I've been riding Conti Gatorskins. Been pretty happy with them too. My old Gatorskins have over 2000 miles on them, and after having both the front and back off recently to repair flats, I decided that they were getting beat up enough that it was time for a new set.

After installing the new tires, I was checking out the old ones, and it struck me just how worn the tread on the back tire is. Rather than the rounded shape of a new Gatorskin, the back tire has a clear, flat band worn in it all the way around. Front tire is not worn nearly as much, by comparison.

That got me wondering about rotating the tires, and if anyone does this as part of their regular maintenance? Personally, I doubt I would ever be ambitious enough to rotate mine, but I am just wondering if any of you do it...

I got the same set of tires and plan on rotating them every 500 miles or so. I have also seen greater wear on the rear. I am hoping to get more than 2000 miles on them though cause that seems a bit on the low side for the cost of those babies.

The fronts will always wear far more slowly than the rears. I buy new tires three at a time... Two for the back, one for the front. It is also a good practice because sometimes you'll cut a tire badly that it is too dangerous to ride any longer - the third one comes in real handy then!

When the rear is worn out put the front on the rear and a new one on the front.

Sheldon Brown has a good article covering tire rotation:

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

What he says mostly makes sense to me. I like the idea of rotating front to back and put new front on.

No, my front (cheap) and rear (expensive) tires are different, and I just replace either one when necessary. (for the front that means never)

Good info. I guess I will have to think about rotating.

I was also hoping to get more miles out of my gatorskins, but when inspecting after my last flats, I found a couple of gashes that had me a little worried. Since my commute is about 20 miles each way, it makes me feel a little better having fresh ones on.

Which is exactly what you should do.

I don't see the point of trying to even out tread wear between your front and rear tires. Think about how poor your traction will be if both front and rear are at the end of their lifespan when you replace them. Always keep a good tire up front. You're just reducing the amount of traction you have on your front wheel which is dangerous. If your rear wheel slips a bit, you can stay upright if you're in the saddle. Front wheel slips in the wet and you're done.

When the rear wears out, put the front on it and buy a new tire for the front. You only have to buy one new tire at a time. Unless you're buying high end tread, they're one of the cheapest things you can put on a bike in the first place.

I can't think of any reason to believe that "traction" decreases as a tire wears until you've used it far too long and completely removed worn off the main layer of outer compound, and by then it would be long past replacement time.

Ideally your freshest tire should be the rear, because that's where you need the extra puncture resistance of a newer tire. I'd never put an old tire on the rear wheel. Even if for some reason you wanted to use the same tires front and back I don't see any advantage in swapping them between wheels in either direction. When a tire is worn out it should simply be replaced.

Of course when it comes to your own bike YMMV

It's the other way around.

I don't know what universe you live in, but in mine the rear always takes more punishment and gets more flats, even with much tougher tires in the rear. (Actually, my front never gets flats even with cheap-o tires) Thus, the rear needs the more puncture resistant tire. If you find your front tire getting more flats than your rear maybe it doesn't work that way for you, but that would sure puzzle me.

I put the worn out one on the front too, just because I can use up almost-dead tires that way. I have never noticed any difference in traction due to the amount of tread. I have had worn front tires make the bike steer a little funny, because they get a flat spot from being on the back wheel for so long.

Matt

Interesting stuff. I never even thought about rotating tires.

I don't think anyone would argue with that. But many people would dispute your opinion that the rear should get the better tire. Simply because a rear tire blowout is usually not going to cause you complete loss of bike control. But with a front tire blowout all bets are off. Safety issue.

Ever have a front tire on a car go out versus the rear, same thing happens on a bike, but you just have half the amount of wheels on the ground and traction. The better tire always goes on the front.

I rotate mine with every truing(given if tread wear and tire conditions are even), usually i don't need a truing but i throw them in the stand every other month to just check and make sure things are good regardless. And since i'm already checking the roundness also of the wheel in our shops nice fancy truing stand i have to remove the tires anyways, so it just makes good sense.

Don't know about anyone else here but i would rather have my rear go out while on a fast ride or decent than my front any day of the week, at least you can keep some control and the front from washing out on you.

A tire "blowing out" (which I've never seen happen), that is an event so extreme that it isn't going to matter what kind of tire you have on there.

The tires rotate while I pedal.

Even a fast deflating flat in the front can be a scary occurrence IMO. It certainly was on a motorcycle. I like the buy three idea and always want a good tire on the front of the bike.

When a tyre is worn out I replace it with a new one, period... I use Conti Contacts which I find a good balance between price and puncture resistance. $34/tyre...They're not so expensive that I wait too long to buy a new one, or put a half worn front tyre on on the rear.

When a good quality tyre on the rear starts to puncture due to wear (not a freak puncture), then it's time to buy a new one. What usually happens is that I replace the front tyre every 2nd rear tyre. *love having new tyres I can trust!*

I prefer the better tire in front for better traction, especially in the rain. It's no problem if the rear fishtails a little, but if the front tire slides even a little it's really easy to wipe-out.

I rotate my tires every time i ride. that's the point, of cycling, isn't it? if you don't turn the wheels, you get nowhere.


the best tire should be on the front, not the rear, as a front puncture or slip is far more dangerous.

For me, it depends on what my plans are for the tires. If, for example, I want to try a new model of tire I will rotate my current set to get them to wear out at about the same time.

Generally though, I just leave them alone and replace single tires as they wear out.

I understand what Sheldon is saying, but if a tire is in bad enough shape to cause a catastrophic failure, I've already thrown it away. If I'm descending the Rockies, then yea... I'll have a new tire on the front. Riding to work, I'm not worried about it.

In the end, everyone has to determine their own comfort level.

I rotate every 1000 miles. I have gotten 6000 miles out of the last two sets of tires I had.

I don't know about moving the back tire to the front. I'd prefer the tire with more life go on the back, if flat protection is a concern. The back tire is where you'll get a solid 70% of your flats, all things being equal.

On the other hand I rarely use the same tires front and rear anymore so I just replace whichver one needs replacing, when appropriate.

The idea of rotating tires is that you rotate the tires before there is noticeable wear so that they wear evenly. I do rotate tires on my bikes that have the same tire front and rear and it does improve overall life of the set.