Mix tires?
 

I was wondering if I should experiment or wait until l I get matching treads. I have a Trek 820 that has Bonterager Light Trail (knobby type) on front and back. I want to get a more pavement friendly set of tires. Would just getting the front tire(due to current funding) make much of a difference or would it make more sense to wait. Any body been through this dilema?? Thanks

On a bike each tire is 50% of the handling so if logic follows reason it would be better , and safer, to run matched sets if you can.

Probably won't make much of difference. FWIW on my old Raleigh Sports I have a cyclo cross tire in the back for traction and a street tread tire in the front for the smoother ride.

Aaron :)

I was browsing at Wally World and just thought Id check their tires. Wel, I saw some "comfort" tires in a Bell box and I liked the tread pattern. Bought 2 of them due to the price being right. They are Innovas 26x1.75 Kevlar w/foldable wire beads. Put them on the 820 Mtb, what a difference. Quiet ,smooth, and lots faster. Mission accomplished ... hope they last. Thanks for the replies.

I'd rather have traction up front and smooth ride in the rear.
If your front tire gets loose, it's scary and sometimes painful. If the rear loses traction, it's less serious.
The rear tire carries more weight so if a smooth ride is your goal, a smooth tire in back makes more sense than up front.

I would put wider in front if using dissimilar width tires.

Handling is almost never 50% front and rear, especially on an upright bike. It is entirely feasible to improve handling by having slightly different pressure, widths, treads and even compounds. Just as you can tune an off-road ride with front and rear specific tires, you can do the same on the road.

:)ensen.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. The road leading to my house is mostly a sand clay mix, a smooth tire on the rear slips when you apply power, the front tire, being smooth cuts down into the sand and rolls along just fine. When I did run the cyclocross tire on the front it added a buzz to the feel when riding. FWIW the tires are 35-590.

Aaron :)

On mountain and cross-country bikes it's common to mix tires for riding on dirt, some even come in pairs where tires are designated to be the front and the rear tire, but for road riding that won't matter.