Are my tires on backwards?

Raphae said:

I have a new bike with WTB All Terraninasaurus tires. I noticed
today that on the tires are the words "front" and "back" with arrows.
Only, the arrows seem to be pointing the wrong way. Front points to
back and back to front. Being that it is new and came from the
manufacturer, I am reluctant to just change them around in the event
that I'm reading something wrong. If you look at the tire from
standing in front of the bike, the treads are kind of in a V that
faces upward. I would think that this *is* actually the right way,
because when the tire moves against the ground the lower part of the V
would touch first. But maybe they should go the other way? I went to
WTB.com in the hope of finding a manual or something, but there is
none.

(Was gonna say) The front is easy to switch -- just remove the skewer and
turn it around (but then I remembered disc brakes). Never mind.

Just ride the bike, and when you get a flat then you can swap tire direction
if you want. (If you find the rear spins out or something, then do it
sooner.)

Bill "it usually doesn't matter much" S.

Raphae said:

I have a new bike with WTB All Terraninasaurus tires. I noticed
today that on the tires are the words "front" and "back" with arrows.
Only, the arrows seem to be pointing the wrong way. Front points to
back and back to front. Being that it is new and came from the
manufacturer, I am reluctant to just change them around in the event
that I'm reading something wrong. If you look at the tire from
standing in front of the bike, the treads are kind of in a V that
faces upward. I would think that this *is* actually the right way,
because when the tire moves against the ground the lower part of the V
would touch first. But maybe they should go the other way? I went to
WTB.com in the hope of finding a manual or something, but there is
none.

The tires should rotate in the direction indicated by the arrows, so it
sounds like the back tire is ok, but the front should be reversed.

Alternatively, is the front tire quick release? It may be that the whole
wheel is on backwards, rather than just the tire - in which case you
should flip the wheel around.

Brandon.

The arrows show the preferable direction of rotation for both front and
back. Next time, try the Motoraptor 2.4 because they rotate the same
direction, front and rear.

JD

"Raphae" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have a new bike with WTB All Terraninasaurus tires. I noticed
today that on the tires are the words "front" and "back" with arrows.
Only, the arrows seem to be pointing the wrong way. Front points to
back and back to front. Being that it is new and came from the
manufacturer, I am reluctant to just change them around in the event
that I'm reading something wrong. If you look at the tire from
standing in front of the bike, the treads are kind of in a V that
faces upward. I would think that this *is* actually the right way,
because when the tire moves against the ground the lower part of the V
would touch first. But maybe they should go the other way? I went to
WTB.com in the hope of finding a manual or something, but there is
none.

From your description it's on backwards. The rear isn't as important but
you'll have better stopping power if you turn the front around. V-pattern
treads stop better when the V's look like scoops rather than arrows when
they are hitting the ground. This was much more pronounced in Darts which
have really pointy knobs.

OTOH the All Terrainasaurus isn't an off-road traction monster so you're not
going to stop well off-road either way.

Greg

"Raphae" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have a new bike with WTB All Terraninasaurus tires. I noticed
today that on the tires are the words "front" and "back" with arrows.
Only, the arrows seem to be pointing the wrong way. Front points to
back and back to front. Being that it is new and came from the
manufacturer, I am reluctant to just change them around in the event
that I'm reading something wrong. If you look at the tire from
standing in front of the bike, the treads are kind of in a V that
faces upward. I would think that this *is* actually the right way,
because when the tire moves against the ground the lower part of the V
would touch first. But maybe they should go the other way? I went to
WTB.com in the hope of finding a manual or something, but there is
none.

This should keep you busy:

http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQtires.shtml

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tires.html

--
DTW .../\.../\.../\...

I've spent most of my money on mountain biking and windsurfing.
The rest, I've just wasted.

Wrong with a big yes. Both arrows should point to the
front of bike.

If you ride loose(r) dirt trails, tires are ok since the open part
of the V will give you more traction. If you ride hard packed
trails, you may consider reversing your tires for less rolling
ressistance since the pointy part of the V hits the ground
first.

--
- Zilla
Cary, NC USA
(Remove XSPAM)

"Raphae" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have a new bike with WTB All Terraninasaurus tires. I noticed
today that on the tires are the words "front" and "back" with arrows.
Only, the arrows seem to be pointing the wrong way. Front points to
back and back to front. Being that it is new and came from the
manufacturer, I am reluctant to just change them around in the event
that I'm reading something wrong. If you look at the tire from
standing in front of the bike, the treads are kind of in a V that
faces upward. I would think that this *is* actually the right way,
because when the tire moves against the ground the lower part of the V
would touch first. But maybe they should go the other way? I went to
WTB.com in the hope of finding a manual or something, but there is
none.

Raphae said:

I have a new bike with WTB All Terraninasaurus tires. I noticed
today that on the tires are the words "front" and "back" with arrows.
Only, the arrows seem to be pointing the wrong way. Front points to
back and back to front. Being that it is new and came from the
manufacturer, I am reluctant to just change them around in the event
that I'm reading something wrong. If you look at the tire from
standing in front of the bike, the treads are kind of in a V that
faces upward. I would think that this *is* actually the right way,
because when the tire moves against the ground the lower part of the V
would touch first. But maybe they should go the other way? I went to
WTB.com in the hope of finding a manual or something, but there is
none.

With the bike parked, just turn the front wheel till the arrow that says
"Front" points to the front. Turn the back wheel till the arrow on the
back points to the back. Then go ride, knowing all is right with the world.
;-)

HTH,
Shawn

On Fri, 5 Aug 2005 12:37:47 -0700, "G.T." <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

From your description it's on backwards. The rear isn't as important but
you'll have better stopping power if you turn the front around. V-pattern
treads stop better when the V's look like scoops rather than arrows when
they are hitting the ground. This was much more pronounced in Darts which
have really pointy knobs.

OTOH the All Terrainasaurus isn't an off-road traction monster so you're not
going to stop well off-road either way.

Greg

Greg, 'sup? Why you tellin' homey to put his front tire on
backwards?...That's cold.

Hear me out. You mentioned that the V-pattern should scoop. (I
paraphrased) But if you scoop you run the chance of losing traction
because you are scooping the dirt under the tire.

What I say you want to do is channel the dirt away to the outside of
the tire (front tire). This is where you have the largest percent of
your braking force.

Now, when you apply your front brake it has the effect of trying the
spin your front tire backwards. (think about that one and you'll see
what I'm talking about)

So, I say that the tires are set up correctly for maximum front
braking power. If you roll your bike backward you should notice that
the "V" would be pushing dirt to the outside edges of the tire, hence
making sure you have a solid contact patch underneath the tire.

Just my long winded explanation of why I think the tires are set up
properly.

BUT....It probably really doesn't matter.

Peace,
Bill

The First law, Inertia: Unless acted upon by an outside force,
a body at rest tends to stay at rest,
and a body in motion tends to stay in motion.
Sir Isaac Newton

"JD" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The arrows show the preferable direction of rotation for both front and
back. Next time, try the Motoraptor 2.4 because they rotate the same
direction, front and rear.

i rotate my tyres once a month.

mental miget said:

"JD" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The arrows show the preferable direction of rotation for both front and
back. Next time, try the Motoraptor 2.4 because they rotate the same
direction, front and rear.

i rotate my tyres once a month.

Dude, you gotta ride more.

Shawn

"Shawn" <sdotcurry@bresnananotherdotnet> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

mental miget said:

"JD" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The arrows show the preferable direction of rotation for both front and
back. Next time, try the Motoraptor 2.4 because they rotate the same
direction, front and rear.

i rotate my tyres once a month.

Dude, you gotta ride more.

what, my bike?