Direction in which Tires Rotate

I was recently changing a flat tire. I noticed that the tire had an
arrow pointing in the direction in which the tire is supposed to rotate,
and that I had put the tire on so that it rotated backwards. Does it
make a difference?

RickyRider wrote:
I was recently changing a flat tire. I noticed that the tire had an
arrow pointing in the direction in which the tire is supposed to
rotate, and that I had put the tire on so that it rotated backwards.
Does it make a difference?

Many mtb tires have "direction-specific" tread designs, although some are
more...meaningful than others. Most people probably couldn't tell the
difference, IMO/E.

Bill "getting a flat good excuse to flip it" S.

"B i l l S o r n s o n" wrote in message
...
Many mtb tires have "direction-specific" tread designs, although some are
more...meaningful than others. Most people probably couldn't tell the
difference, IMO/E.

Bill "getting a flat good excuse to flip it" S.


Indeed, many back mtb tires are designed to be reversed for wet vs dry
conditions.

--
Scott Ehardt
http://www.scehardt.com

I think that it would matter depending upon the type of tire, the
conditions you ride in and whether you are talking about the front or rear.
For example, some tires will provide for more efficient removal of rain
reducing the risk of hydro-plane which one would generally try to avoid.
If you are on a mountain bike trying to ascend a steep grade, a tire on
backwards would reduce your grip.

If you tire is backwards on your front wheel you may be able to simply flip
the wheel around. If its the rear wheel then you will have no choice but
to remove the tire and re-install.

"Scott Ehardt" wrote in message
m...
"B i l l S o r n s o n" wrote in message
...
Many mtb tires have "direction-specific" tread designs, although some
are
more...meaningful than others. Most people probably couldn't tell the
difference, IMO/E.

Bill "getting a flat good excuse to flip it" S.


Indeed, many back mtb tires are designed to be reversed for wet vs dry
conditions.

--
Scott Ehardt
http://www.scehardt.com




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"RickyRider" wrote in message
31...
I was recently changing a flat tire. I noticed that the tire had an
arrow pointing in the direction in which the tire is supposed to rotate,
and that I had put the tire on so that it rotated backwards. Does it
make a difference?

This was discussed in a long thread recently. I don't think it makes a bit
of difference.

"DT" wrote in message
...
I think that it would matter depending upon the type of tire, the
conditions you ride in and whether you are talking about the front or
rear.
For example, some tires will provide for more efficient removal of rain
reducing the risk of hydro-plane which one would generally try to avoid.

Bike tires don't hydroplane, the geometry of the contact patch doesn't
support it.

Peter Cole wrote:

"DT" wrote in message
...

I think that it would matter depending upon the type of tire, the
conditions you ride in and whether you are talking about the front or

rear.

For example, some tires will provide for more efficient removal of rain
reducing the risk of hydro-plane which one would generally try to avoid.


Bike tires don't hydroplane, the geometry of the contact patch doesn't
support it.

Additionally, tire pressure also affects the speed at which hydroplaning
occurs. Since bicycle tires have both a narrow contact patch and
relatively high pressure, hydroplaning will not occur at speeds
achievable under real world conditions. The best bicycle tires for
wet-weather, on pavement use are smooth-treaded with a soft, carbon
containing rubber compound.

--
Tom Sherman

RickyRider wrote:

I was recently changing a flat tire. I noticed that the tire had an
arrow pointing in the direction in which the tire is supposed to rotate,
and that I had put the tire on so that it rotated backwards. Does it
make a difference?

Not much, especially for road bikes. On MTBs the front tyre may be
designed to "scoop" loose earth under braking where the rear tyre is
designed to do the same under acceleration. This gives a tread
footprint (viewed from underneath) something like:

Front of bike Rear of bike

))))))))))))) ((((((((((((((

On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 09:45:47 -0500, RickyRider
wrote:

I was recently changing a flat tire. I noticed that the tire had an
arrow pointing in the direction in which the tire is supposed to rotate,
and that I had put the tire on so that it rotated backwards. Does it
make a difference?

Hey, here's an idea, why not turn it around, and then ride on it. you
may or may not notice a difference. Let us know, what you think. The
tire was designed to be directional, I would use them that way.

I had a pair of Conti Attack/Force, they were directional. A friend of
mine, riding on a pair of Vittoria Tecno Pros, thought the direction,
made a difference. One way, he said they felt slower, like they were
holding the bike back. His words, his feeling, I never tried reversing
the Contis. I didn't see any reason to.


Life is Good!
Jeff

RickyRider wrote:
I was recently changing a flat tire. I noticed that the tire had an
arrow pointing in the direction in which the tire is supposed to
rotate,
and that I had put the tire on so that it rotated backwards. Does it

make a difference?

I ride on Tioga CitySlickers. Their tread is mostly decorative and
apart from a recess down the middle of the tire the contact patch is
entirely slick. Tioga still puts an arrow on the side of the tire. I've
got my rear tire on backwards and will report back if it's the first
tire to lose traction in a spill.

Cam