got some new tires for xmas, and i haven't been riding long enough to need new tires so this is the first time i've replaced a set. anyway, i've got a nice new pair of Continental Ultra 2000's. my question: which way should the tread face? there's no directional arrow that i can see.

btw, i did a search, and while this subject has been discussed, there were never any details about it other than "put it in the direction the arrow is pointing" etc.

so the tires have tread on the sides that are angled, like this:

\ \ \ \ \

/ / / / /

i'm thinking that the rear should have the tread so that they 'flair' open in the direction of rotation. this would provide extra traction:

\ \ \ \ \
<-- drive
/ / / / /

(viewed from below, with front of the bike to the right)

and the front tires would have the tread reversed, for greater stopping power:

/ / / / /
<-- drive
\ \ \ \ \


but hey, that's just a wild guess! and input??

i stick to my belief that tread on road tires do absolutely nothing. mount them whichever way you like.

thanks, duly noted.

Most tires have a colored design or label on one side. Put the label on the drivetrain side opposite the valvestem.

-s

Conti's and several other manufacturers put the same labeling on both sides of the tire. While fore is correct in stating that tread for narrow, high pressure road tires is pretty useless, the "arrow" created by the herring bone pattern on conti's and other brands should point in the direction of travel for both tires. You'll notice that tires that do have a label on only one side will have this orientation when the tire is mounted with the label on the drive-side.

Have you asked Continental ? Most companies reply , even if it makes no sense at times , Michelin sent me a booklet of tyre pressure / weight for trucks and cars but Vittoria sent me a most helpfull rough guide for pressure /weight for cycle tyres .

thanks bikedork. and Inglés, that's a good idea. i'll check with Conti...i'm sure they've got some opinion on it. but if they don't get back to me soon i'll just slap them on with the arrow pattern pointing "forward" (rotationally speaking). keeping in mind all the while that it doesn't matter.

See what they say even if tread makes no difference on road bikes.I think is more in the compound then tread for grip.Conti's are good tires,nice present.

wow, quick response from Conti's US distrib:

Yep... Label on drive side... Otherwise tread should be placed in the way that would dispurse water.

Also a teck tip would be to place the label at the location of the valve stem. That way if you get a flat and remove the tire from the rim you can tstill line up the hole in the tube with the tire by knowing the valve stem is at the label of the tire...

oh thanks prestonjb, but i'd already put the new tires on when i saw your post (i didn't waste any time!). i'll keep that in mind for next time.

and i've gone from 340 g per tire for the stock tires to 270 g for the new ones. a savings of 140 g total! and because it's rotational weight, that's like, what, 10 kg off the bike?

thanks all.

and the bright orange sidewalls don't look that bad. i was worried i'd upset the delicate color balance with these....(not)

Better to put the label opposite the valve stem as a counterbalance.

-s

Your ride will be much easier now.140g doesnt sound like much but isnt that almost a quartere pound?

The treads have nothing to do with traction. They are there to disperse water, which prevents a loss of traction.

Generally, all of the tires that I have seen go in this direction looking from the top:


//////// ////////
front rear
\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\

that's exactly opposite to what Conti told me, for what it's worth. they look like (from the top):

//////// ////////
rear front
\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\

i get .31 lb total, so yeah you're right, roughly. nothing to sneeze at.

i have offset my kickstand by .3 mm to compensate for the labels only being on one side of the tire.

slider:

I use two wheel magnets Makes me go faster too!

On a road bike, tread direction (or even its absence, depth, or preslence) makes no difference, because the tyre is too narrow to hydroplane. (The road contact strips of my 23mm Conti Ultra-2000s have been essentially bald for several months.) If you ride on severely crowned roads, you may want to swap the orientation of each tyre periodically to equalize wear across its road contact surface.

Nice tip, and it explains my tire wear pattern. I thought it was crappy tires until now

KICKSTAND??? What's that?

don't worry, i have a special racing kickstand. it's all carbon, and was developed with the help of the US Postal Team. it's very aerodynamic in the "up" position, and was refined using wind-tunnel tests. now i don't have to try doing those pesky "track stand" maneuvers during time trials.





no i don't have a kickstand on my bike!





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