MrCjolsen

After the initial 200 miles I've put on my new Trek 1000c, I've noticed that the rubber shaving stuff left over from the manufacture around the edges of my tires has completely worn off the rear tire, but not off the front.

That leads me to believe that the rear tire is wearing faster than the front.

The tires are not f-r specific.

Should I rotate them, and how often?

late

No,
the experts think rotating is a bad idea on a bike.
When you get ready, just replace it with a better tire.
I like the Vredstein Fortezza in your size.

Hitchy

G'day,

the rear tyre will always wear the quickest on a road bike. Rotate 'em if you can be bothered. My observations are that my front tyre lasts around twice as long as the rear, so I'm buying 2 rears for every front. On that basis, rotating them won't change my 'economic equation'. Your 'wear' equation might be different, but you'll still 'wear' the rear quicker than the front

hitchy

DieselDan

No, you don't want a worn tire up front! Don't learn the hard way. When your rear tire wears out, buy one new tire, put that up front, put your old front on the rear.

jbhowat

It makes no difference, really - but most people would say its OK to rotate the FRONT to the REAR and buy a new one for the front every time a rear one wears out. I used to do this (now I have front/rear specific tires), that way i always had the best rubber in front.

Spoke

Yes, the rear tire wears faster than the front tire. You want your best tire on the front. If you are going to have a flat due to a worn tire, you want the rear tire to go flat, not the front. You are more likely to crash with a flat on the front than on the rear. So, when your back tire is worn out, put a new tire on the front, put the front tire on the rear, and put the rear tire in the trash, or find another use for it, just don't put it on the front! And ride!
-Spoke

zacster

I would agree with the front to rear thing, except that most flats also occur in the rear anyway, so moving the slightly worn front tire to the rear is only asking for more flats.

Here's what I do: I put a new pair on at the beginning of the season. When the rear gets worn out and I get a flat or two, I'll replace both tires. I'll keep the front as a spare, and throw out the rear. At the end of the season if the rear is getting worn again, I'll use the old front just to keep me going. If not, I'll just use the front as a trainer tire. AT some point though, you'll find yourself with a bunch of slightly worn front tires, so use them if they're still good. If you have multiple sets of wheels, you'll have plenty of use for the not so worn out front tires. My basement floor is littered with old maybe still usable tires, that I'll never use again. Time to clean up.

alanbikehouston

If your goal is to get the maximum miles out of two tires, rotate them front to back, and also (with slicks) reverse them side to side - the sidewall on the right becomes the sidewall on the left. Doing this every five hundred miles or so doubles the life of a given pair of tires.

But, I am to lazy to change a tire until absolutely necessary. So, I buy three tires when I see a good "sale". When the rear tire gets worn out, I replace it with the third tire. By the time the front tire is worn out, it is time for three more tires.

About a quarter of the price of a car tire comes from various federal and state taxes and fees incorporated into the price of the tire. Leaving out those taxes, the "best" bike tires cost more than many car tires. And, at dollars per ounce, "top" bike tires are astoundingly expensive - no wonder folks try to figure out how to get more miles out of a set of bike tires.

bryan6

. . . and change your oil every 3000 miles too Just kiding, I would say to replace the worn rear tire with a new one and not put it up front. I wouldn't want a worn tire anywhere on my bike. I think the 2 : 1 ratio works pretty well here, 2 rear tires to 1 front tire.

wlevey

The best way to answer your question is with a question -

Which tire would you rather have a blowout on?? Most people will answer the rear. The ones who say front are probably answering from heaven!!

It ain't worth the risk no matter how expensive a tire you use!!!

operator

Do not ever rotate tires on a bike

Avalanche325

I second this. The rear will wear out first. Move the old front the the rear. Put the new tire on the front. Never put a worn tire on the front.

Ceiliazul

I agree with Avalanche, when the back tire gets tired, the front one moves back and a shiny new one goes on the front wheel.

This means I don't have to worry about any 2:1 wear ratio stuff: all my tires get used all the way with the best part of every one of them where it counts: the front wheel.

-ceil

climbo

if your tyres are at the point where you are worried about a blowout, I'd get 2 new tyres. Back, front, who really wants a blowout at all ?!?!? It's along walk home.