Tread Patterns

[Ruttager]

This has been bugging me for a while now and the net hasn't thrown up and decent answers so I'll put it to you guys:

The tread patterns on tyres a directionally specific, but why is it that the front tyre tread direction differs from the back? both wheels spin in the same direction after all. The only answer that I can guess is that the back one handles acceleration better and the front braking... obviously. yet the tyre pattern looks like it pushes water into the middle of the tyre on the front wheels which is what confuses me?

The links below hopefully highlight what I mean:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1166/560398125_b9e5...

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1129/560398099_adc0...

I hope that makes sense and I'm not just being a tool

[black-k1]

Ruttager said:

The only answer that I can guess is that the back one handles acceleration better and the front braking... obviously.

I hope that makes sense and I'm not just being a tool

I think that's it! The 'greatest' forces that a rear tyre has to handle are when pushing the bike forwards and the 'greatest' forces for the front are under braking (effectivly pushing backwards), hence the tread paterns go the other way.

[The Excession]

black-k1 said:

Ruttager said:

The only answer that I can guess is that the back one handles acceleration better and the front braking... obviously.

I hope that makes sense and I'm not just being a tool

I think that's it! The 'greatest' forces that a rear tyre has to handle are when pushing the bike forwards and the 'greatest' forces for the front are under braking (effectivly pushing backwards), hence the tread paterns go the other way.

Aye, wasn't it the old Pirelli Phantoms (showing my age now) that could be fitted front or rear, you just changed the direction of rotation accordingly.

[Momentofmadness]

Not sure about the plate

[catso]

The Excession said:

Aye, wasn't it the old Pirelli Phantoms (showing my age now) that could be fitted front or rear, you just changed the direction of rotation accordingly.

May have been, I remember using Phantoms but can't recall if this was the case, many bicycle tyres follow this principle though.

[black-k1]

catso said:

The Excession said:

Aye, wasn't it the old Pirelli Phantoms (showing my age now) that could be fitted front or rear, you just changed the direction of rotation accordingly.

May have been, I remember using Phantoms but can't recall if this was the case, many bicycle tyres follow this principle though.

I think it was the Phantoms, but I think you could do the same to the Avon Roadrunners. (I had them on my CX500!)

[Ruttager]

Momentofmadness said:

Not sure about the plate

ha ha I never noticed that. I just googled the pics