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clincher tire direction of rotation

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clincher tire direction of rotation

Old 09-22-21, 05:42 PM
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Calsun
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clincher tire direction of rotation

Lately I am finding a tire rotation arrow on even my road tires. Some are difficult to read as with the black on black with the Specialized tires and some are nearly impossible to read as with the Continental Grand Prix 4-season tires. If is is important I would have thought that the tire manufacturers would make it easy to read the notation and see the direction of the arrow. Does anyone know about the importance of the direction of rotation on a non-tubular road bike tire?
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Old 09-22-21, 05:49 PM
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I have experimented with tire direction in the past with the GP4000, Super Sport, and Ultra Sport and found that it made absolutely zero difference in the rain or dry as far as grip goes. It also made zero difference in rolling resistance and noise.
I also experimented with the Conti 700x38 City Ride and found it made zero difference in rolling resistance and grip in rain or dry. One difference that was noticed was noise, but that was it. Not sure why there are rotation marks on tires with seemingly little to no tread other than to legitimize the "sipping" tread design, although it seems to not matter in the least.
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Old 09-22-21, 05:52 PM
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...it's mostly about the tread design, and wet weather. Not sure it makes a lot of difference, but the tread is designed to shed water off to the sides, in theory. So you want those wavy things pointing backward as the tyre rotates. It does definitely make a difference on car tires.

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Old 09-22-21, 06:00 PM
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I'm sure it's there on slick road tires because people needed to know which way to put them on.
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Old 09-22-21, 06:30 PM
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Originally Posted by TiHabanero
it made absolutely zero difference in the rain or dry as far as grip goes. It also made zero difference in rolling resistance and noise.
Makes no difference with tubulars either.
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Old 09-22-21, 06:52 PM
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I've mounted my GP4000 tyres the "wrong" way around by accident before. Rode many miles. Makes zero difference.

I'd speculate that the directional arrow is there so people don't ask which way to mount the tyre, and also so the tyre looks good in photos with logos or sidewall patterns lined up. #marketing
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Old 09-22-21, 07:07 PM
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I have a tubular mounted the wrong way, and I didn’t even notice until I had had a couple rides on it.
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Old 09-22-21, 09:58 PM
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Pretty much irrelevant, to a point as a professional mechanic I prefer to have some rotation direction indicator on all tires because I'm paranoid about missing one, even on a tire that doesn't need it, because it's something that could be "wrong" for the customer. If there isn't one, I just have to methodically inspect the entire tire surface.
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Old 09-23-21, 06:00 AM
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The GP5000 tires have the annoying "shark fins", a supposed "tread" on the sidewalls. Some riders care if the fins are pointing in the right direction. It's a style thing, but doesn't affect riding.
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Old 09-23-21, 07:29 AM
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If you don't ride down twisty trails at 50 mph or otherwise near the edge of performance the tires are designed for, then probably not a big deal. If for some reason they wear out sooner, well, then you'll know. Or at least have some anecdotal experience to support believing one way or the other.

If a tire has a rotational arrow, I mount it as the arrow indicates. If I don't see it and later notice the tire is on backwards, then I change it. Not so much that I'm worried about safety and performance concerns it might cause, but just because it bugs me knowing that arrow is pointing the wrong way.
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