Continental GP 4000 SII tyre direction

sextoke1
sextoke1 Posts: 133
edited June 2018 in Road general
On the GP 4000s tyres, there is a direction arrow, my question, would you put the tyre on the front wheel the wrong way around ? The reason for the question is, I saw a motorbike last month and the front tyre looked to be on the wrong way around. When I looked closer, it had two arrows, one direction for rear wheel fitment and the other direction for front wheel fitment.

Comments

  • mfin
    mfin Posts: 6,729
    Yeah sure why not, and put it on inside out while you're at it.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    I did see someone complaining about poor wear on his tyre and when he posted a pic it was inside out so don't underestimate people.

    Tbh I'd have it the normal way. That is what I do anyway but it's your bike. Feel free to copy what motorbikes do.
  • sextoke1
    sextoke1 Posts: 133
    mfin wrote:
    Yeah sure why not, and put it on inside out while you're at it.
    Thanks for that, Lewis.
  • apreading
    apreading Posts: 4,535
    I am sure that I read years ago about mountain bikers putting a tyre on backwards for more grip when braking downhill or something. I can maybe vaguely see a reason for that, but otherwise I cant see it.

    Having said that, I have put GP4000S on the wrong way and then realised and swapped it back but I couldnt for the life of me SEE any difference in the tread either way so I am not 100% convinced it is really a diectional tyre, despite the arrows.
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    Doubtful it makes a scrap of difference.
  • coops1967
    coops1967 Posts: 99
    the 'tread' on any usual road bike tyre, like the GP's, has no relevance to grip in wet or dry... although interstingly (?) the small grooves etc can improve the aerodynamics of tyre/rim a bit in some cases.

    The real issue is... if you put it on the 'wrong' way you'll always have that nagging knowledge that it is not as the manufacturer wants you to put it on. I've had to refit a tyre once ( tubeless schwlabe pro ones) after i realised, even though i know and it doesn't make any difference i still did it just beacuse... ;-)

    Motorbike and car tyres are another matter, obviously.
  • StillGoing
    StillGoing Posts: 5,211
    Its to do with the lay up of the layers of the tyre. Rotate the wrong way and you're going against the lay up. In all my years of motorcycling, I have never seen a tyre that can be mounted different ways for front and rear, particularly as the rear rim width tends to be bigger than the front. Its probable that it merely showed the direction for front and rear as opposed to mounting it in different directions. Given the higher braking forces of a motorcycle, I'd never mount a motorcycle tyre in different directions. Even when car tyres are rotated, its to move in the same direction.
    I ride a bike. Doesn't make me green or a tree hugger. I drive a car too.
  • sextoke1
    sextoke1 Posts: 133
    Yes agree, but when I saw the tyre on the front of the bike, I went over to it and it had two arrows on it, one for rear mounting and one for front. It was a 1980s BMW boxer bike with a German number plate, fully kitted out for touring.
  • figbat
    figbat Posts: 680
    Motorcycle tyre treads are designed to shed water sideways. The front tyre often looks like it is on backwards because the tread direction is intended to move water to the outside of a turn when leant over. This is so that the tyre isn’t moving water to the inside, where the rear wheel will be moments later.
    Cube Reaction GTC Pro 29 for the lumpy stuff
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  • mercia_man
    mercia_man Posts: 1,431
    sextoke1 wrote:
    Yes agree, but when I saw the tyre on the front of the bike, I went over to it and it had two arrows on it, one for rear mounting and one for front. It was a 1980s BMW boxer bike with a German number plate, fully kitted out for touring.


    As someone who started motorcycling in the 1960s, I can confirm that tyres used to be marked like this before front and rear specific tyres were introduced. For example, the Dunlop TT100, so named because it was the first production tyre to lap the TT course at 100 mph and is still available today, can be used on either wheel and has marking arrows showing one direction for use on the front and one for use on the back. It's to do with the way the belts are overlapped.

    A quick look on the internet shows Avon Tyres stating that if a rear tyre is used on the front of a motorcycle - a trick used by some custom builders - it should be fitted in the opposite way to the direction arrow.
  • sloppyschleckonds
    sloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    mfin wrote:
    Yeah sure why not, and put it on inside out while you're at it.

    :lol:
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • MiddleRinger
    MiddleRinger Posts: 678
    Mercia Man wrote:
    As someone who started motorcycling in the 1960s, I can confirm that tyres used to be marked like this before front and rear specific tyres were introduced. For example, the Dunlop TT100, so named because it was the first production tyre to lap the TT course at 100 mph and is still available today, can be used on either wheel and has marking arrows showing one direction for use on the front and one for use on the back.

    As someone who's been motorcycling for a decade or so, I did not know this! Thanks for the insight! :D
    ~ ~ How fast is fast enough? ~ ~ ~ ~ Tempo Cyclist - Tasmania ~ ~
  • mrfpb
    mrfpb Posts: 4,569
    I have had bicycle tyres in the past that were marked for opposite orientation for front and back, I can't remember the type but they were probably a Schwalbe marathon as that was my preferred tyre on the hybrid commuter. So if it's not marked that way, I wouldn't fit it that way.
  • mercia_man
    mercia_man Posts: 1,431
    Just had a look at Schwalbe's website. They say for road tyres tread direction is "mainly important for aesthetic reasons" as presumably forward facing arrowed tread lines look better. For off-road Schwalbe say tread direction is far more important as driving forces and braking forces operate in different directions. That's why tyres which can be used front or rear have different rotation arrows for each option.
  • sloppyschleckonds
    sloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    Mercia Man wrote:
    Just had a look at Schwalbe's website. .

    He's running Continentals
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    I went to check mine as I couldn’t remember ever see arrows and not all of them have direction arrows on them or I couldn’t see any on one tyre.
    The others had them and they were on the right way. I suspect this must have been just luck.
  • sextoke1
    sextoke1 Posts: 133
    Thanks for all the replies, it was a good conversation to start. Always follow the arrow for the tyre, and make sure the tyre is correct for the discipline and bike. I think we all have picked up some things from this post.
  • mfin
    mfin Posts: 6,729
    sextoke1 wrote:
    Thanks for all the replies, it was a good conversation to start. Always follow the arrow for the tyre, and make sure the tyre is correct for the discipline and bike. I think we all have picked up some things from this post.

    Yep, we've picked up that nobody would bother putting a GP4000S2 tyre on back to front just because they've seen a marking on an unrelated motorbike tyre somewhere.
  • imafatman
    imafatman Posts: 351
    You put it in the direction indicated on the tyre. Is this a trick question?
  • mrb123
    mrb123 Posts: 4,630
    If the writing on the side is going right to left you know you've got them on the wrong way round.
  • mfin
    mfin Posts: 6,729
    MrB123 wrote:
    If the writing on the side is going right to left you know you've got them on the wrong way round.

    It seems to magically change though so that if it's right to left at the top of the wheel it is left to right at the bottom, then if you turn the tyre around it is left to right at the top and right to left at the bottom, it's ever so strange.
  • darkhairedlord
    darkhairedlord Posts: 7,180
    So long as the logo is aligned to valve, who cares?
  • david7m
    david7m Posts: 636
    My mtb tyres are marked up front and rear, assumed it was grip uphill VS braking. Don't see this being relevant on semi slicks, but I'd follow what it says. I've just ordered one for the rear, will put on the way it says :)
    Dave
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    Erm - if you put a front tyre on the wrong way round - don't you just remove the wheel, swing it round and put it back in the otherway round ... slightly easier than the rear ... ;)
  • david7m
    david7m Posts: 636
    Depends if you have disc brakes :D
    Dave
  • darkhairedlord
    darkhairedlord Posts: 7,180
    Just turn the forks around.
  • sloppyschleckonds
    sloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    Slowbike wrote:
    Erm - if you put a front tyre on the wrong way round - don't you just remove the wheel, swing it round and put it back in the otherway round ... slightly easier than the rear ... ;)

    The hub will be running the wrong way
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • darkhairedlord
    darkhairedlord Posts: 7,180
    SloppySchleckonds wrote:
    Slowbike wrote:
    Erm - if you put a front tyre on the wrong way round - don't you just remove the wheel, swing it round and put it back in the otherway round ... slightly easier than the rear ... ;)

    The hub will be running the wrong way
    If you toggle his qr he goes both ways.
  • haydenm
    haydenm Posts: 2,997
    apreading wrote:
    I am sure that I read years ago about mountain bikers putting a tyre on backwards for more grip when braking downhill or something. I can maybe vaguely see a reason for that, but otherwise I cant see it.

    It was fairly common in MTB a few years ago with maxxis minions and others, along with using the fronts on the back and vice versa. Different braking grip, cornering grip and rolling resistance characteristics, but I run mine normally because I can't be bothered to think about it.

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