bccycleguy

My rear tires, like most other peoples' rear tires always wear out first. Do you swap them front to back to even the wear out a bit, or just replace the rear when you start getting flats? Or do you replace both at the same time, and maybe relagate the 1/2 worn out front one to trainer duty during the winter?

I just bought 2 new Conti GP 4000's to replace my GP 4-season's for the summer/when they wear out, but I wonder what is the best strategy here. The GP 4000's were $67 CND for a pair at ProBikeKit.com and free shipping. You gotta like that!

Machka 

I never swap my tires. I don't see the point. When my rear tire wears out, I replace it. When my front tire wears out, I replace it. I have never understood how swapping tires extends their lives.



BTW - NEVER put a worn rear tire on the front! You need your best tire on the front for good handling.

bccycleguy

My thinking here (and maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong), is if the front tire lasts say 40% longer than the rear, than swap them at say 1,000 - 1,500 km (or in my case put the GP 4000's on for the summer). So if you put the previous front tire now on the rear (in my case put the GP 4-seasons back on next spring) you essentially get an extra 1000+ km out of the set. This is more important if you are changing to a different set of tires, if you replace them with identical tires then there would be no point to it.

domestique

Buy 3 tires at one time. The rear tire will usually wear out faster. When this happens take your new tire and put it on the rear. By the time the replacement rear is bad, then the front tire should be needing replaced. Buy 3 more tires, and repeat.

Some people also like to take the front tire and put it on the back, and then put the new tire on the front. They're reasoning is if your front tire blows at high speeds it is harder to control your bike. hence putting the good rubber on front

But, the rear tire usually flats more due to the greater weight it is supporting, so it is up to you.

Murrays

When the rear tire wears out, I move the front to the rear and put a new tire on the front. I see several reasons:

-Leaving the front tire in place means it's on the bike longer and more susceptible to aging (probably not an issue for most here).

-Worn tires tend to puncture easier and I'd much rather have a flat on the rear than the front.

-I want the rounder cross section on the front for better traction & handling.

It may not make a big difference, but it only takes an extra couple minutes.

-murray

chroot

I have never really cared enough about the cost of tires to justify any complicated strategy. I just replace both tires at the same time. I know the fronts usually have plenty of life left in them, but I'd rather have a fresh tire than a half-worn tire on the front.

- Warren

operator

Never swap the rear to the front. Unless you like faceplanting at 40mph.

Machka 

See, the way I look at it is this ...

My front tire lasts 5000 kms and my rear tire lasts 3000 kms. I ride 10000 kms a year, so therefore, I go through 2 front tires and approx. 3 rear tires for a total of 5 tires used up in a year.


Now, this gets a bit complicated but suppose I've got new tires on the bicycle, and that at 3000 kms, I put my front tire onto my rear wheel when my rear tire wears out, and a new tire onto the front. I have covered 3000 kms and used up one tire.
The tire now on the rear wheel has 3000 kms of light wear on it, so there's no way it would last 3000 kms like a new tire. I might only get 1000 kms before I have to change it. So, then I take the front tire, which now has 1000 kms of light wear, and put it on the rear, and another new one on the front. I have covered 4000 kms and used up two tires.
That rear one might last 2000 kms, and once again, I put the front one on the rear with 2000 kms of light wear, and another new one on the front. I have covered 6000 kms and used up three tires.
That rear one might last 1500 kms, and once again, I put the front one on the rear with 1500 kms of light wear, and another new one on the front. I have covered 7500 kms and used up four tires.
That rear one might last 2000 kms, and once again, I put the front one on the rear with 2000 kms of light wear, and another new one on the front. I have covered 9500 kms and used up five tires.

And by time time I'm closing in on 10000 kms, I've used up approx. 5 tires, just like I did with my method.

Or are my calculations wrong?



But now you've got me wondering when I last changed my tires. Hmmmm ....

urbanknight

I'm liking the buying 3 tires thing. Going to try that now, since it makes so much sense. Rotating them doesn't make sense, because you'd be better off throwing the rear tire away, and since that one lasts the shortest, it might as well be replaced with a new fresh one.

Machka 

Exactly .... except that I usually buy my tires in bulk (more than 3) because the place I get them is 100 miles away and I don't get down there very often.

urbanknight

Ahh, I think I have about 100 bike shops within 100 miles of here. My only problem with buying only 2 tires is that I don't do enough miles to wear the rear out before the tire model goes out of production. I guess that's a good reason to just replace both tires at the same time, then, since 3 years starts to crack the rubber.

UmneyDurak

I swap tires as they get worn out. As the result my front and back tire look different. Who cares? I'm not that OCP.

redfooj

youre right... same mileage means same wear means same consumption over longer term no matter what method you use. rotating the tires just delay the purchase of that first replacement

SilentShifter

I never swap, I replace both at the same time. Sure the front probably has more life left in it, but I don't care.

psuaero

Isn't that just a quick afternoon bike trip for you...

lrzipris

Machka said, "I never swap my tires. I don't see the point. When my rear tire wears out, I replace it. When my front tire wears out, I replace it. I have never understood how swapping tires extends their lives."

and UmneyDurak said, "I swap tires as they get worn out. As the result my front and back tire look different. Who cares? I'm not that OCP."

Likewise. Change as needed. Ride. Enjoy.

Machka also said, "...I usually buy my tires in bulk (more than 3) because the place I get them is 100 miles away and I don't get down there very often."

Well, with the miles you ride, my friend, you probably need new tires more frequently than most of us, so buying in bulk is simply smart shopping.

merlinextraligh

+1 Riding the bike causes a given amount of wear per mile. Each tire has a certain amount of wear it can take. You can't magically create more wear resistence. If you ride your tires till they are worn out, over time you are going to buy as many tires per mile either way. So why create work for yourself?

nobrainer440

When the rear wears out, then move the front to the rear, and put the new one on the front. Don't move worn rear tires to the front. If anything, it makes handling worse.

lrzipris

+1, -1.... Well, we settled that question!