feethanddooth

at what milage is it recommended to rotate tires? or should you even rotate them? i just changed to a new pair and i notice the rear tire has much more wear than the front.

also, any suggestions on what to do with spent tires? donation? selling them? recycle?

geraldatwork

From what I read you don't want to put a worn tire on the front. So when the rear has to go put the front on the rear and a new tire on the front. That said sometimes vanity comes into play. On my bike I have about 2500 miles on my tires. I would guess I can get at least another 1000 miles on the rear. They have red stripes that are starting to look worn and dirty. I might just ditch them both at 3500 miles even though I could probably get an additional 1500-2000 miles from the front if I put it on the rear.

trekkie820

If you are looking to save cash, buy one new tire, put it on the front. Move the front tire to the rear, toss the rear tire (maybe keep as a spare). You NEED strong rubber on the front, because the front is the tire you DO NOT want to lose. Imagine going downhill at 45mph and losing the front tire.

Wogster

Never rotate bicycle tires, you always want your best tire on the front, unless you want to buy your Dentist a new BMW. An older tire has a higher chance of a blow out, a blowout on the back may result in a crash, a blowout on the front, will result in a crash, most like an over the bars type experiece . When the rear tire is worn out, put the old front tire on the back, and put the new tire on the front. Always buy tires where the front and back tires are interchangable.

Hmm, when it comes to disposing of old bicycle tires, you have a few options:

1) See if your LBS knows about anything programs and such.
2) Check with your city, see if there is a recycling program.
3) See if an automotive tire recycler will accept them.

Philatio

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-rotation.html

waterrockets 

I've been rotating for 16 years with no problems. I race and train on rotated tires. I corner like a mad man and descend winding hills weekly at 50-55mph. No problems. Ever.

I save money because I prefer to have the same tire on font and rear, and buying them together on sale allows me to keep cheep tires on, that match. I can also buy online and combine shipping on two.

I'll actually be rotating my tires tomorrow. I rotate when the rear flat "band" gets noticably wider than the one on front. I replace both tires immediately when one of them starts to show threads or I start getting a lot of flats.

geraldatwork

You could be playing a game of Russian Roulette here. So far you have been lucky and for your sake I hope it stays that way. But if you play long enough the bullet will eventually find the firing chamber. From what I understand a rounder front wheel will handle better than one that is squared off. But you don't seem to have this problem.

n4zou

Same here, especially on my touring bike with it's expensive touring specific tires. I've never had any problems rotating bicycle tires. You just need to be careful not to let the rear tire get too worn before you rotate it.

geraldatwork

I guess if you do it your way, before the rear tire gets too worn, It could be a good way to get an extra 1000 or so miles on a pair if someone was inclined to buy and replace a set at one time. Maybe I'll try that on my next pair of tires.