Mixing tyres.
plowmar
Posts: 1,032
Many,many years ago it was possible to buy crossply and radial tyres for cars but it was illegal and dangerous to have one of each on an axle, due to their different constructions.
On a number of posts I have seen comments regarding quality and plus points of various bike tyres from different manufacturers. - good/bad in wet, wear, cornering etc..
Therefore as with the car tyres mentioned above should you only have one type of tyre front and rear or are you putting yourself at risk if you don't?
Logic would dictate that at, or close to, extremes there would be a noticeable difference.
On a number of posts I have seen comments regarding quality and plus points of various bike tyres from different manufacturers. - good/bad in wet, wear, cornering etc..
Therefore as with the car tyres mentioned above should you only have one type of tyre front and rear or are you putting yourself at risk if you don't?
Logic would dictate that at, or close to, extremes there would be a noticeable difference.
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Even on cars, it was only dangerous to mix crosslyply/radial on the same axle - so it was ok to put crossply on the front with radial on the rear or visa versa. Not aroblem on a bike as there is only 1 wheel per axle.
Maybe a problem on a tricycle?Summer - Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 9.0 Team
Winter - Trek Madone 3.5 2012 with UDi2 upgrade.
For getting dirty - Moda Canon0 -
Black on the front and black on the rear.
Anything else and the risk is .......0 -
Being arrested by the fashion police?gmacz wrote:Black on the front and black on the rear.
Anything else and the risk is .......
Summer - Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 9.0 Team
Winter - Trek Madone 3.5 2012 with UDi2 upgrade.
For getting dirty - Moda Canon0 -
Continental actually do a road set with different widths on the front to the back. Can't see it being a problem mixing tyres to be honest0
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I ride a pro race 3 and a gp4000 on my training bike and had no issues :P0
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oh my god - aesthetics !!! conti do a 23 front 25 mm set, but they look the same - but michelin front and conti back? well the labels are different for a start. how could you?http://veloviewer.com/SigImage.php?a=3370a&r=3&c=5&u=M&g=p&f=abcdefghij&z=a.png
Wiliers: Cento Uno/Superleggera R and Zero 7. Bianchi Infinito CV and Oltre XR20 -
On Monday night after my hilly loop I noticed my back tyre was very different from the front one. Much of the tread had worn away so the casing was showing through :shock: What little rubber was left was coming off in chunks.
I imagine that would have more of an effect on handling than having different makes front and rear.
(25mm Conti 4 seasons, >3000 miles / 5 years old, so no complaints. Ordered the same again)0 -
The oracle Sheldon Brown (RIP) recommends putting the best tyre on the front.'fool'0
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Paul 8v wrote:Continental actually do a road set with different widths on the front to the back. Can't see it being a problem mixing tyres to be honest
and Mavic do a set that have different compounds front and rear
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/components/tyres/road/product/review-mavic-yksion-griplinkpowerlink-tyre-12-464540 -
You only have one wheel on the front and one on the back?0
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ILM Zero7 wrote:oh my god - aesthetics !!! conti do a 23 front 25 mm set, but they look the same - but michelin front and conti back? well the labels are different for a start. how could you?
Well my training bike is already red with blue wheels...its basically a heap of shit I built with spare parts... :oops:0 -
Running different tyres front and back is very common in the MTB world.
I use Schwalbe Hans Dampfs which are sold as a pair, but with different compounds for front and rear. The front is softer for better grip, because the front does all of the steering and most of the braking, and the rear has a harder compound so it rolls slightly quicker and lasts a bit longer.
I imagine the same principles apply on the road, hence the 'put your best tyre on the front' comment above.0 -
Taking your comments there bails87 would that not mean that your rear tyre would let go before the front and create handling problems?. It was this situation that I was wanting an answer to in my original post - although I may well not have been as clear as I could.0
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If you have to choose which tyre you'd rather lose grip first, it has to be the rear. It's relatively easy to control a rear wheel slide, but once your front wheel washes out you're eating tarmac pretty much instantly.
Best tyre on the front for me.0 -
plowmar wrote:Taking your comments there bails87 would that not mean that your rear tyre would let go before the front and create handling problems?. It was this situation that I was wanting an answer to in my original post - although I may well not have been as clear as I could.
Your assuming your weight distribution is 50/50. During cornering, I assume it more towards the rear. During braking, it biased towards the front.
I'm with keef66, best tyre on the front. You want front grip to turn in confidently, and for an emergency stop/slow down. A front washout and you'll be eating soup for a fortnight.All the above is just advice .. you can do whatever the f*ck you wana do!
Bike Radar Strava Club
The Northern Ireland Thread0 -
Yes the rear will let go before the front, but that's preferable to the front letting go. The back starts to slide and it tells you where the limit is without hurting you. As said above, if the front slides you probably won't save it.plowmar wrote:Taking your comments there bails87 would that not mean that your rear tyre would let go before the front and create handling problems?. It was this situation that I was wanting an answer to in my original post - although I may well not have been as clear as I could.
That's on the MTB though, where a bit of hooliganism/drifting (not skidding) is a good thing. On the road I'd rather have a more 'composed' ride
I'd choose the same tyre front and back if I could for road use, but if I had to have a 'worse' tyre it would definitely be on the back. 0
