Mtracer

I have a rear gravel tire (Bontrager GR1 Team Issue) that seems to be wearing off center a bit more towards the drive side. I haven't study it close enough to say it is really off center. Could be the tread is off center. Perhaps molded asymmetrically or somehow mounted asymmetrically.

It's a thru-axle so no chance the wheel has been mounted at an angle.

But I also was wondering if it is possible it is actually wearing asymmetrically. For example, actually making more right-hand turns than left, or making more right hand turns at higher speeds (more force on tire) something like that. Or maybe I literally ride weird with my body weight to the left tilting the bike to the right. Though that seems very unlikely.

Anyone seen this on there rear tires?

FBinNY 

Too many variables to be able to respond intelligently. Among the things you listed disregard the turns unless you're riding in circles.

One you didn't consider is an unconscious preference for one side of rutted roads and tracks. I'm a road rider and rear tires all wear to the left owing to the crown of paved roads.

However, this is the kind of thing you shouldn't obsess over.

If the bike rides and tracks true and
you don't notice any issues while riding, then all is OK, and you should focus on enjoying the ride

flangehead

I see a very slight but perceptible increase in wear on NDS on my commuter. Drive-on-right jurisdiction; heavier pannier on NDS; and I’m in the northern hemisphere in case anyone wants to invoke the Coriolis effect.



NDS on left in this picture.

dsbrantjr

De-mount, flip, and reinstall periodically to equalize the wear?

79pmooney

But if you send the label to the non-drive side, that raises all sorts of other issues. Might get you banned from several forums here.

And another possibility - road crown. (Not obvious to me which side would wear faster.) I find the tread being off center very easy to believe for any tire made by hand or less than the best automation or made for a price. I wouldn't sweat it too much. Especially a rear that I cannot see.

dsbrantjr

I ride on the right and notice my tires wear more on the left, which I attribute to road crown.
Off topic, my '65 VW Beetle repair manual listed alternate, asymmetrical front end alignment angles for high-crowned roads.

cxwrench

Crowned roads...the ONLY answer. I totally agree.

sweeks

tFUnK

Road crown, that's what I was thinking but could not recall what it was called. My road bike tires wear more on the NDS side due to this. I flip them once in a while. There are labels on both sides of three tires so I can still align them with the valve stem.

cxwrench

You can't see the valve stem from the left side of the bike?

Iride01 

This is your better advice on the issue IMO. Perhaps you aren't obsessing and just posing a slight puzzle you've been ruminating on for a time.

I'd go for the cause as what you said yourself. Perhaps you could dismount them and flatten a section of the tire and measure from bead to bead where the wear pattern is. However double check that your witness lines on the tire is shown equally on both side before dismounting.

I've seen this.... but I immediately applied the advice that is being suggested by FBinNY

Though one time I actually did have a tire cockeyed in the drops and somehow still centered between the brake calipers. It wore very quick, there were other slight noticeable issues too. But their quirkiness at the time didn't suggest the wheel incorrectly aligned. However this was a old style QR and drops. Took a few months before I realized what the problem was.

Shadco 

Or spend some time in the UK to even things out.

.

Mtracer

I'm in the USA and the wear I have is more to the drive side, right side, and inconsistent with it being caused by the crown of the roads. I took a closer look, and I think it is more about the subtle variations in the tire tread. The tire has small knobs and the middle row is, well in the middle. So, the tire doesn't seem to be off center in any way. It really seems like the knobs on the right are not as tall. So, they have worn down almost completely a bit sooner.

Likely the knobs on the right were higher than the left when the tire was new. The tires are made in molds, so I doubt the actual tread varies. But of course the tread is the outside of a more complex casing. I'm thinking the underlying casing has some variation or asymmetry. The wear isn't even the same around the circumference of the tire.

I also looked at the previous wore tire, same tire type, and it didn't wear this way. So, again, I think it is just a characteristic of this specific tire. The original question was more about curiosity than anything. I don't have a problem to solve. But the responses were interesting and the idea of road crown never occurred to me.