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Mixing front and rear tyres

Old 05-02-22, 11:05 AM
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Fletch1969
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Mixing front and rear tyres

Going for a tyre change now it's finally stopped raining...

Very tempted to try mixing fronts and rears, any thoughts or advice??

Rear - Low rolling resistance, high puncture protection. Thinking Marathon Greenguard 28 x 1.75"

Front - Lighter weight, bit more grip.
Thinking Marathon Almotion 28 X 2.0"

Anyone doing similar, if so what would you advise?
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Old 05-02-22, 03:52 PM
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chas58
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I do it. Mostly to get more traction and lower pressure on the front (kind of like having a front shock).
On the rear I want something efficient that isn't going to have a lot of tread distortion under heavy power. That, and 60% of my weight, 90% of my flats, 100% of my power comes from the rear.

Spot on with Rear - Low rolling resistance, high puncture protection.
Front - Lighter weight, bit more grip

your two tires are great for a gravel bike that is ridden like an urban bike (not the best choice for pure gravel).
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Old 05-02-22, 04:10 PM
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Fletch1969
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Thanks Chas, quiet a lot of my riding is on old canal tow paths, lots of badly kept and VERY bumpy compacted ground. Most of the gravel was gone by the mid 1990's....

It's too bumpy for a road bike, not rough enough for an MTB.
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Old 05-02-22, 04:34 PM
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I run a 700x50 front, 700x44 rear
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Old 05-04-22, 07:18 AM
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Originally Posted by Fletch1969
Thanks Chas, quiet a lot of my riding is on old canal tow paths, lots of badly kept and VERY bumpy compacted ground. Most of the gravel was gone by the mid 1990's....

It's too bumpy for a road bike, not rough enough for an MTB.
Got it. Those tires should work well for that.

FYI, I usually run less pressure in my front tire as my weight distribution is 40/60. With a larger front tire, you could drop it another 5lbs and get the same footprint and rolling resistance.

One trick I do is after riding through a damp patch, look at the width of the wet part of my tires. It should be same width front/back. (its not if I inflate both to the same PSI.

For those tires, I'd probably start at 30psi front, 35 rear - maybe 40 rear if I was more concerned about speed than comfort. You can go up or down from there based on your preference.
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Old 05-04-22, 01:04 PM
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I think mixing the width is more important than the tread, but there's nothing wrong with experimenting.
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Old 05-04-22, 02:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Fletch1969
Going for a tyre change now it's finally stopped raining...

Very tempted to try mixing fronts and rears, any thoughts or advice??

Rear - Low rolling resistance, high puncture protection. Thinking Marathon Greenguard 28 x 1.75"

Front - Lighter weight, bit more grip.
Thinking Marathon Almotion 28 X 2.0"

Anyone doing similar, if so what would you advise?
I pretty much do the same, but I keep tread width equal between front and rear (no reason really). I've found I need puncture protection on the rear tire. Front tire puncture protection hasn't seemed as important, but more supple tire gives a better ride. A grippier tread is also helpful. On the rear I don't notice much of a difference between a tire with puncture protection vs non for ride quality.
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Old 05-04-22, 04:11 PM
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Interested to hear what you guys are using front and rear?
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Old 05-05-22, 07:02 AM
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Originally Posted by Fletch1969
Interested to hear what you guys are using front and rear?
I have a garage full of tires/wheels.

but for your case, I use a Furious Fred (2" or 50mm) in the front (light weight, cush, good dry traction) and a Gravel King SS (semi Slick) for the rear for good protection, decent mileage, and low rolling resistance
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