tire wear question

[mikemets]

Hello all,

I have some decent training/winter tires on my rugged Velocity Areohead wheelset. Some Kevlar tires by Gommitalia. They seem pretty bullet proof and have a nice ride. OK, they're not Michelin Pro Race on my Eurus wheelset, but nice for the Winter and VERY easy to change if a flat occurs in the cold.

My rear tire was just starting to wear, maybe 1,000 miles or so, and is a LITTLE square across. I thought that if I put this on the front, and the front on the back (which doesn't show any wear at all) I could get many more miles out of them.

I'm now second guessing myself. Have I jeopardized handling in any way? Truthfully its not about the money, but just want to be smart, but maybe I waited a little too long to switch them.

Nice to see you all again,
Mike

[Too Tall]

I've never thought it a good idea to rotate tires. Just replace them as needed. As in motorcycles and tandems you will want your best tire on the front.

[Keith A]

People have different ideas of how to handle tire wear. One method is to rotate the tires to keep the wear even on both of them and then replace both when they are worn.

I use a different method. I wear out the back one and then put the front tire on the back and a new tire on the front. I never liked having the front tire have a big flat section on it. This way your front tire will always have a nice (normal) profile and the most worn out tire would be on the back. I would much rather have a blowout in the rear, rather than the front.

It also seemed to me that your cornering would be compromised more with the front tire having a flat section on it. I don't know if there is any data to back this up or not, but it just made me more nervous.

[Kevin]

I don't rotate my tires. On the trainer I would just ride the rear tire until it is bald. Just remember to put on a new tire before you take to the roads in 2004. If you forget that first ride can turn into a long ride with very few miles actually ridden.

[Sandy]

I don't rotate tires either. They don't wear in the same manner, at least that is what I have been told. Keith's mode of rotating tires does make sense in that it guarantees a very good tire on the front, relative to wear,and replaces the rear one when it is needed. But, as said, I simply never rotate tires, but replace either tire when needed, which for me is the rear much sooner.

Sandy

[eddief]

After having a non-event blowout on the front on a gentle descent, I always make sure the front tire is the best. I never want to increase the chance of flatting on the front by having less rubber on the road.

[M_A_Martin]

When I wear out the rear tire on the road bike, I switch the front to the rear and put a new one on the front. Just like Keith A. Unless I'm headed off on a tour. In that case, I change both at the same time and save the best for a winter tire for the trainer.

On the mtb, when I wear out a rear tire, I replace both front and rear. If I've ridden enough to wear the rear out, I've worn the front out enough that the tread is rounded a bit and that compromises the front tire's ability to "stick" to obstacles encouraging slippage. Slip=Crash. There's nothing sweeter than a new set of mtb tires hooking up on things you couldn't ride on the old tires.