different tyre sizes

Hi All,

As matter of interest does anyone run different size tyres on their bike?

This may be something like having 700 x28 on the back and 700 x 23 on the front etc. If so what is the benefit, if any?

Hi Peddler

I did for a short time while I was changing from dirt tyres to road tyres. My rear dirt tyre wore out first so I put the front dirt tyre on the back and a new kevalr road tyre 700 x 28 on the front.

It actually looked quite good with a fat tyre on the back, gave it a sort of tricked up knarly look?

Anyway, it didn't really make any difference to riding it because road tyres are for the road and dirt tyres are for dirt and ne'er the twain shall meet.

The road tyres I use now are great for the commute but do not handle the odd sandy patches at all compared with the dirt tyres. Perhaps the dirt tyre on the front instead of the back may have been useful in handling rough terrain but would have looked rather odd.

Cheers,

AdamVW

I believe most riders have the same width tires front and rear.

If you have 2 different widths, it's my opinion that the larger tire should be up front to give better traction during steering. Others like the larger tire on the rear because it sees most of the rider's weight and wears more quickly.

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It's not a totally uncommon thing to run two different sized tires. In fact, Continental does that in their Attack/Force tire package, which has 22mm tire on the front and a 23mm tire on the back. The thinking behind this is that the narrower tire in front gives a small aerodynamic advantage.

I have experimented with having a fatter tire on the front as it softens up the front and gives better steering traction. Yet find that just running a slightly lower pressure on the front has much the same effect.

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Having the same tyres front and back means that you will always have a newish front tyre, as you simply put the new tyre on the front and move the old front tyre to the rear. It's reassuring to have a new tyre on the front, as front wheel blowouts or rapid-onset flats are undesirable.

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I currently have 700x28C tires on my road bike but am about to chang to 700x23c. Are there any advantages to going narrower like I am going to do?

I ran 23 on the front and 28 on the rear of my commuter for a while and had no problems with it. Basically I use up all of the old stuff on the rear of my commuter, so it can end up with anything on it.

Switching from 28 to 23 will improve aerodynamics but degrade rolling resistance. So it really depends on how fast you ride.

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And degrade comfort! And increase the peak loads on wheels and frame.

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