Tyre Direction

[sabrinaman]

I've put my back tyre on the wrong way round so that the little arrow that says "direction" is going backwards. What's going to happen to me??

[beardy]

It is going to nag at you, at the back of your mind, always there until you crack and turn it around.

Failing that you will forget all about it and put it back on properly next time you have a puncture.

[andrew_s]

Failing that you will forget all about it and perhaps put it back on properly next time you have a puncture.

Only a 50% chance if you've forgotten about direction arrows, and then only if you take the tyre right off for a puncture.

It will make a difference to mud clearing and stuff on an MTB nobbly, but for a road tyre you'd never tell without checking.

[Mick F]

I've put my back tyre on the wrong way round so that the little arrow that says "direction" is going backwards. What's going to happen to me??

What sort of tyre is it?
I guess it won't make much difference at all.

My tyres - been using the same make and model for years - used to have direction arrows on them, but the newer ones don't any more. Strange really, if it made a difference before, why doesn't it make a difference now?

[Audax67]

Never mind the arrows. If the tread is in a roughly V-shaped pattern then the Vs should point forward at the top of the tyre. If you have it back to front then water won't be expelled as efficiently when you're riding, but since it rarely rains in the UK this shouldn't be an issue (er...) In any case on a road tyre the difference will be marginal.

On GP4000's (at least, the last couple I bought) the arrows are beside the wear tell-tales. I always put these next to the valve because once the tyre gets a bit worn they can be hard to find.

[Vantage]

What's going to happen to me??

Life as we know will cease.
The wrong facing arrows will churn up the air in an unnatural fashion leading to a vortex that will create a black hole into which the fabric of the space time continuum will disappear and the entire galaxy will explode.
Hope you're happy with yourself.

[niggle]

What's going to happen to me??

Life as we know will cease.
The wrong facing arrows will churn up the air in an unnatural fashion leading to a vortex that will create a black hole into which the fabric of the space time continuum will disappear and the entire galaxy will explode.

Unless you ride backwards then all will be well

[RJS]

I think I remember a motorcycle tyre that the arrow pointed one way for front fitment and the other for rear, don't worry about it, unless you believe vantage
Cheers, Rob.

[mercalia]

I've put my back tyre on the wrong way round so that the little arrow that says "direction" is going backwards. What's going to happen to me??

u 'll go backwards?

[notlobgp14]

We've just come home after an Atlantic to Med trip, two couples on two Tandems fully loaded and towing trailers. All sorts of tyre problems from first day of riding, resulting in me fitting a Marathon Plus to the rear wheel, donated from front of companion bike. In error I fitted it the wrong way round and did not bother to reverse it. When 'grinding' our way up the Cols, we could hear the tyre biting in on each power stroke; we're not sure if this was worse due to wrong direction. Eventually the tyre delaminated and got a bulgeon on the circumference. It is possible that it was run under pressure as we did not take a pressure gauge; school boy error?

Not sure if the direction has anything to contribute but I will always fit in accordance with the arrows in future.

[pete75]

What's going to happen to me??

Life as we know will cease.
The wrong facing arrows will churn up the air in an unnatural fashion leading to a vortex that will create a black hole into which the fabric of the space time continuum will disappear and the entire galaxy will explode.
Hope you're happy with yourself.

Crikey that does sound bad. I thought it'd just make his genitals fall off....

[sabrinaman]

Brilliant stuff!

[reohn2]

It is going to nag at you, at the back of your mind, always there until you crack and turn it around.

That's unless the tyre police don't get him first

Failing that you will forget all about it and put it back on properly next time you have a puncture.

That's done it

[[XAP]Bob]

I think I remember a motorcycle tyre that the arrow pointed one way for front fitment and the other for rear, don't worry about it, unless you believe vantage
Cheers, Rob.

For off road use I can see the logic - the rear wheel accelerates you - the front wheel brakes - so they want maximal grip in different directions (I suppose if the strength of construction of the ply's is very directional the same could apply on a road tyre).

On the road however siping is required to prevent (wide) tyres from aquaplaning at speed. I think the stats that are quoted suggest a cyclist would have to be doing about 300mph before they aquaplaned. Note that aquaplaning is different from the general reduction in traction from a wet road.


For a pedal cycle on the road it's basically an aesthetic and ease of maintenance thing (finding thorns etc. in the casing is easier if you know which way round it was). For a seriously off road vehicle there might be logic in having one wheel going "backwards".

[hamster]

Never mind the arrows. If the tread is in a roughly V-shaped pattern then the Vs should point forward at the top of the tyre. If you have it back to front then water won't be expelled as efficiently when you're riding, but since it rarely rains in the UK this shouldn't be an issue (er...) In any case on a road tyre the difference will be marginal.

On GP4000's (at least, the last couple I bought) the arrows are beside the wear tell-tales. I always put these next to the valve because once the tyre gets a bit worn they can be hard to find.

The water replusion thing is a red herring. Aquaplaning is related to the width of the tyre; you need to be doing a couple of hundred mph at least to aquaplane a bike tyre.