Tire rotational direction.
#1
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Tire rotational direction.
Had a flat a couple miles into my ride this morning. When I was finished up I noticed I had put the tire on in a way that was not in the rotating direction. I continued the ride...another 20 miles or so and thought I would switch to the correct direction when I got home. Is that necessary? Conti Ultra Sports 25.
thx for any input
thx for any input
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Had a flat a couple miles into my ride this morning. When I was finished up I noticed I had put the tire on in a way that was not in the rotating direction. I continued the ride...another 20 miles or so and thought I would switch to the correct direction when I got home. Is that necessary? Conti Ultra Sports 25.
thx for any input
thx for any input
Rotational direction can be important in tires with more aggressive tread, however. But probably only with respect to the front tire. The direction of a mountain bike knobby can have an influence on control. Panaracer kind of started the directional tire idea with the introduction of the Dart tire. It works well to help in cornering on loose surfaces.
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When I mount them, I mount them according to the directional arrow, but, if I missed it, and mounted it wrong, I wouldn't remount it. I may remove it and remount it the correct direction, if I had it off to fix a flat, but other than that, I wouldn't bother.
#8
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Love the responses. I figured since the tires have no directional tread it would be no big deal. Thx to all!
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#9
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BTW, While it is not a big deal to most there is a sense of accomplishment to bust out the repair kit, fix a flat and continue on your way. Made my ride more fun.
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I'd not have anything to cause me to believe the direction of rotation might cause you a flat or anything adverse.
If you can find any manufacturer reference for why, then for those I've found they talk about water displacement or traction on other than paved surfaces. Likely it won't make a difference until you are next to the last decimal place of needing that extra bit of whatever.
Though if I see the arrow, I put it on accordingly. But I wouldn't change one that I noticed later until something else required dismounting the tire.
If you can find any manufacturer reference for why, then for those I've found they talk about water displacement or traction on other than paved surfaces. Likely it won't make a difference until you are next to the last decimal place of needing that extra bit of whatever.
Though if I see the arrow, I put it on accordingly. But I wouldn't change one that I noticed later until something else required dismounting the tire.
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The biggest problem with tires mounted backwards is people finding out
As long as the road/trail surface isn't impressionable (soft) and the tire tread can't engage that surface the mounting direction is not important
back in the 1990s IRC offered a tandem "specific" tire with a directional tread (road intended with a 700x30 labeled "size"). When mounted as the arrow suggested it whined under power. When mounted reverse it was quiet. Andy
As long as the road/trail surface isn't impressionable (soft) and the tire tread can't engage that surface the mounting direction is not important
back in the 1990s IRC offered a tandem "specific" tire with a directional tread (road intended with a 700x30 labeled "size"). When mounted as the arrow suggested it whined under power. When mounted reverse it was quiet. Andy
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I have three bikes with road Vittoria Rubino tires in 700-23 and, of the 6 tires, only one has a directional arrow. Why? I have no idea. It is mounted backwards because I didn't know to look and a 50/50 chance had it come out that way. 2000 miles later I've not noticed any problems.
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Actually, the right mounting for the rear tire is to have it opposite to the 'rotation' direction, so if you misoriented the rear tire you may have it 'right' now . I try to watch the direction when mounting, but I never bother to switch if I make a mistake. It just makes too little difference under most conditions to bother. When riding in bad mud it might matter or under some snow conditions. If you align the manufacturer's name with the vent, you might want to have a good direction to facilitate tracing any punctures tied to the rim. I actually never look for an arrow that may be there or not or difficult to find. The tread's tree branches need to stretch out forward on the ground for the front tire and backward for the rear.
#16
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Riding in Los Angeles I don’t see a lot of snow or mud. I’m always on paved bike paths and roads. So the orientation of the tire on the rim is not very important. This is actually my spare bike. If this was on my primary bike (Bianchi) out of principal I would have to switch the tire so the God‘s will be pleased.
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If I had a dime for every time I've put a tire back on backwards, or saw someone else with a tire on backwards, or even went to assemble a brand new bike that had a tire on backwards... you'll be fine. Heck, the tandem I bought in Feb has a tire on backwards and I'm just waiting until it gets a flat to bother turning it around.
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If there is enough tread to make a difference in the rotational direction, then it seems to me the front and rear have to be mounted in opposite directions. The rear bites in when you accelerate, and the front bites in when you brake.
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When I raced BMX, many, many years...40 years ago, we used to mount the tires in different directions. I honestly forget which was mounted which way, as dementia has set in at my advanced age.
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I remembering hearing that on treaded tires, the purpose of the directional arrows was to move rain water from the center outwards.
On my mountain bikes I like the front center outward for sand sections, have no idea if it really helps, and reversing the rear for better climbing.
John
On my mountain bikes I like the front center outward for sand sections, have no idea if it really helps, and reversing the rear for better climbing.
John
#21
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With the exception of the bead size, almost everything written on the side of a tire has little connection to reality
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I read that slicks actually have the best wet traction on bicycle tires because water does not get trapped underneath them like they do for flat profiled car tires. No idea if that's true or not.
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Yes, the basically V shape of bike tires prevents hydroplaning, unless you're going 100mph (or so). Motorcycle tires, being a little wider, can hydroplane at lower speeds but still much less than a flat car tire. More important to have a compound that sticks to wet roads for bicycle tires.
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I read that slicks actually have the best wet traction on bicycle tires because water does not get trapped underneath them like they do for flat profiled car tires. No idea if that's true or not.
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If someone complains, show them that when you speed up they can't tell which way it's oriented.