding. The smooth tire surface helps the tire roll efficiently and deliver good traction on streets and paved paths.

Recessed tread

Some tires have inward/recessed tread or siping to provide extra traction in wet or rainy conditions. The channels help move water out of the way for more traction and confidence on pavement in all weather conditions.

External tread

Hybrid and commuter tires that have an external tread are designed with traction in mind. If you find yourself on unpaved paths or uneven surfaces, a treaded design will give you the best grip and confidence.

What to know about puncture protection

Many hybrid and commuter tires have design features that can help prevent your ride from being interrupted by a flat. If durability is a priority for you, or if you ride in rougher or uneven terrain, look for tires with anti-cut sidewalls to help prevent cuts and tears, robust construction with extra material in key areas, and sub-tread breaker belts (durable fabric layers built into the tire, right under the tread, to help block sharp objects from piercing through your tire and flatting your tube.)

Hybrid bike tire sizes

Most hybrid and commuter bike tires are available in two diameters: 700c or 26”. You will likely see a size printed on the sidewall of your current tires. This is a great place to start when you need to replace a hybrid or commuter tire. Look for two numbers: the first number is the diameter of the the tire. Your replacement tires must be this same size or they will not fit. The second number listed is the tire’s width. You can choose replacement tires that have the same width, but often times you can choose to go a little wider or a little narrower depending on your preference. If you are unsure which width is best for you, stop into your local bike shop for advice!

A guide to Bontrager hybrid and city tire families

Wherever you roll, there’s a Bontrager tire designed to bring more speed, stability, traction, or confidence to your experience. And every one is backed by the Bontrager Unconditional Guarantee, which gives you 30 days to ride and love your Bontrager tire. If you don’t, bring it back and we’ll replace it for free.

H series

Confidently roll over any terrain with a confidence-inspiring tread that provides great traction on a variety of surfaces such as pavement and packed bike paths.

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E series

An eBike specific tire designed to offer confident traction and lasting performance for the speeds and needs of eBike riders. A lightly treaded tire that’s optimized for the increased speeds and demands of eBike riders.

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LT series

Perfect for trails, bike paths, roads, alleys, wherever. These tires open up an endless possibility of riding to provide an all-condition, light trail specialty tire that is designed for fast rolling on both pavement and trails, without having to worry about rocks or debris causing flats.

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Connection series

An economical, mixed-use tire that delivers off-road prowess with on-road manners. Aggressive knobbies grip the loose stuff while a connected center ridge rolls smoothly.

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Bike tire anatomy

Although tires may seem like simple rubber objects, they are actually super complex technological marvels! They’re made with special casings, rubber compounds, tread patterns, and even puncture-protection technologies, all designed to ensure you have an awesome ride.

Learn more about the parts of a bike tire

Bontrager puncture protection tech

Hard-Case Lite

Our lightest-weight puncture protection adds durability thanks to tough 30 TPI construction and a sub-tread breaker belt that helps prevent punctures.

Shop H2 Hard-Case Lite

Hard-Case

Hard-Case provides added puncture protection thanks to a sub-tread breaker belt that prevents punctures, and an anti-cut casing that resists cuts from glass and other sharp objects.

Shop AW1 Hard-Case

Hard-Case Ultimate

Our most robust puncture protection. The sub-tread breaker belt helps prevent punctures, an anti-cut, bead-to-bead casing resists cuts from glass and sharp objects, and additional sub-tread co-extrusion provides maximum puncture protection.

Shop H2 Hard-Case Ultimate

Reflective sidewalls

Reflective sidewalls on select tire models can help you stand out in lower-light conditions. If you’re on the road or path at dawn, dusk, or in darkness, tires with reflective sidewalls should be part of your safety kit alongside reflective apparel and Daytime Running Lights.

Shop reflective tires

Hybrid bike tire pressure tips

A recommended tire pressure range can be found printed on the side of all tires. Personal preference plays a large role here, but a good starting place would be to run a pressure at the lower end of the range if riding on rougher surfaces or higher in the range if riding on smoother surfaces.

Pressure guide

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