Tyre direction?

[Ruadh495]

Fitted my winter tyres yesterday. They have a feature I've read about, but never encountered before, different rotational directions for the front and rear wheels. Now that makes sense, the tread works one way on a driven (rear) wheel the other on a non-driven (front) wheel.... but I've got a front hub motor. So which way round does the front tyre go?

I have a vague memory from playing with Land Rovers that all the tyres are fitted in "rear" rotation, so that's what I've done. Anyone know if that's right or not? Is it drive that matters, or steering?

 

[E-Wheels]

Ruadh495,
If the tyres are directional then they will generally have a marking on the tyre wall indicating which direction the tyres should rotate whilst travelling forward. The marking is usually an arrow with the wording "Rotation" preceeding it. Hope this helps

 

[D C]

Fitted my winter tyres yesterday. They have a feature I've read about, but never encountered before, different rotational directions for the front and rear wheels. Now that makes sense, the tread works one way on a driven (rear) wheel the other on a non-driven (front) wheel.... but I've got a front hub motor. So which way round does the front tyre go?

I have a vague memory from playing with Land Rovers that all the tyres are fitted in "rear" rotation, so that's what I've done. Anyone know if that's right or not? Is it drive that matters, or steering?

Good point!
I've always worked on the theory that stopping is more important than "going"
Dave.

 

[Ruadh495]

Ruadh495,
If the tyres are directional then they will generally have a marking on the tyre wall indicating which direction the tyres should rotate whilst travelling forward. The marking is usually an arrow with the wording "Rotation" preceeding it. Hope this helps

They do. These tyres have an arrow marked "front" and an arrow marked "rear" facing in opposite directions. Makes perfect sense in an application where one wheel is driven and one is not, but I have two driven wheels.

 

[Ruadh495]

Good point!
I've always worked on the theory that stopping is more important than "going"
Dave.

That would suggest they should both be fitted in "front" direction. Though as the front does most of the braking it might make sense to fit only that one in "front", like it says on the tyres, even though both wheels are driven.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I'm pretty sure that I've seen tyres with arrows on each side pointing the other way. One side said "front rotation" and the other side said "rear rotation".

 

[E-Wheels]

Is the tread pattern the same on both tyres for the direction of rotation. If so then I don't think it will matter which tyre you put on the driven wheel. What make and model of tyre are they

 

[JuicyBike]

If grip under braking is the concern then, as 80% of braking force is experienced by the front wheel, I'd reason that it should be the front wheel on which you'd reverse the tread.
I'm sure the place to research would be a downhill site - too muddy and terrifying for me though...

 

[Ruadh495]

Is the tread pattern the same on both tyres for the direction of rotation. If so then I don't think it will matter which tyre you put on the driven wheel. What make and model of tyre are they

The tyres are Schwalbe "Snow Studs". Tread is distinctly directional. The "rear" direction looks the wrong way round compared to other directional tyres I've used (most bike tyres are directional, in my experience) but I assume that gives more traction on the driven wheel. My problem is that both wheels are driven, however on the basis that braking and steering are more important than drive (Thanks, Dave) I've now put the front tyre on in "front" rotation.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Many people put their tyre on the wrong way, which you can often see when they show photos of their bike. if nobody told them, they'd never know the difference. I challenge anybody to tell me which way round their tyre is by riding their bike without looking at the tyre.

 

[RobF]

Some very keen mountain bikers run V tread tyres opposing, the idea being a bit more traction at the back and slightly faster change of direction at the front.

That's a very marginal benefit and I doubt it makes any difference, even in competition.

 

[Croxden]

With tractors it's to squeeze the muck out of the way to give more grip.
Cars have the to remove the water to prevent aquaplaning. Bikes don't need either of these do they?

 

[Ruadh495]

Some very keen mountain bikers run V tread tyres opposing, the idea being a bit more traction at the back and slightly faster change of direction at the front.

That's a very marginal benefit and I doubt it makes any difference, even in competition.

That's how these are supposed to be set up, according to the sidewall markings. Interestingly it was noticeable. With the front tyre the "wrong" way there was a distinct "squirrelyness" on fast corners. I put it down to the tyres being different from my previous ones and to studs, which I haven't tried before. However, when I turned the tyre round it disappeared. So my experience suggests that the direction of a front tyre does matter.

I doubt rear tyre direction makes a detectable difference though. At least on the road. If you ride off road and have either a rear motor or crank drive you might notice a reversed rear tyre.

 

[Ruadh495]

So my conclusion is that the front tyre should be mounted according to the sidewall markings, regardless of whether the wheel is driven or not.

Rear direction is probably optional. I wonder if mounting the rear in "front" rotation would reduce drag? Dutch Speed Bicycles and Flevobikes (only bikes I can think of with an undriven rear) would certainly mount the rear in "front" rotation.

 

[Ruadh495]

Had to have the rear wheel out last night, so out of curiosity I've reversed the rear tyre. There might be a slight reduction in rolling resistance, but it's really imperceptible.

 

[Crockers]

I thought the whole point of a snow tyre was to get the snow to stick to the sipes in the tread. The theory being the best grip on snow is more snow. That's the rationale behind snow sicks on cars and winter tyres too.

Try wearing a pair of over sized thick sock over your shoes in the snow. See how grippy they are.