Bicycle Mechanics - Tire orientation

I just replaced the combination street/trail tires that came standard on my comfort bike with a set of pure street tires (Serfas Drifter Dual Sport - http://www.serfas.com/tires/CTR-26.html ). It was only after I installed the tires and put the wheels back on the bike that I noticed the orange label with the manufacturer name and tire model was on the left side of the rear tire and on the right side of the front tire. This got me thinking that maybe the tires are supposed to go on with a certain orientation with the label on the same side of the front and rear. I carefully looked all around both sides of the tires and couldn't find any type of directional arrow indicating tire rotation direction. Also, the tread on these tires is perfectly symmetrical--looks the same from either direction. Given this, is it perfectly fine to leave the tires as they are, or do all tires have a certain orientation and should be mounted accordingly?

Don't mess with em unless you are an AR that has to have the label on the right side and aligned with the valve stem.

Some tires have directional tread (like my Specialized Hemispheres), some do not. Yours do not, so it doesn't matter.

If they DO have directional tread, it will be set up so that the printed label can be read from the right side of the bike, and anal retentive people set their tires up like that all the time, with the printed label on the right side, aligned with the valve stem, but there is no reason for that other than vanity, and the slight convenience of having the pressure rating next to the valve for ease of reading.

peace,
sam

Every one to his own, But my "need to know", out weights style. I like my labels on the same side, and most important to me is having the printed "tire pressure" centered at the valve stem. But that's just me.

Don't mess with em unless you are an AR that has to have the label on the right side and aligned with the valve stem.

Yup. That's exactly what I would do. I guess that shows what kind of person I am.

The reason I align the label with the valve stem has nothing to do with vanity. It helps you find the cause of a puncture when you get a flat. Find it on the tube, then look at the same area on the tire.

Don't mess with me, you are all totally vain. You just don't want the mechanic giving you that look they give people when it is obvious you've been working on your own bike. ;)

peace,
sam

*runs and hides his bikes, all of which have the label carefully aligned with the valve stem, and oriented such that the label on the hub and rim are readable from the right side of the bike*

The reason I align the label with the valve stem has nothing to do with vanity. It helps you find the cause of a puncture when you get a flat. Find it on the tube, then look at the same area on the tire.

I ABSOLUTELY agree with michaelnel. I am so anal as to even line up a prominent marking on the tire (I use the big "B" printed on my Bontrager tires) with the valve as closely as I can. Finding a puncture wound on an inner tube is easy (just listen for it or feel for it). Finding glass embedded in a tire can be a more difficult expedition. Having the rim, tire and tube in alighment makes it easier to find the supremely-evil violating agent (probably still embedded in the tire).

It also does look cooler. But don't judge me on this...I have dental floss and trash-bag, twist-ties holding on my bike computer :) (I don't like zip-ties because they're hard to remove. Dental floss may be a bit ghetto, but it actually looks just tight and clean as zip-ties. I'm applying my artistic license to my bike. As for the trash-bag ties...um...I have no excuse.)

BTW, this is my first posting ever on BikeForums. I hope I'm not being too intrusive.

-W

The reason I align the label with the valve stem has nothing to do with vanity. It helps you find the cause of a puncture when you get a flat. Find it on the tube, then look at the same area on the tire.


As a mechanic, I line up the valve with the label. Its easier to locate the cause of your flat!

If they are mountain/dirt tires, always have the label on the drive side.

- most kind of the tioga folks to emboss 'Drive->' on the sidewalls of their City Slickers

(i noticed *after* i had mounted them 'backwards')

signed,

the dsylexic wrench

It really doesn't matter to me where my labels line up, and it doesn't bother me that some people make a fetish out of it. At the very least it means they're paying enough attention to notice when a tire does have a directional tread and orient it correctly. They're also the type to bring in their bike for repairs pristinely clean...detailed with their own toothbrush. The minty smell is a dead giveaway. ;)