Autoplay Next video from Max length

Reverse Tire Tread Direction OK? Night City Cycling Bike Blogger

4,263 views · Published 5 March 2016 · 10:22 · Indexed 26 October 2026

Channel: BikeBlogger · 2016 · People & Blogs

Is it OK to ride your bike with the tire tread facing backward? Yes...

Tire manufacturers often label their tires with an arrow to indicate which direction it should be mounted on the wheel for least rolling resistance - arrow points in the direction the wheel spins when moving forward. You may actually want to mount the rear tire backwards because more weight is on that tire and it could benefit from the increased traction.

With that in mind, for riding on the road, tire tread does not matter much. In fact, tire tread really only matters for off road biking on surfaces like dirt. The effect of mounting a tire backward is more pronounced the more aggressive the treads.

Automobiles have treads on their tires because they are so heavy the downward force (weight) is so much greater that extra traction is needed at the speeds they travel. A bicycle with much narrower tires on the road would have to be going over 100 MPH to achieve the same benefits because the same risk of hydroplaning over wet surfaces isn't there.

A worn tire tread is indicative of a tire nearing the end of its life. If you fail to keep your tires pumped up the sidewalls may wear out before the tread does.

Quick tip: The rear tire will wear faster than the front tire. When it is time to replace the rear tire, replace it with the front tire and get a new front tire!

Note: This video was filmed in 60fps.

Links
http://www.schwalbetires.com/tech_info/tire_tread
http://www.schwalbetires.com/tech_info/tire_wear

Thanks for watching! And please subscribe!
http://www.bikeblogger.com

Reverse Tire Tread Direction OK? Night City Cycling Bike Blogger

More from this channel