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I'd like to convert an MTB with 26X1.95 knobbies to road use for the wife but wonder if the present tire designation, specifying H.E. rims means anything once proper size tires are found. Many thanks!

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  • What tire and exactly what does it say?
    – paparazzo
    May 18, 2015 at 13:46
  • Blam, these were the stock knobbies on a Trek 800C Sport MTB. The tires are marked: "26 X 1.95 To Fit H/E Rim" and were made by Kenda. Thanks for any info you can provide - I'm not sure if the H/E rim designation is relevant or not to the order of new tires.
    – Tony
    May 18, 2015 at 14:55
  • Its just a regular tire/rim.
    – Batman
    Jul 30, 2015 at 15:05

2 Answers 2

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I suspect "H/E" means "Hook-edged". This would apply to almost every MTB rim.

I have two bikes with slicks on MTB rims. I currently use Schwalbe Kojak 26 x 1.35" on one, and Schwalbe Marathon Racer 26 x 1.5" on the other.

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    Many modern MTB rims do not have hooked beads, and road and gravel carbon rims may be trending in this direction also. I don't think hookless was a thing during the era when 26" was the main MTB wheel size, though. And if someone happened across a good 26" tire compatible with hookless rims, you can still mount that to a rim with bead hooks. The reverse isn't true, i.e. if you have a hookless rim and your tires explicitly state they are not hookless compatible, don't use the tires.
    – Weiwen Ng
    Nov 19, 2021 at 15:19
  • Gravel bikes weren't even a thing 5.5 years ago...
    – Emyr
    Jan 6, 2022 at 12:26
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H.E. doesn't mean anything. It's a marketing gimmick.

I think it helps the tire manufacturer to justify the high prices they charge for a simple bicycle tire.

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    Welcome to Bicycles SE. We're looking for answers with more detail. Please consider editing your answer to explain why you believe that the H.E. designation is a way for manufacturers to justify high prices. A short, one-line answer like this is likely to get downvoted, flagged for moderator intervention, and possibly deleted.
    – jimchristie ♦
    Nov 19, 2021 at 18:19
  • We are also looking for answers, and this is not really an answer.
    – Weiwen Ng
    Nov 19, 2021 at 20:48
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    @WeiwenNg I think it's an answer. Effectively, it says "H.E. doesn't mean anything. It's a marketing gimmick." While it needs support, it's an answer.
    – jimchristie ♦
    Nov 19, 2021 at 21:37
  • I feel your pain. A decent bike tyre costs as much as a simple passenger car tyre, but there's 6-12 kg in each one, and a bike tyre is under 250g for a GP5000 or 1.2 kg for a heavy MTB tyre. But cars need 4 and there's a lot more car tyres on the road than bicycle tyres, so market volumes helps drive prices down.
    – Criggie ♦
    Nov 22, 2021 at 9:28
  • After doing some research, HE does absolutely mean something important. Hooked Edge, synonymous with Clincher, Crochet Hook. This is literally how the tyre's bead secures to the rim, so getting a matching tyre is important for tyre retention. Opposite to "tubular" which is glued or taped to the rim with special adhesives. On the positive side, most tyres that aren't tubeless or tubular are hooked bead and will work. Getting it wrong would be a safety risk for the rider.
    – Criggie ♦
    Nov 23, 2021 at 9:17

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