Is putting a tire that is 'squared off' (from running it on the rear wheel) onto the front wheel really bad, or is that a myth?

I quit doing it..Once a tire starts to go, it doesn't make a difference if it's on the front or rear...plus, I'll take a rear vs front flat anyday...

For my high mileage bikes, I buy 3 tires. I go through 2 rears while using the same front.. It's worked well for me

Worn tires are more prone to flats. Flats on the front wheel are more likely to cause a loss of control and subsequent bodily injury.

For me, that's ample reason not to put a worn tire on the front wheel.

Yeah, that's a good point. I was just hoping to squeeze a few more miles out of this season's tires. :p

I guess when your rear tire wears out, you could move the front tire to the back and put the new on in front. I'd rather have a fresh tire in front. I'm too lazy to do this, but I guess it could be an option.

I rotate the rear to the front at about 500 miles, before it shows much wear. If it's squared I think you are asking for flats.

For my high mileage bikes, I buy 3 tires. I go through 2 rears while using the same front.. It's worked well for me

My current favorite is using a Pro2 on the front and a Krylion on the back. Replace each whenever they wear out... which is still a 1 to 3 ratio.

I just started rotating my tires and moved the rear to the front and vice versa at 2,000 miles. When I buy new tires, I might do it at 1,000 miles. The only thing I noticed when I switched them was the bike had kinda funky handling for a couple of hundred miles and then it became normal. I'd rather replace both tires at once with the same type as I prefer to switch tire make and model and try different ones.

Yeah, that's a good point. I was just hoping to squeeze a few more miles out of this season's tires.

So, why not just run the tire on the rear until it wears out? Tires are not (or at least should not be) like fashion accessories that go out of style after a season. You buy a new tire when one you have wears out. If you're all hung up about matching the front and the rear, then I guess that's your problem :) Buy several tires at once when you find one you like, and then just throw out the worn out rear tire, move the front to the back, and put a new one on the front. How hard is that?

The front tire starts deteriorating, cracking, drying out, checking, way before it wears out. I want the freshest and newest tires as possible. And manufacturers do change tires often, they add or change compounds, designs. Look at the Continental GP 4000, a very recent tire, and they just added another compound to it, GP 4000S. I'd rather rotate the tires, get ride of both of them at the same time, and get the "newest and improved" tire on the market.

I prefer keeping a new tire on the front. If I rotate, it's a new tire on the front and the old front goes to the rear. A front tire that's been squared off handles badly and can be unstable in the turns, particularly when descending. Keeping a newer tire up front with a radiused profile gives a bigger footprint when the bike's banked over in a turn, which delivers more traction.
Besides, I hate fixing flats.:rolleyes:

Ronman- very good point about better handling on the front.

I guess when your rear tire wears out, you could move the front tire to the back and put the new on in front. I'd rather have a fresh tire in front. I'm too lazy to do this, but I guess it could be an option.

thats exactly what I do

So, why not just run the tire on the rear until it wears out? Tires are not (or at least should not be) like fashion accessories that go out of style after a season. You buy a new tire when one you have wears out. If you're all hung up about matching the front and the rear, then I guess that's your problem :) Buy several tires at once when you find one you like, and then just throw out the worn out rear tire, move the front to the back, and put a new one on the front. How hard is that?
Kerry, I'm well aware that there are many solutions to the problem (if it should even be called that) of unequal tire wear. One solution is to buy three tires at a time, another is to buy one whenever one wears out, still another is to rotate front to rear often enough that they wear evenly. All I was asking was whether there was anything dangerous from a handling perspective if I wait too long to rotate, and the rear tire is squared off. I was hoping for a factual answer, based not on the many urban legends of cycling, but based on real experience and data, and not containing any snide remarks. The sort of answer I can usually count on you to provide.

How hard is that?

All I was asking was whether there was anything dangerous from a handling perspective if I wait too long to rotate, and the rear tire is squared off.

A lot will depend on the specific tire. If you're running Specialized Armadillos, which ride like solid rubber by all reports, then you might not sense much handling difference by putting a worn one on the front, because the handling is poor to begin with. At the other end of the scale, a very supple tire with very thin tread might not feel much different either. In between, the differences could be significant if the tread rubber is on the hard end of the scale and the tread thickness is significant. The big handling issue is more associated with the risk of getting more flats with thinned tread rubber. A front flat is a MUCH bigger handling problem than a rear flat. My point is: there is no reason to do this. None.

i never change the front until it needs replaced, the rear i ride until it goes out, and then tires over a year old i start putting them on the back of my bike until i see the threads

That's exactly what I was looking for KI. Thank you. :)

I'll bite: when's the last time any of y'all had a front flat?

Rear?

Which happens more often?

Why not have the most rubber where you'd tend to flat the most?

Huh?

M

You looking for information or an argument? ; )

Regardless of how new the front is, most will always flat more rears than fronts. That doesn't change the fact that a newer front is less likely to flat than a worn front, and that a newer front handles better and offers more traction than a worn front.

The inverse remains true as well. Having a worn front and a new rear doesn't change the fact that the rear will still flat more frequently than the front. Putting new rubber at one end or the other doesn't change the dynamics or propensity of tire flatting, it simply reduces the likelihood of flatting.

Comparatively speaking, more weight is on the rear tire than the front, thus it has less ability to roll over the puncturing device, which instead now penetrates the carcass. Front tires also have a nasty tendency to pick up objects from the road surface and upright them, (glass, small metal objects, rocks, etc.) then exposing the sharp edges for the rear tire to roll over. In my experience, the same is true for motorcycle tires. It's just the dynamics of gravity, motion and other energies, man.

Put your new rubber on the rear and let us know how your front/rear flat ratio works out. :rolleyes:

I guess when your rear tire wears out, you could move the front tire to the back and put the new on in front. I'd rather have a fresh tire in front. I'm too lazy to do this, but I guess it could be an option.in cars rotating tires front to rear backwards

So, why not just run the tire on the rear until it wears out? Tires are not (or at least should not be) like fashion accessories that go out of style after a season. You buy a new tire when one you have wears out. If you're all hung up about matching the front and the rear, then I guess that's your problem :) Buy several tires at once when you find one you like, and then just throw out the worn out rear tire, move the front to the back, and put a new one on the front. How hard is that?

If you're not going through a pair of tires a season, ride you bike more.

Some of us have four bikes and ten wheelsets. Who can even keep track of mileage on tires?

If you're not going through a pair of tires a season, ride you bike more.