advantages to foldable tires??

RhinoRiot said:

are there any advantages or disadvantages to using foldeable tires...besides the obvious - being able to carry them in a more compact space??

how is the tire constructed so it is able to fold?

Most foldable versions of clincher tires are significantly lighter than their non-foldable counterparts of otherwise equal construction, and usually slightly higher in price. This is due to having a flexible bead, made typically of Kevlar® aramid, versus a more rigid wire bead design. There is usually a difference in ease of mounting, but you will get conflicting opinions on this, depending on the specific tire/rim combinations.

Example:
Continental Grand Prix:
[font=Arial]26 x 1 - [/font][font=Arial]wire bead 250 gram, [/font][font=Arial]foldable 195 gram[/font]
[font=Arial]700 x 20C - [/font][font=Arial][font=Arial]wire bead [/font]235 gram, [/font][font=Arial][font=Arial]foldable [/font]185 gram[/font]
[font=Arial]700 x 23C - [/font][font=Arial][font=Arial][font=Arial]wire bead [/font][/font]270 gram, [/font][font=Arial][font=Arial][font=Arial]foldable [/font][/font]220 gram[/font]