The 5 Best Bike Trainer Tires for Road, MTB, and Hybrid Bikes (2023)

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This is a selection of the best bike trainer tires ideal for rollers and wheel-on bike trainers.

You will find trainer-specific tires for road and mountain bikes on this list, so whatever bike you use, I have got you covered.

The best trainer tire and also one of the most popular ones is Tacx Trainer Tire. It will last you for several thousand trainer miles, reduce the noise, and improve traction. And it is also available for mountain bikes.

In this article, you also learn why trainer tires are worth the money, how to use them, and much more.

What Are the Best Bike Trainer Tires?

All trainer-specific tires on this list are for rollers and wheel-on bike trainers only. They are not suitable for riding outdoors.

Skip to the comparison table…

Tacx Trainer Tire

Tacx (acquired by Garmin in 2019) is one of the most popular bike trainers and rollers manufacturers.

They also have trainer-specific tires in their offer that are ideal not only for their rollers Antares and Galaxia and wheel-on trainers (Flow, Boost) but also for third-party trainers.

The Tacx trainer tires are available for road and mountain bikes and come in their signature blue.

These tires will last thousands of miles, saving your road tires and making indoor training quieter.

Vittoria Zaffiro Pro

Vittoria is a well-known manufacturer of bicycle tires of all kinds. Their offer includes Vittoria Zaffiro Pro – tires developed for bike trainers and rollers.

They come in red and are available for road and mountain bikes. Zaffiro Pro will reduce the noise and provide better heat dispersion that prevents punctures of the inner tubes and heat build-up.

The recommended tire pressure for Zaffiro Pro tires is between 58 and 87 PSI, depending on your weight.

Also available at performancebike.com and rei.com

Schwalbe Insider Performance

Schwalbe is not only a cycling brand with one of the most mispronounced names but also a well-known tire manufacturer.

They developed road and MTB trainer tires called Insider. They come in blue and have various widths, so you can choose the one that fits your bike.

Users praise Insider’s longevity and solid performance. Your tires won’t slip or overheat, improving your overall indoor training experience.

By the way, Schwalbe is a German brand, so the pronunciation is German too.

Kinetic T-739 Trainer Tire

Kurt Kinetic is known for its fluid wheel-on bike trainers. Naturally, standard tires cause a lot of noise, so Kinetic developed their trainer-specific tire to address these issues.

Kurt Kinetic trainer-specific tires also improve your ride quality by increasing traction so they won’t slip off the cylinder or build up heat that would cause punctures.

Unfortunately, this tire is unavailable for smaller-diameter mountain bike wheels and comes in size for road bikes only.

Continental Hometrainer Tire

Continental is one of the world’s biggest tire manufacturers. They focus mainly on automotive, but their product portfolio also includes bike and trainer-specific tires.

Their Hometrainer Tire is perfect for indoor training because it stops heat build-up, reduces noise, and improves traction.

You can choose from tires for various wheel diameters and widths, so whether you ride a road or MTB, Continental has got you covered.

Also available at performancebike.com and jensonusa.com

My Verdict

All trainer-specific trainers on the market are designed to reduce noise and tire wear and improve traction. These features improve your indoor training experience.

Before you order trainer tires, make sure to choose the right size for your wheels. If you use rollers, get two tires.

If I had to recommend you just one trainer tire, it would be Tacx Trainer Tire (also available at performancebike.com and wiggle.com). Thanks to great longevity, noise reduction, and traction improvement, it is one of the most popular trainer tires out there.

So, which trainer tire will you choose?

To learn more about the positive effects of trainer tires, read the following section.

Why Use a Bike Trainer Tire?

At first glance, it may seem bike trainer tires are useless, but the truth is the exact opposite. Here are three main reasons to use bike trainer tires:

1. Improved Grip and Reduced Smell

Trainer tires are made of different materials than standard road tires.

These materials give you better traction, leading to a more pleasant and convenient riding experience.

This especially applies if you train intervals that require fast pace changes or hard efforts where the chance of slippage increases.

According to Kurt Kinetic, trainer tires are softer to give you a better grip on rollers’ cylinders or against a cylinder on a wheel-on trainer.

Trainer tires also won’t smell. You can read my other article on Bike trainer smells like burning rubber? for more info.

2. Reduced Noisiness

The tire noise of rollers and wheel-on trainers is annoying.

Trainer tires reduce the noise making your indoor training more pleasant for you, your loved ones, or even your neighbors.

Make sure also to read my tips on how to make bike trainer quieter.

3. Last Longer

If you use expensive racing tires on your bike, it is a shame to use them on your wheel-on trainer or rollers.

The traction between your tire and the cylinder(s) causes extensive tire wear, so you will need to buy new tires more often.

Trainer tires are designed to last longer, so you save your tires for the outdoors, and your wallet won’t bleed so often.

How to Use a Bike Trainer Tire?

The best way to use bike trainer tires is either with bike rollers or wheel-on bike trainers.

1. Make sure you buy the right tire size for your bike. You can find it on the side of your current tires (see the picture below).

2. Replace your current tires with trainer-specific ones. Trainer tires cannot be used together with your current tires.

3. Pump the recommended tire pressure (you will find it on the side of the tire – see the picture below). Wheel-on trainers don’t require as much pressure as standard tires.

Bike Trainer Tires FAQ

Preview picture source: Kurt Kinetic