Can anyone tell why you shouldn't use a rear tire on the front of your bike. I'm looking for a wide ( 4" ) front tire with an aggressive tread and some that I have my eye on are classified as rear. Does this really matter?
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Front vs rear
- Thread starter Kinsygrl
- Start date
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- Tags
- tires and rim size
hotrdd
XS650 Junkie
Typically rear tires do not have the same tread pattern as the front tires but it this case it may not be an issue. Just be aware that as you move the tire to the front the wider front tire could increase your chance of hydroplaning and the additional weight may be a little tougher to steer with. I think I remember reading somewhere that the side walls on rear tires are a little thinner as well. Have no idea if that’s true. I think realistically no one can tell you if it works as we can’t see the tires and don’t know the history.
jd750ace
Front Toward Enemy
I will tell you I have a rear tire on the front of my Road Star, installed in reverse rotation.
When installing a directional tire on the front that is intended as a rear, you must reverse rotation. The joint in the carcass reinforcement is a lap joint, unless you have a jointless belt design tire. That lap joint is oriented so the principle torsional force applied to the tire transitions across the joint with the top layer on the leading edge while the principle force is applied. On a rear, the principal torsional force is acceleration, as this is when it will be stressed the hardest. On the front, it is braking, and the dynamic leverage is in the opposite direction. the site this info comes from is dead and gone, but it's from Avon, who's tires were custom builder's choice tire for a while. As recently as 2 weeks ago a Road Star owner installed his front wheel with a new front tire in reverse rotation. The result was wheel hop above 40 MPH. When he turned the wheel around so the tire as turning the right way, PRESTO good to go. the same tends to happen if you do not reverse the rotation of a rear when used as a front. BTW, that sounds like way too much tire on the front of an XS. Your forks won't enjoy that unless you have 41MM or larger tubes grafted on there somehow.
When installing a directional tire on the front that is intended as a rear, you must reverse rotation. The joint in the carcass reinforcement is a lap joint, unless you have a jointless belt design tire. That lap joint is oriented so the principle torsional force applied to the tire transitions across the joint with the top layer on the leading edge while the principle force is applied. On a rear, the principal torsional force is acceleration, as this is when it will be stressed the hardest. On the front, it is braking, and the dynamic leverage is in the opposite direction. the site this info comes from is dead and gone, but it's from Avon, who's tires were custom builder's choice tire for a while. As recently as 2 weeks ago a Road Star owner installed his front wheel with a new front tire in reverse rotation. The result was wheel hop above 40 MPH. When he turned the wheel around so the tire as turning the right way, PRESTO good to go. the same tends to happen if you do not reverse the rotation of a rear when used as a front. BTW, that sounds like way too much tire on the front of an XS. Your forks won't enjoy that unless you have 41MM or larger tubes grafted on there somehow.
