When Should I Change My Tyres?

When do you change your tyres?

If they’re not directional can you just turn them around?

How do I know if I should change mine? Is it just by feel if there aren’t any obvious holes, or wear in them?

Imused to change when punctures started to happen to often or the grip levels were gone. Now running tubeless so its just when theyre ****.

Either when the tread is so worn that the grip has dropped right off or when the sidewalls are down to the threads and a tear look imminent.

Or, most likely option 3 is when I just fancy trying something new for no good reason at all 😀

If you are running the same tyres front and rear then it is worth switching the rear to the front as is wears and put the fresher front tyre on the rear. Can’t really see swapping the direction of tyres as especially helpful…

When the side wall gets ripped open like a kipper…so kinda before the next ride!

When corners I could make in my sleep turn into 2 wheel drifts, or I’m going to NZ

If you are running the same tyres front and rear then it is worth switching the rear to the front as is wears and put the fresher front tyre on the rear. Can’t really see swapping the direction of tyres as especially helpful…

Never do this as this will give less grip at the front and if any tyre is going to lose grip I would rather it was the back.
I run xr4s front and back on one bike and it’s best when the rear wears to stick the front on the back and buy a new one for the front.

Depends when you do it Chip. If you switch the rear to the front as it is slightly worn but still looking decent then you can get a fair bit more use from the pair.

Also depends on the tyre as I’ve found Schwalbe for example are pretty “plastic” when new and need some riding time to lose the horrible plasticy coating and soften up a bit. Just using the front on the front all the time takes ages for them to “wear in” and get grippy whereas the rear gets to that point quicker since the rear obviously wears faster.

When the rear tread is really on its last legs then putting the front on the rear and buying a new front is the most sensible thing to do, just as you say.

Some tyres lose grip even when they don’t look worn out. Hans Dampfs frinstance go off a lot once the blocks lose their sharp edges. Nevegals seem to rely a lot on their sipes so once those are gone I bin them. Highrollers seem to work fairly well as long as there’s rubber on the carcass. Barons wear out the sidewalls long before the tread. And so on.

So basically, if it feels good use it, otherwise don’t.

Never do this as this will give less grip at the front and if any tyre is going to lose grip I would rather it was the back.
I run xr4s front and back on one bike and it’s best when the rear wears to stick the front on the back and buy a new one for the front.

+1

Never do this as this will give less grip at the front and if any tyre is going to lose grip I would rather it was the back.
I run xr4s front and back on one bike and it’s best when the rear wears to stick the front on the back and buy a new one for the front.

I’m in this camp too, always keep the grippier/fresher tyre on the front.

I normally run mismatched anyway with faster rolling tyre on the rear, but if/when I do run same front and rear, I always do the front-> rear, and new on front thing.

Sadly most of my tyres die a horrible carcass shredding death from all the pointy flinty bits long before the tread wears out 🙁

+1 for grippier tyre up front.

the rear wears faster.

so the new one goes on the front, the part worn (ex-front) gets switched to the rear

normally the front which has been used in winter has its edge removed so its a faster rear in spring.

I’ve got a Trailstar/Pacestar front/rear HD combo. I have a new Pacestar, but the rear is looking a bit tatty.

It just depends on the state of the thing. When the knobs get worn down, more of the carcass is subject to puncture risk.

As an aside, I’m having problems again with Trailstar Dampf on the front – the side knobs are half ripped-off just after that weekends riding in The Lakes. It doesn’t happen to the excellent Pacestar Dampf so I’m thinking it’s just a weak compound to be using for unsupported side-knobs. Frustrating to be throwing away an expensive, nearly new tyre!

Give it to me, I can put it on my SS.

It’s 650b you muppet

Perfect excuse to buy a new front wheel for the Whippet!

+ chip

Put front on rear and new tyre on the front

I run totally different tyres front/back; the front I change when the grip disappears and the rear when they are bald/puncture easily (tubeless).

When I say ‘change’, what I actually mean is buy a new one and put the old one on the pile of tyres in my workshop… 🙂

buzz-lightyear – Member

As an aside, I’m having problems again with Trailstar Dampf on the front – the side knobs are half ripped-off just after that weekends riding in The Lakes. It doesn’t happen to the excellent Pacestar Dampf so I’m thinking it’s just a weak compound to be using for unsupported side-knobs. Frustrating to be throwing away an expensive, nearly new tyre!

Schwalbe have replaced tyres for this in the past, it’s one of their known faults- worth trying.