Directional tyres

[taximan]

I have just bought a pair of Schawlbe Land cruiser tyres and the bike doctor who sold them to me pointed out that they were directional, but I am a little confused because he also told me that the front tyre is fitted facing the opposite direction to the back. Can anybody enlighten me as to what is going on or is somebody taking the P*** out of yours truly.

 

[mcshroom]

Some tyres are directional. Basically the front goes on the way round you think it should, and the rear goes on as if it looks like it should spin backwards. If you fit the rear the same way as the front then all you may lose is a little bit of traction on soft ground.

If they are directional then there should be markings showing which way round they should be fitted on the tyre wall

 

[Andy_R]

I have just bought a pair of Schawlbe Land cruiser tyres and the bike doctor who sold them to me pointed out that they were directional, but I am a little confused because he also told me that the front tyre is fitted facing the opposite direction to the back. Can anybody enlighten me as to what is going on or is somebody taking the P*** out of yours truly.

As usual, the beard that is Sheldon Brown comes to the rescue here. What it boils down to is that the front wheel wants maximum traction under braking, and the rear wheel wants maximum traction under driving and the tyres should be orientated accordingly.

 

[taximan]

Some tyres are directional. Basically the front goes on the way round you think it should, and the rear goes on as if it looks like it should spin backwards. If you fit the rear the same way as the front then all you may lose is a little bit of traction on soft ground.

If they are directional then there should be markings showing which way round they should be fitted on the tyre wall

That's pretty much what I was told. There is an indicator on the side of the tyre, but nothing regarding which wheel (if you see what I Mean) Thanks for clearing up the reason.

 

[taximan]

As usual, the beard that is Sheldon Brown comes to the rescue here. What it boils down to is that the front wheel wants maximum traction under braking, and the rear wheel wants maximum traction under driving and the tyres should be orientated accordingly.

I hadn't thought of that.

 

[02GF74]

some are bi-directional with arrows for front and rear. Whereas with uni-directionals, whcih have 1 arrow, I would fit the front one in opposite direction. The theory goes the tyre give best grip when rotating in direction of arrow - for the rear you want grip going forward but for front you want it in opposite direction for braking.

damn ............. didn;t see the post above.

 

[biggs682]

follow the arrows on the side walls

 

[Lee_M]

ive gone some mavic yksion tyres, apparently theyre directional, but despite e instructions there are no direction markings on them, so Ive probably got them completely wrong

 

[Night Train]

AFAIK rear is directed/arrowed in the direction of rotation, front is backwards.

It is down to the friction/tractive forces between tyre and road. In the rear wheel the force is in the driving direction while in the front the force is in the braking direction.

 

[spacecat]

Oooh er, i'd never thought of this. My schwalbe snow studs have an arrow pointing front and one pointing rear. I've put them both on so that when the writing is at 12 o clock they both point towards the front and rear of the bike..........should the rear be turned around?

 

[MontyVeda]

as far as i understand, the arrow marked rear >, should point forward on the the rear wheel, and the one marked front > should point forward on the front wheel, that way, each tyre is on opposite to each other.

My new Big Apple tyres however have drive > on them.... no front or rear... so I've put them on with drive> pointing forwards on both wheels. Is this wrong or right? Not that it'll make much difference being fairly slick.

 

[spacecat]

Right, I have something to do this afternoon then........and hope for some more snow!

 

[mcshroom]

I really wouldn't worry about it. I've had my rear snow stud on both ways round at different times and it doesn't really affect them.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

as far as i understand, the arrow marked rear >, should point forward on the the rear wheel, and the one marked front > should point forward on the front wheel, that way, each tyre is on opposite to each other.

My new Big Apple tyres however have drive > on them.... no front or rear... so I've put them on with drive> pointing forwards on both wheels. Is this wrong or right? Not that it'll make much difference being fairly slick.

I probably have this wrong, but I have always had the arrow pointing backwards when at the ground... so the arrow rotates in the direction of travel when spining the wheels for forward momentum as though pedaling. Not sure how to explain that...

 

[mickle]

Any chevronage in the tread pattern should aim in the direction of travel - front or rear.