[Closed] Prefer matching front and rear tyres?

Matching brands at an absolute minimum.

On the road bike yes, on the MTB matching brands but not tyres.

The front and back do completely different jobs and require different properties. Why would you use the same for both?

Brands yes, models hardly ever.

Lots of front and rear specific tyres out there, so it's not a kitten killer.

I stick to brands largely because when I had a Motorbike you HAD to match tyres (some mix and match was possible with different tyres within the same brand) or you'd knacker the handling/grip, or at least that's what they said.

I've used Highrollers front and back but had a supertacky on the front. It was ok.

I generally put a grippier tyre on the front though. TBH brand continuity of tyres wouldn't really matter as I have different wheels any way!!!! 😯

I ran Purgatory's front and back for a year or so on my Soul and thought they were great. Recently swopped the front to a Butcher and won't be going back to a Purg on front 🙂

No, specialized something on front and a quite worn high roller 2 on the rear at the moment. So long as they do what I want them to I'm not bothered what name they have on them.

MTB?

The front and back do completely different jobs and require different properties. Why would you use the same for both?

+1000 times this

There are a small number of tyres that work pretty well at either end, but even then I'm unlikely to run the same at both ends as I [i]want [/i]them to behave differently. I prefer a grippier, (and often bigger tyre) at the front, and I want them to behave differently when leant and pushed too. The only exception being on trials bike where bigger and grippier at the back is always needed.

Road?

not bothered either way as long as they do what I want, I quite often run a slightly bigger and more supple tyre at the front for longer rides to improve comfort at the front end, slightly tougher and harder wearing at the back especially if carrying anything on the back.

I generally put a grippier tyre on the front though

Oh this is the only way for me, reasons:

Riding fast downhill, lose the rear, mucho fun, lose the front, crash, better to have the rear go first.

Climbing, saddle up, weight mostly over the rear tyre, less grip, less drag, it's a rare day I spin up the rear climbing.

Why would you use the same for both?

I used to be very OCD about matching tyres, until I once bought two Ardents, fitted them and attempted to steer around something. The end result in hindsight was amusing to say the least. Fitting a High Roller up front mostly resolved the issue.

Given that a front and back wheel have two different jobs to do, it makes sense that there are different tread patterns.

I can't abide two entirely different brands on the same bike though. There's no rational reason why, but seeing a bike with such an arrangement makes my brain itch.

Usually I do, sometimes I don't.

I run Highroller 2s front and rear on my full sus bike and Conti Mtn Kings front and rear on the hardtail. I might swap the rears to a Mavic Roam but I think that'd spoil summer for everyone. I do like having a drifty rear tyre on with a very grippy front but I also like to put a tyre on and leave it til it's part way goosed, then swap them front to back so I can get as much life out of them as I can.

Horses for courses. Usually grippier (possibly wider) front, easier rolling rear. Ardent/Crossmark as a 29er, Nobby Nic/FatBnimble for B+. Loving Bonty XR4s front and rear on my Marley though.

Fatbike is a permutation of Nates and Husker Dus depending on snow conditions, but usually grippier front again.

Matching tyres, no, not really, although I do tend to run Minion DHF's F&R most of the time.

Absolutely matching brands - sends my OCD into orbit to see different brands on the same bike.

For proper mtbing, almost never. Brand matching should only be a coincidence, it's all about each tyre being right and doing what you need it to do - function is first priority all day long. I almost always need the front to do different things to the rear for best performance.

andysredmini - Member

The front and back do completely different jobs and require different properties. Why would you use the same for both?

They both do an awful lot of steering and braking, the only extra thing a rear does is give traction under power.

I've switched about loads of times over the years, generally end up remembering that I want to the rear to have loads of cornering grip too. Maybe it from riding nowt but DH for years, but it's generally how i end up going. Currently on 2 Butchers or 2 Storms if the weather's grim. Had a Purgatory and an Advantage on the back, felt compromised when descending. Before all of that I would run 2 Minion DHFs.

If I was looking for a more XC setup, then I'd probably shove something faster on the back. As it is, I'll keep all the grip.

Depends on the tyre really. Quite like Xking front and rear on hardtail, although have thought about a race king or thunder burt on the rear for even more speed. Quite like having a little extra traction in mud or loose climbs though.

Running Minion DHF front and back at the moment.
If I want less rolling resistance I'll swap for a DHR on the back.
When it gets a bit muddy / loose I'll stick a shorty on the front.

Try and stick to the same brand if I can but it's not really necessary. Does look really odd with different tyre logos, especially if they line up with the valve differently 😉

Got Ardents front and back on my hardtail (SHOCK HORROR!), and HR2s on my full sus. Seems fine to me.

I've never understood matching front and rear. They do very different jobs. Steery and tractiony.

Only on the way up. On the way down they both brake and steer.

Depends on your priorities really

In the winter - yes. Beaver front and rear.

matching tyres but different width. 2.25 up front and 2.1 on the back. Seems to work for me and stops my OCD twitching

On the way down one does more steering and braking than the other. That's the priorities.

Always matching brands, but not usually tyres.

The big bike is running a DHF and DHRII combo at the mo and the little bike runs the same in the winter but is currently running a Minion SS on the rear at the mo.

Running Minion DHF front and back at the moment.
If I want less rolling resistance I'll swap for a DHR on the back.
When it gets a bit muddy / loose I'll stick a shorty on the front.

I've always found a pair of DHF's to be super quick.

R - Smoke
F - Dart

/End

As long as they match the frame you are okay
[img] [/img]

By 'feeling' I mean the feedback from the trail (not the ocd stuff). More even, consistent traction front and rear (good or bad), better balanced feel, I'm less consious of front vs rear.

depends...i do and i dont
my road bike has matching tyres
my mtb has 2 pairs of wheels
one pair use a schwalbe muddy mary up front and a hans dampf
the other pair used to have a pair of maxxis ignitors but i got rid of them and i was using a pair of panaracer fire fr (the tread pattern require the rear to be run in the opposite direction f the the front) but while i was doing a tubeless conversion on them last night the rear blew off the rim spectacularly and destroyed the kevlar bead...so now i'm running a specialized butcher up front and a continental baron at the back

Ardent 2.4 29er on 45mm rim front and Nobby Nic 2.3 27.5 on 35mm rim rear. Stick that in your OCD pipe.........

i'm running a [b]specialized[/b] butcher up front and a [b]continental[/b] baron at the back

*reported*

Bike one on one and Schwalb
Bike two geax and maxxis
Bike three on one and schwalbe

Dyno hubbed wheel that pits itself about a bit... geax

Road bikes jumpbike and everything else match.

They do a different job so I generally use different tyres or at least versions.

Unfussed about branding but tbh there's only really a couple of brands I like/trust, so they do tend to be the same.

Same brand, different tyres for me. Grippier front, faster rear.

Same brand, different tyres for me. Grippier front, faster rear.

Succinctly put.

I always put the part worn from the front on the rear when the rear wears out. It means the front always has the newer, more grippy tyre, and the rear always has reduced tread and is slightly faster.

Don't care, as long as the logos are aligned with the valves. And they are the same brand. Ideally maxxis off road, conti gp4000s on road.

Depends on season, bike and application.

I run Spesh Storm Controls or Maxxis Beavers through the winter, but currently have Spesh Slaughter and Butcher on the suss bike.

If I were going on an uplift holiday I'd probably go for two front tyres, purely for the extra brake grip.

Similarly if I were XC racing in the dry I'd go as low-profile as possible.

But yeah, mixing brands makes me twitch.

In mixed conditions, the same tyres but a stickier compound at the front. When it's drier a semi-slick version at the back (so it still has the big side knobs for cornering), and when it's muddier a cut spike at the front.

I've noticed a lot of enduro racers are running heavier casings at the back, even if the tyres match otherwise, and downhillers are sometimes running lighter than full dual-ply casings on the front as it's usually the rear that punctures.

I had diff tyres front and rear on my 2 MTBs

But this thread has just made me realise that I have just put WTB Nano 2.1s front and rear on my rigid bike... will the world now implode?

I might be wrong, probably am, but I think the only time I've ever used different tyres front/back was while waiting for my RDS-FDS rotor adapter.

It didn't look odd at all, with a 4.0 JJ front and a 35c Randonneur Pro rear. 😆

Make it more complicated and allow mixed brands but insist on same manufacturer. "Well it's all chen shin isn't it really so I've got a minion on the front and a butcher on the back and a chunky monkey on the other bike and..."

Yes definitely, same brand/different tyres here also.
TBH pictures of secondhand bikes with mis-matched branded tyres have been enough to put me off of enquiring any further about said bicycles.

i'm running a specialized butcher up front and a continental baron at the back
*reported*

they're 26" as well 😛

I ride what I think's best for the conditions or experiment. Don't really care if the brands are mixed. At the moment running a conti baron on the front and nobby nic on the back. The baron is slipping out a bit in these dusty/sandy conditions around here but nothing too bad yet.

On my very first MTB I had a pair of Tioga Factory XC tyres (yes that old 🙂 ). They were front and rear specific with each having a very distinct tread pattern suited to its role.

Just done a search and see they're still available after all these years in all their steel beaded goodness at under £20 for a pair. Pic below - probably not recommended for serious use..

[img] [/img]

chunky monkeys front and rear for me (different models), grippy front and reasonably rolling rear, enduro on the front trail extreme on the rear great value, and made by Maxxis

Currently running a Chunky monkey on the front and a Rock Razor supergravity on the rear, so no I don't care about matching tyres. Whatever suits the riding I'm doing. Tyres and tyre pressure are something I obsess over far too much just not manufacturer.

Same brand and to be honest same tyre fore & aft on all bikes, MTB, road, CX & Fat.

I toy with the idea from time to time of putting a faster rolling one on the back of my MTB but for what I think I'd gain I CBA'd.

I've got 2.25" Vittoria Barzo TNT's on the 29er FS, Vittoria XL or XG Pro TNT on the CX bike, Conti GP4000 SII's on the road and 4.0" Schwalbe Jumbo Jim TLE Snake Skins on the fattie.

I do always run the different pressures front and rear though.

I don't even make sure my rims and wheels match never mind my tyres

Almost always a Minion up front though and something cheap and voluminous on the rear

But this thread has just made me realise that I have just put WTB Nano 2.1s front and rear on my rigid bike... will the world now implode?

Are we still here?

don't care about the make only care about the performance. currently sporting a conti baron 2.4 F slaughter rear, did have an XR4 on the front. Earlier in the year I was running HR2 2.4 F&R

i never have matching rear and front tyres.

total mish-mash of various surly, maxxis, geax and on-ones depending on conditions and time of year. i do line up the all tyre logos with the valve though, I'm not a total savage.

Subvert the whole thing maaaan. Minion DHR on the front.

Always same. Not smart enough to spec different tyres front and back although I could just follow the STW recommendation/herd. I do get the different jobs and even different size arguments.

FS: Hans Dampf's and HT: Fat Alberts fwiw

Have rafters full of part worns:

Wired Bontrager slicks that way nearly a kilo each and would puncture if rolled slowly across velvet.

Minion DHF Supertacky.

Ignitor/Crossmark combo I was saving for summer. The Crossmark is bigger than the Ignitor, which is unfortunate.

An utterly shite Nobby Nic that Binners recommended.
Amusingly unsuited to either front or rear use.
May have been designed for a pram.

Pair of Cinders - 'emergency' spares that haven't been unfolded for 10 years.
I think the mice may have been at them, best for the bin.

You make decent matching pairs out of that lot.