Road Cycling - Tire Wear / Braking

I was recently told that the reason the rear tire on my road bike is wearing more then the front is because I brake incorrectly. Last year I was told by an ultra-long distance rider that it rear tires always wear out faster. I have +/- 3000 miles on them. Do I need to learn how to brake differently?

Sounds wierd to me. Rear tires wear out faster because more of your wieght is on it, and that tire is the one pushing against the road.

You can always rotate your tires for seemingly longer life.

In my experience, rear tires wear out faster. I believe that this is because the rear is the drive wheel, and it carries more weight.

Some people rotate their tires, i.e. move the front tire to the rear wheel and put a new tire on the front.

We could all learn to brake better, but unless you are skidding, it is not likely the cause of your rear tire wearing faster than the front.

If you've got 3,000 miles on your set of tires, you're doing great. Bike tires rarely get more than 3,000 to 3,500 miles per set.

The rear tire always wears faster; it is the drive tire and it carries more weight.

Some people rotate tires about once every thousand miles. Supposedly, that gives a longer life. I usually just run my tires until the rear is worn out then replace the pair. I like the idea of a stronger front tire, especially on high-speed descents. :D

Rear tires always wear faster than front tires, although it can be exacerbated by improper braking techniques. See http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html for more on this.

Rotating bike tires is generally NOT recommended, for safety reasons. See this page on Sheldon Brown's excellent web site for the rationale: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-rotation.html

As far as rotating goes. I would not put a tire from the back onto the front as it will be worn more. You can ride until the back tire is worn out, buy one new one. Put the old front tire on the back and the new one on the front. That way you always have a fresher front tire.

It is not safe to transfer a whole lot of braking to the
front tire. Although the bike is called a "safety bike"
a front wheel lockup, (easy to do on a bike) can cause
rapid loss of control and if you are unlucky a sideways
crash or if snake bit you can do a header over the bars as the momentum of the bike and your forward moving
weight lift the rear wheels, then the bike summersaults.
If your head is bent back you smash your face and maybe get a neck fx. If bent forward you jam your neck
and maybe fx it anyway. If the rear wheel locks up the bike skids in a more sedate and potentially controllable fashion. Steve

3000 on a rear tire!!!!!!!!!!! At my size I have to change them usually by 2000 miles.

I have 2000 on my 4-seasons and ordered new ones. Putting front on rear for another 500 miles i figure and new one on front till rear wears out and then the other new one on rear. They should just about wear out at the same time. Rear always wears out first and i use front brank at least 75% of the time.I would think the lighter you are,the more miles you'll get out of the rear.

The people who skid when using the front wheel are newbies who sit upright, dont brace against the bars, or slide back in the saddle, slam the brakes on hard, then panic.
When used properly, it is very difficult to flip using the front brake. I use the front even downhill, around corners, with outside camber. It just takes a bit of finesse.
Recovering from a front wheel slide is something that competant riders can do. Ive seen tandem crews+tow-along bikes recover from sand-induced slide, when newbie riders on full-suspension MTBs go skidding off the road

X motocycle skill

Balls : the rear tyre carries your weight and when braking is more prone to skid for reasons of inertia and c.o.g. rotation questions . It will also punture more as the front seems to set up the glass , nail , whatever just right for the rear to get ...........