I beg to differ. The direction of travel and the direction of rotation are completely independent of what the arrow might be doing at any point in time.
Which way to fit my tyres?
- Thread starter wilko
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I beg to differ. The direction of travel and the direction of rotation are completely independent of what the arrow might be doing at any point in time.
youngoldbloke
The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
So how do you know which direction the arrow should point?
Ooo, sorry, didn't mean to cause such a response.
In thick mud, the direction of the forces which act on the contact patch are intended to clear the cleats.
So, as the rear tyre tends to over-rotate (or spin) when you pedal, if you are looking from the front of the rear tyre, the tread pattern should be in a V shape so the spinning means that the mud cleans the treads. On the front tyre, although it's far less likely to be important unless you are braking fairly heavily, the tread should be in an A shaped pattern if you are looking at it from the front so, again, when the wheel locks, the mud sliding under the tyre clears the cleats.
On the road or in anything other than thick mud, it's pretty academic really and I only mentioned it because I was brung up fitting tractor tyres, and getting the direction correct on those is pretty important.
If you want to go with the arrows, and the difference is very marginal anyway, the arrow doesn't show the direction of travel (as that depends on whether the arrow is at the top or the bottom of it's rotation) but the direction of rotation. If you have the tyre mounted, spinning it in the direction of the arrow should spin it the same way as it will rotate when the bike is moving.
In thick mud, the direction of the forces which act on the contact patch are intended to clear the cleats.
So, as the rear tyre tends to over-rotate (or spin) when you pedal, if you are looking from the front of the rear tyre, the tread pattern should be in a V shape so the spinning means that the mud cleans the treads. On the front tyre, although it's far less likely to be important unless you are braking fairly heavily, the tread should be in an A shaped pattern if you are looking at it from the front so, again, when the wheel locks, the mud sliding under the tyre clears the cleats.
On the road or in anything other than thick mud, it's pretty academic really and I only mentioned it because I was brung up fitting tractor tyres, and getting the direction correct on those is pretty important.
If you want to go with the arrows, and the difference is very marginal anyway, the arrow doesn't show the direction of travel (as that depends on whether the arrow is at the top or the bottom of it's rotation) but the direction of rotation. If you have the tyre mounted, spinning it in the direction of the arrow should spin it the same way as it will rotate when the bike is moving.
OP
OP
wilko
Veteran
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- Wiltshire, UK
Cor, I just knew this wasn't going to be straightforward! As I said the tyres are semi slicks, for going down tracks and towpaths, so I'm thinking it's not so important which way they are fitted really.
Correct
I think you are probably right.
As I said last night, I hadn't intended to provoke a discussion, the direction really only matters, IMO, with heavily cleated tyres on slippery surfaces. Anything else and the treads don't block up so it's not an issue.
