should tires be rotated?

Here is the *proper* and really only way to rotate your tire:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-rotation.html

Donald Specker said:

The rear tire on my new/used road bike has a flat central area, the front
not at all. Is rotation on road bikes a recommended move?

Two answers:

First answer: If you want to swap your tires between front and rear,
and assuming that you run the same size on both ends, there is no
objection to doing so. It is neither recommended nor considered
universally inadvisable as far as I am aware. Many cyclists use
different widths of tire on front and rear; in that instance, rotation
may produce an unwanted result.

Second answer: Tires should always be rotating during use.
Non-rotating tires quickly develop flat spots and cause increased
pedalling effort.

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Donald Specker said:

The rear tire on my new/used road bike has a flat central area, the front
not at all. Is rotation on road bikes a recommended move?

Thanks.

Dear Donald,

The rear tire tends to wear more for three reasons.

First, there's usually more weight on the rear.

Second, the rear tire transmits all the driving force, so
there's an almost constant tiny scrubbing.

Third, some riders (not us, of course) grab too much rear
brake, lock the rear tire, skid, and wear off small sections
of the tire dramatically--which is almost impossible on a
front tire.

So yes, rotation might coax a longer life out of a pair of
bicycle tires.

But no, it's a bad idea to put a worn tire on the front,
since that's the one that's crucial for steering and
stopping. If a tire is going to blow out, you want it to be
the rear tire.

Luckily for us, we tend to notice the front tire when it
starts to look funny, since it's literally under our noses.

(Not that I noticed a 3-inch worn-out patch on a tire last
week just before I was about to set out for a ride and was
glad that it was on the rear, not the front. I suspect that
someone must have grabbed too much rear brake heading into
the driveway and scraped off the already paper-thin layer of
badly worn rubber.)

Carl Fogel

Most tires aren't sold in pairs so it is not necessary.

Eric

Donald Specker said:

The rear tire on my new/used road bike has a flat central area, the

front

Quoted message said:

not at all. Is rotation on road bikes a recommended move?

Thanks.

Since it's the one that steers,and the one with the less weight on it,
the best tire should always go onto the front. I don't think it's a
good idea to put a worn tire onto the front.

someone said:

Thing is, you won't get more total miles by rotating.

Quoted message said:

So there is no point really.

Quoted message said:

Maybe what makes sense is, wait until the rear wears out, buy a new
one, but rotate then, always putting the newest tire on the front.

Isn't that where we started in this thread. It seems to have been
overlooked but this is the advice given every time this subject comes
up.

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