Originally Posted by 77Univega
-- Speaking as the one who started this thread, I got my answer to put the treaded tire in the front. This is not a knobby, nor is it a "reverse tread" rain tire, but just a regular bike tire with a modest tread like what used to come stock on road bikes.
The only spills I have taken were in patches of sand on the road and I was mining all the expertise out there to see if anyone else mixed tires on a road bike with good results through sand.
As I said front, the idea is that a rear washout can be corrected by weight shift >or if the bike goes down, not as severe a wipeout as having the front steering tire lose traction (faceplant).
This also falls in the tire swap arena as a balder tire is to be put rear. Similar reasons.
I don't ride skinnies, but this seems logical.