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Clincher Tire
This is the normal type of tire, with a separate inner tube. The tire consists of two hoops called "beads", made of steel or Kevlar cable, which are held together by cloth, usually nylon. The whole assembly is dipped in rubber, with thicker rubber applied in the tread area.
The clincher tire's separate inner tube is basically a rubber balloon. This fits inside the tire, and the tire is mounted on the rim by lifting the beads over the edge of the rim. The middle of the rim makes a sort of valley (the "well"), and while the tire is being installed, most of the bead can fit into this valley. This gives enough slack to allow the bead to be pushed or pulled over the edge of the rim, even though the outside diameter of the rim is larger than the inside diameter of the bead.
Strictly speaking, the term "clincher" is slightly incorrect, as it applied to an obsolete style of tire which had ribs in the edges of the tire which fitted into grooves on the rim, where the tire was folded under the tube. The air pressure in the tube pressed the rib into the groove, and "clinched" the tire in place. People who are fussy about this prefer the term "wired-on."
Other types of tires include airless tires, single-tubes (both obsolete) and tubulars.
