Cyclomania

When you replace your tires, do you replace just one or both?

Yesterday I noticed that my rear tire felt as if the rim were bent, a subtle bumpy ride. I stopped and inspected my wheel, but didn't see a problem.
After the ride I inspected the wheel and noticed that it wasn't the wheel at all but the tire. The sidewall had widened and the tire looked distorted, yet luckily no blow out. On further inspection I noticed that the sidewall had rotted and the threads were easily split open by hand! I also noticed that the tire liner (Mr Tuffy) helped to prevent a sidewall blow out! Glad to be alive! I should have stopped and made a more thorough check of my tire before continuing riding.

10 Wheels

Get some new ones.

Doug5150

Normally if you ride a lot you will wear the center tread section off the rear tire first. Most people then just swap the front & rear, and wear the center off the other tire before buying new ones.

If your tires are dry-rotting it might be wise to replace them both just for that reason.
Also make sure you're not storing them in bad conditions--some common ones being in direct sunlight, near oil or fuel vapors or near an electric motor that runs a lot.

tagaproject6

Buy new ones. And do not rotate!
If you can only buy 1 new tire put it up front.

Mr. Beanz

There is no way I am placing a worn rear tire up front.

Buying a new tire is much cheaper than a hospital stay.

rekmeyata

Rotating tires is fine and a great idea, most riders do that and have been doing so for many years. The front tire wears about 2/3rds less then the rear, so why waste a perfectly good front tire? Simply move the front to the rear and put a new one on the front. This way you only really need to buy one tire, though I away's have an extra tire in storage just in case so I don't have to run to an LBS immediately when a problem develops with a tire.

Cyclomania

I agree. My brother suffered a fast fall one time when he put an old clement tubular on his bike and rode, the tire blew on a curve!
He broke his fall landing on this left hand, sprang his wrist. Even to this day he can't lift anything greater than 30 pounds.

My front tire is as old as the rear. I will replace both.

Thanks for all the responses! It confirms my hunch!

PatW

I find that the front tire wears far more slowly than the rear tire. I seem to replace about 5 rear tires for every front tire. Rotation is fine, the way to do it would be to put the front tire on the rear and the new tire on the front. A front blow out is far more problematic than a rear blow out. Also, the front tire has far more effect on turning and handling than the rear tire so that is where you want your "best" tire.

chasm54

This

Monster Pete

Don't put a worn rear tyre on the front to try and even out the wear- you need the extra grip on the front wheel. Simply wait until the rear tyre wears out, then, if the front tyre is still good, move the front tyre to the back and put a new one on the front wheel. You'll get the same tyre life as rotating both tyres, but without having to put a worn out tyre on the front. If they're both knackered, obviously replace both.

bobn

I have said this before on another thread. I don't believe in rotating tires. it's to labor intensive for the gain. Just replace the worn tires as necessary.
My bike uses 3+ rears to 1 front. I don't need all that work.

Sixty Fiver

Never put a worn rear tyre on the front... it is a dangerous practice and really has little to do with tread or grip as a slick tyre will hold the road better than one with a tread.

Issue is that if the rear is badly worn it can be subject to punctures or blowouts and having that happen on the front is bad with a capital B.

If you like matching tyres and can buy replacements, replace your tyres as they wear out.

Considering that a decent tyre can last 10,000 plus km on the rear, that front tyre can probably be run for 20,000 km or more.

This does not apply to racing tyres which usually do not get the same mileage life.

Machka 

Just because one tire wears out, doesn't mean that you have to replace both tires. The rear tire wears faster than the front.

I replace the tire that wears out when I notice that it is starting to wear out, and I don't rotate my tires ... I've never seen the point.

However, I do always have extra tires on hand at home. So in your case, I might put a new tire on the rear, and then buy a couple new tires knowing that I'm going to have to replace the front one in 1-2000 km.

Looigi

When the back wears out, I move the used front to the rear and put a new one on the front. Perhaps it takes a bit more work (like maybe 10 minutes), but I always have a new or reasonably fresh tire in front and the only tires I discard are well worn out.

chasm54

Come on, Machka. Surely the point is to make sure that most of the time you have your newest tyre on the front? If you rotate, the front tyre is never more than half worn. That has significant safety benefits...

10 Wheels

If the front tire is Still Good, I leave it on the front.
I have had many cuts on brand new tires, front and rear.

JanMM

Most riders don't rotate, that I am aware of. I don't. I don't hesitate to replace a tire, either.

Machka 

+1

I see it mentioned here on BF sometimes, but I don't think I've ever actually met anyone who does it.

rekmeyata

This post has turned out very weird. I know so many people...real people...real riders, that rotate their tires. In fact people have been doing this for many years. Sheldon Brown even comments about this here: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-rotation.html

JanMM

Some cyclists rotate tires. I don't doubt that.

SlimRider

I say, use common sense. Anybody should be able to visually inspect a tire in order to determine the degree of wear the tire manifests. Just like with automobile tires, we don't change all of the tires, simply because one or two show wear.
Customarily, we rotate our tires, in order to get the maximum amount of wear and service from each tire.

Hey! Guess what? ...We do the same with our bicycle tires, as well...

- Slim

Mr. Beanz

+1...I'e met a ton of riders and forum members. Some have asked "so what do you think of this rotating tire thing?" but none have ever actually said they do.

Not saying it doesnt happen but I've also never met another rider that actually does.

JanMM

I usually buy 4 car tires at the same time. I rotate car tires but I don't rotate bike tires.

DataJunkie

I don't bother either. I did try it out a couple times and found that moving a somewhat worn front tire to the rear simple resulted in me replacing that tire quicker.
duh

SlimRider

I once had a front tire that would not show wear no matter what. My rear tire blew out, so I replaced it. Next, it wore out. I replaced it again. The front tire still looked good. I then moved that same tire to the rear, where it promptly blew out less than three weeks later. Since then, I've had very similar experiences with that same bike.
So clearly, in this case, there is never any reason to replace both tires, simultaneously.

Replace a tire that looks perfectly alright! I'd bang my head up beside a wall first!

- Slim

PS.

However, if it looks slightly worn, then yes, I will change the both of them...