Bicycle Mechanics - Whoops.. had my rear tire on the wrong way

Hey guys..

I was in the garage today and I noticed something odd. The pattern on my rear wheel was facing in a different direction from my front wheel. At first I thought this was intended, but then I realized.. I INSTALLED the tire incorrectly after I changed my first flat about a month ago.

Anyways, do you guys think this caused decrease in my performance? Increased tire wear? Loss of traction?

Thanks for your input..

road, mtb, or bmx?

Regardless of what style you ride, your mistake is going to cause loss of traction, and incorrect water dispersion.

road, mtb, or bmx?
This is a mountain bike.

Anyways, I am going to correct this mistake now ;)

More so on a mtb than most road tires.

The big question is: Did you notice any difference?
While an advantage can be gained from correct direction of many tires I believe it is sometimes used as a marketing ploy. The Fire XC(a great tire) has directional markings on it, yet their is little difference in the tread pattern for either direction.
Often you can gain a big advantage by going to a fresh tire as the rounding of the sharp edges of the knobs decreases grip quite a bit. This would be a good change before a race or a big ride.

The big question is: Did you notice any difference?
While an advantage can be gained from correct direction of many tires I believe it is sometimes used as a marketing ploy. The Fire XC(a great tire) has directional markings on it, yet their is little difference in the tread pattern for either direction.
Often you can gain a big advantage by going to a fresh tire as the rounding of the sharp edges of the knobs decreases grip quite a bit. This would be a good change before a race or a big ride.
It seems that I did not notice any difference. If anything, I found that in the last few days, I've been going faster and faster, and became increasingly more confident!

However, we'll see on my next ride if there is change that I'll notice (now that I reverted the tire back to how it's supposed to be).

It is doubtful you would notice much difference. I have done this on purpose in the past and noticed nothing. I have even run a front specific tire on the rear and actually got superb traction from it. Go figure.

IMO tire pressure is the most important aspect for traction.

Michelin Comp 16's work better when run with the arrow pointing the incorrect direction. Go figure.

Hey guys..

I was in the garage today and I noticed something odd. The pattern on my rear wheel was facing in a different direction from my front wheel. At first I thought this was intended, but then I realized.. I INSTALLED the tire incorrectly after I changed my first flat about a month ago.

Anyways, do you guys think this caused decrease in my performance? Increased tire wear? Loss of traction?

You said it is for a mountain bike. But a more important question is Is it used on the road or offroad?

As Sheldon Brown writes here http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tires.html#tread , tread has no use whatsoever on bicycle tires used on dry or wet pavement. They are useful if you ride in mud or snow, because these are thicker substances that need help to be evacuated.

So if you cycle on roads, the only difference you might notice with reversed tires is a difference in noise level -- and then, maybe.

i remember inoplanetyanin posted a pic of his tire which showed extra wear on one side of the tire - this thread got me thinking that it might be useful to reverse the direction of the tire to squeeze out some extra mileage out of the tire. if you don't know what i'm talking about, i'm referring to the extra wear that occurs on the left side of the tire due to the camber of the road. (i'm guessing it would be right side wear for all the aussies, brits, and japanese?)

If you do it on both tires it could make your bike roll backwards. :p

It seems that I did not notice any difference. If anything, I found that in the last few days, I've been going faster and faster, and became increasingly more confident!

However, we'll see on my next ride if there is change that I'll notice (now that I reverted the tire back to how it's supposed to be).
AH, may be you got the front tyre round the wrong way ! :roflmao: