I had to replace one of my Marathon Supremes with a regular Marathon of the same size. I kept the grippier Supreme on the back. I figured that would help me avoid those smoky burnouts, but more importantly I thought that since it was lighter, I could get it up to speed faster. It made sense in my mind.

Now, I'm thinking that I want the grippier tire in front. It seems like if I lose traction up front, like while turning on a wet road, I'm way more likely to hit the pavement than if I lose traction in the rear. Plus, I've got more weight on the rear tire which should help with traction.

What do you guys think?

If your rear tire shows much wear, if looks planar, don't movie it up front. Otherwise, if you want it up front, put it up front.

Also, understand rear tires wear substantially faster than front tires.

You should be fine. It'd be better to run the same tire front and back though.

Also even if it's pouring outside, losing traction shouldn't be an issue. I'm fine year round with some gatorskins.

I like both of my tires to grip the same. Cornering is different than a car - it is a lean and both tires are responsible for holding. When I've went down in te rain, it has been from leaning too hard and both tires slipping out from under me. I would opt for tire life and put the tire with more life left on the rear. IME, rear tires wear faster.

Thank you for the replies. I'm going to put the new standard Marathon on back and roll like that until I feel like dropping a buck thirty on two new Supremes. Thanks again.

i came in here to tell you exactly what you said in your original post. easier to recover from traction loss in the rear. keep the good stuff up front