Bike tire abrasion: Quantifying and modelling the dispersion of microplastics in natural environments

Microplastics (MP) are one of the main pollutants since the invention of synthetic materials.

Recent studies suggested car tire abrasion as one of the major sources of those particles. While particles from car tires in most cases first must be transported into the natural environment via air, roads or sewers, abrasion of mountain bike wheels gets directly introduced into the soil of forests, grasslands, and streams. While data exists from test benches about the abrasion quantity of bike tires, no research was conducted in a real-life scenario. We investigate quantitatively the abrasion of mountain bike tires in a field-study by tracking biked trips of various subjects and monitor abrasion levels via scaling of weight-loss of the bike tires after distinct distance intervals. Correlation of abrasion quantities is tested for different parameters like distance ridden, rider-weight, skill-level, surface type and average track steepness. Additionally, MP introduction and dispersion is modelled by our results and fitness-app based usage frequency data for the Fichtelgebirge area.