Topic: Direction of rotation / directional tires

[jsaab2748]

How important is it and what might the effects be if the front tire was installed  for reverse rotation?
Had it installed about 1000 miles ago, noticed it was backwards while washing the bike. Nothing happenning so far, and tire was balanced when installed. Any thoughts? thanx jim

[Quail "Owner of the comfortable k8"]

Stay out of the rain.  The tire was belted to be pulled in one direction also.  It could be damaged by accel.  Braking could be affected.  I would mark the weight on the tire and turn it around, it will be in balance that way.  It will take no more than an hour and you will be riding safer. 

[Buffo]

TURN THAT TIRE TO THE CORRECT ROTATION!!!  That is no small affair. when you hit water  or sand ...anything... instead of your tire bitting into it and moving it to the sides of the tire, it will pull it twards the center of your tire taking a huge portion of your traction away.

Don

[kghost]

Really, turn that sucker around.

The above posts are correct in pointing out that the tread design is make to keep the tire from Hydroplaning in wet conditions.

Hydroplaning is when your tire contact patch is riding on a layer of water (or steam, or reverted rubber, before I get the inevitable posts) instead of the road surface.

Slicks, while providing great traction in dry conditions, do this in the wet. Thats why you see the rain tires come out. They have tread.

Tread design (AND DIRECTION OF TRAVEL) is critical for performance in wet conditions.

[Matt at PSB]

I am a large Bridgestone dealer in my area. Bridgestone says that once a tire has been run for more than 100 miles (161Km) in the wrong direction no dealer is to reverse said tire. Reversing said tire could lead to delamination of the tire cords. Bridgestone officially recommends replacing the customer’s tire at dealer cost to the customer so as to avoid further problems/liability.

You should suggest this solution to the monkeys that sold & mis-mounted your tire. If you did not purchase your tire from the entity that mounted your tire than it is entirely your bad & you are stuck holding a bag of manure. Make better choices next time.

Cheap ass it it out again by just reversing said tire on the rim & it could well cost you your life. Only you can assign a dollar value to that. Of course there will be eleven-seventy guys that will tell you that they always do it this way. Once again only you can assign a higher value to your life than the average Wal-Mart shopper.

[jsaab2748]

I guess the reason I never noticed anything weird is because my bike never sees rain. Thankfully I didn't learn the possible consequences of this condition the hard way. I'll rectify this condition very soon. To be fair, the guy I bought the tires from mounted and balanced them as carry ins, and the front tire was a "late nighter" and I think an honest mistake. From now on though, I'll check before I put the wheel back on the bike!