Tyres

[revinR1]

I was just wondering what/how people do with thier tyres to combat even tyre wear.IE with most cars etc you should rotate your tyres ,does this go the same for bikes.Asking because Im getting serious about riding (btw bike is a Giant Hybrid cypress2) wheels are vittirra 700x40`s just chalked up a little over 1000k so should i put my rear on front to help even wear or do most bikes wear even anyway ???

[Kenzo]

No... Wear the old rear down. Move the (old) front to the back and put the new tyre on the front. You want the front to maintain good grip.

[AndrewBurns]

You will wear the rear faster than the front but you shouldn't rotate the rear to the front because that would be putting a worn tyre where you need the most grip. Instead keep riding as you are until the rear is worn out, throw it in the bin, move the front to the rear and put a new tyre on the front, repeat. This will ensure that you have the best tyre on the front but you're getting full use out of each one.

[il padrone]

Tyres will wear unevenly. The front will last much longer than the rear. The 'front-to-rear then trash' approach is one way, probably the best. However for the past several years I have taken a different approach.

Most tyres will have a normal wear-life of between 5000 and 15,000 kms. My Vittoria Randonneur Cross tyres lasted 14,000 kms, so after they had done about 6,000 kms and still had plenty of tread depth I swapped them front to rear. The old rear worked fine as the front tyre, with a good tread still. They then gave me good service for another 8,000 kms and were both worn out by that stage. Replaced them with the same tyres new.

Your tyres being 40mm will probably be lower pressure like mine, and being Vittoria will also last quite well. Don't worry too much until they've done about 5,000 kms, then if the tread looks good you could swap them.

Or else just run them till the rear is totally worn out, as others have said.

[Mulger bill]

Another vote for the "New to front-front to rear-rear to bin" school. If I was going to rotate I would prolly do it every 500-1000kms or so, each tyre wears differently because of their different loading and purpose and there's no way on Earth I want my front to be in the slightest squared off.

[il padrone]

With my 47mm tyres 'squaring off' is much less of an issue than it is with 23m skinnies.

[Mulger bill]

With my 47mm tyres 'squaring off' is much less of an issue than it is with 23m skinnies.

Wish I had that problem when I was commuting on 26x1.9s Pete, might be the ~15kgs difference you reckon?

Shaun

[il padrone]

Hmm.... dunno, maybe also more durable rubber on the tread surface? My tyres have lasted for 14,000kms without even showing the casing. A big slab of that riding (~30%) would have been with an extra 15-25kgs of camping gear on board.

[drubie]

I'm more:

- front to spares
- rear to bin
- two new tyres.

Yep, more expensive but there's always somebody who wants a tyre, generally me when I cut the daylights out of something on the bike and need a spare in a hurry.

[Wal42]

Swap front & rear tyres on all of the road bikes that I've ridden during the previous week, every Sunday II (Tuesday is the start of my week, I don't have that day before Tuesday), then replace sets when they're worn out.

[jasonc]

I'm lazy - rear to bin, and new tyre on rear.
I find a 3 to 1 ratio. 3 rears to 1 front. Maybe after 2 of these schwalbe marathon plus tyres I'll be thinking differently (closing in on 6000kms...)

[human909]

I've rotated in the past, though I don't do it anymore. As long as you have sufficient meat on the front for safety then all is good. Actual TREAD depth is largely irrelevant because tread has no use on bikes made for the road.

But the NEW>>>FRONT>>>REAR>>>>BIN make plenty of sense.

[__PG__]

I've bought a set of Michelin Pro Optima which you buy as a 'set'. The front tire is lighter and softer than the rear. In theory they should have the same wear rates.

Really we shouldn't be running identical tires on the front/back in any case. I don't know my more people don't mix the front /rear tire.

[jasonc]

I've bought a set of Michelin Pro Optima which you buy as a 'set'. The front tire is lighter and softer than the rear. In theory they should have the same wear rates.

Really we shouldn't be running identical tires on the front/back in any case. I don't know my more people don't mix the front /rear tire.

on my roadie, I've currently got a gp4000s on the front and durano on the rear. the durano is definitely the wrong choice as a rear tyre (for me). it feels dead as if there is no feedback. doesn't seem to grip in the wet. I have a gp4000s to put on the rear in the next month

[il padrone]

A bit OT, but for your tyres' sake, consider this petition. Coca-Cola Amatil's attitude sucks

[__PG__]

on my roadie, I've currently got a gp4000s on the front and durano on the rear. the durano is definitely the wrong choice as a rear tyre (for me). it feels dead as if there is no feedback. doesn't seem to grip in the wet. I have a gp4000s to put on the rear in the next month

Maybe try Gatorskins on the rear?

[jasonc]

on my roadie, I've currently got a gp4000s on the front and durano on the rear. the durano is definitely the wrong choice as a rear tyre (for me). it feels dead as if there is no feedback. doesn't seem to grip in the wet. I have a gp4000s to put on the rear in the next month

Maybe try Gatorskins on the rear?

My RS30s have gatorskins. the only puncture I've had on them (~1500kms) is a builders staple through the rear tyre

[Slvr32gtr]

I run GP4000s tyres and usually rotate them every so often when im giving the bike a full service. Once the rear is squared off though, i will run them till they are dead and then replace both front and rear depending on wear. The front will usually get kept as a spare if its got some life in it still.

[Summernight]

I'm a noob with this kind of stuff (same with my car tyres) and usually need to be told when things need replacing so I hope I can be enlightened for the future.

I have Maxxis Refuse 700x23 tyres on my bike- they have done just shy of 3000 kms with only one puncture in winter last year (huge nail square in the centre of the front tyre) and one builder's staple which was embedded almost completely but it hadn't ruptured the tube when I pulled it out .

I can't see any tread on the rolling part (compared to the tyres as they look as new on the web) and there are little pockmarks through the tyres from them rolling over stones and glass etc. but the tyres still feel grippy and stable on my commutes. The tyres never had a huge amount of noticeable tread from the start (compared to the big grooves like car tyres and MTB tyres have - see here for example of the Refuse tread).

What should I be looking for in order to determine whether they need replacing or not? And what does squaring off on a road tyre actually LOOK like (front and rear)?

Someone said here that you shouldn't start worrying about replacement until 5,000kms but I would like to actually think I know what I'm looking for when the time comes.

[revinR1]

Im not sure how it works with push bikes,but on my moto you put your hand palm down and wipe it across rim edge to rim edge and you`ll feel like a flat middle and a edge/roll off it towards the rim.I hope that explained so you 1/2 understand.I dont have my bike till next week to check .I alsp dont think i`ll get 5,000k`s from mine maybe 2,000 or a tad over if im lucky