Serious Tire Questions for the uninitiated

I notice that the Conti GP 5000 I have and even the old GP II 4's, have a direction of rotation on the sidewall. Now mind you I so far have put the tires with the proper rotational direction, but what happens if you don't. My guess is if you put them on the opposite way then does the bike go backwards when I start pedaling? Do the tires wear out different, or possible be off balance. But seriously what is the catch?
Deacon Mark

On Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at 9:05:18 AM UTC-7, Mark cleary wrote:
I notice that the Conti GP 5000 I have and even the old GP II 4's, have a direction of rotation on the sidewall. Now mind you I so far have put the tires with the proper rotational direction, but what happens if you don't. My guess is if you put them on the opposite way then does the bike go backwards when I start pedaling? Do the tires wear out different, or possible be off balance. But seriously what is the catch?
Deacon Mark
Supposedly they are not supposed to have the same braking traction in the reverse direction.

My complaints with them is that they wear so quickly. They DO have great traction but I don't think that it is any better than the Michelin Pro4. I have also used the Michelin Power Endurance and they work well too. But the Pro4's have a more reasonable price and don't wear so quickly.

Mark cleary wrote:
I notice that the Conti GP 5000 I have and even the old GP II 4's, have a
direction of rotation on the sidewall. Now mind you I so far have put the
tires with the proper rotational direction, but what happens if you
don't. My guess is if you put them on the opposite way then does the bike
go backwards when I start pedaling? Do the tires wear out different, or
possible be off balance. But seriously what is the catch? Deacon Mark

For optimum cornering, south of the equator, you're actually supposed to
switch the tire's rotational direction. That's what I gained from listening
in on a group of Conti engineers at Oktoberfest. They are afraid of losing
court cases, and market shares, in Ecuador and Uganda due to locational
confusion, and the frequent roadside tire changes provoked if the info were
to become public knowledge, so it's a well-kept secret. Guess why so few
humans live on Antarctica: The coreolis cornering drift is worst there, no
road safety whatsoever!

On 4/6/2021 9:05 AM, Mark cleary wrote:
I notice that the Conti GP 5000 I have and even the old GP II 4's, have a direction of rotation on the sidewall. Now mind you I so far have put the tires with the proper rotational direction, but what happens if you don't. My guess is if you put them on the opposite way then does the bike go backwards when I start pedaling? Do the tires wear out different, or possible be off balance. But seriously what is the catch?
Deacon Mark

My guess is that it has to do with the "rain grooves" on the tread, to
help them "pump" water away from the center. Doubt the direction makes
much difference, though *reversing* direction after the tire has been
used a lot may increase the chance of tread delamination (wild guess on
my part).

On knobbies, it's a different story. Shaped knobs bite into dirt/gravel
differently depending on their direction.

Mark J.

On 4/6/2021 12:05 PM, Mark cleary wrote:
I notice that the Conti GP 5000 I have and even the old GP II 4's, have a direction of rotation on the sidewall. Now mind you I so far have put the tires with the proper rotational direction, but what happens if you don't. My guess is if you put them on the opposite way then does the bike go backwards when I start pedaling? Do the tires wear out different, or possible be off balance. But seriously what is the catch?
Deacon Mark



Schwalbe says that for road tires, it's essentially cosmetic.

From https://www.schwalbe.com/en/profil
"Why are so many treads direction dependant? [sic]

"In the case of a road tire the rolling direction is mainly important
for aesthetic considerations. Tires marked with arrows simply look more
dynamic..

"Off road, the rolling direction is far more important, as the tread
ensures optimumconnection between the tire and the ground. The rear
wheel transmits the driving force and the front wheel transmits the
braking and steering forces. Driving and braking forces operate in
different directions. That is why certain tires are fitted in opposite
rotating directions when used as front and rear tires.

"There are also treads without a specified rotating direction."



--
- Frank Krygowski

On 4/6/2021 11:05 AM, Mark cleary wrote:
I notice that the Conti GP 5000 I have and even the old GP II 4's, have a direction of rotation on the sidewall. Now mind you I so far have put the tires with the proper rotational direction, but what happens if you don't. My guess is if you put them on the opposite way then does the bike go backwards when I start pedaling? Do the tires wear out different, or possible be off balance. But seriously what is the catch?
Deacon Mark


Consequences may be anywhere from Continental sending out a
team to admonish you with a bullhorn from a helicopter
during your ride, in German, about not following directions
to maybe creating a fatal singularity which will end the
universe as we know it.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On 4/6/2021 9:05 AM, Mark cleary wrote:
I notice that the Conti GP 5000 I have and even the old GP II 4's, have a direction of rotation on the sidewall. Now mind you I so far have put the tires with the proper rotational direction, but what happens if you don't. My guess is if you put them on the opposite way then does the bike go backwards when I start pedaling? Do the tires wear out different, or possible be off balance. But seriously what is the catch?

Don't put them on backwards. It's akin to trying to divide by zero.

Seriously, it makes little difference. The theory behind it is that the
grooves in the tire channel water away from the tire when riding on wet
roads, and if mounted the other direction water will be channeled the
other way, but I doubt if there's and evidence that this actually works.

Frank Krygowski writes:

Schwalbe says that for road tires, it's essentially cosmetic.

To my knowledge, any tread on road bike tires is called "marketing
tread" by Conti engineers.

I am not sure, though, whether the internal layup of the various plies
might be asymmetric. But I would be surprised if this were the case.

Axel

Op dinsdag 6 april 2021 om 18:16:54 UTC+2 schreef :
On Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at 9:05:18 AM UTC-7, Mark cleary wrote:
I notice that the Conti GP 5000 I have and even the old GP II 4's, have a direction of rotation on the sidewall. Now mind you I so far have put the tires with the proper rotational direction, but what happens if you don't.. My guess is if you put them on the opposite way then does the bike go backwards when I start pedaling? Do the tires wear out different, or possible be off balance. But seriously what is the catch?
Deacon Mark
Supposedly they are not supposed to have the same braking traction in the reverse direction.

My complaints with them is that they wear so quickly. They DO have great traction but I don't think that it is any better than the Michelin Pro4. I have also used the Michelin Power Endurance and they work well too. But the Pro4's have a more reasonable price and don't wear so quickly.

Another datapoint. I recently replaced the rear Continental GP5000 tire (32 mm version) after the first flat after 5500 km. Best allround tire IMO. I must admit that I seldom pay attention to the mounting direction mainly because I'm too lazy to look for the hard to see arrow in bad light conditions in my garage.

Lou

On Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at 10:54:41 AM UTC-7, Axel Reichert wrote:
Frank Krygowski writes:

Schwalbe says that for road tires, it's essentially cosmetic.
To my knowledge, any tread on road bike tires is called "marketing
tread" by Conti engineers.

I am not sure, though, whether the internal layup of the various plies
might be asymmetric. But I would be surprised if this were the case.

Axel

What I find odd is that most of the tire will be worn as thin as a piece of cheap toilet paper and yet those markings, I hesitate to call them grooves, are still showing.