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rotation arrows on conti tyre,s

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  • February 6, 2012 at 4:38 pm #15014
    radfahrer

    I was cleaning mud of my tyre,s today and noticed an arrow on the side wall plus the word rotation, i assume it means the tyre should go on the rim with arrow pointing forwards(of course mine were pointing backwards)so my question is does it make any difference to the rolling of the tyre on the road whether the arrow is pointing backwards or forwards

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  • November 11, 2014 at 1:05 pm #664131
    0
    le Bidon

    I run Conti GP 4000s IIs and
    I run Conti GP 4000s IIs and have had them on the wrong way on numerous occasions. Haven’t experienced any decrease in performance or grip. I hate cycling on the chocolate path though, whether my tyres are on the wrong way or not…

    November 8, 2014 at 2:32 pm #664129
    0
    Chuck

    brooksby wrote:
    Funny thing

    brooksby wrote:

    Funny thing is, it did feel like it made a difference. Part of my commute is on a cobbled-ish path in Bristol called the Chocolate Path, and I do feel much more stable on it with the chevrons pointing forward as I look down at them.

    Hmm – so is it just psychological…?

    I think that’s probably all in your head! 😉
    But that stuff can still have an effect though so it’s all good.

    November 7, 2014 at 10:32 pm #664127
    0
    brooksby

    Well, thank you everyone
    I
    Well, thank you everyone 😀

    I ended up having some spare time so took the tyre off and turned it around.

    The tyres are Conti Touring Plus, so they have tread, proper chevrons, but no “arrow on the side” rotation arrows.

    Funny thing is, it did feel like it made a difference. Part of my commute is on a cobbled-ish path in Bristol called the Chocolate Path, and I do feel much more stable on it with the chevrons pointing forward as I look down at them.

    Hmm – so is it just psychological…?

    November 6, 2014 at 10:03 pm #664125
    0
    PonteD

    Not sure where I read it, it
    Not sure where I read it, it may even have been on here, but a few months ago I read a piece about tread and road tyres. The author had gone to the trouble of asking some of the big manufacturers about tread.

    Overwhelmingly the manufacturers all pretty much stated that for road tyres, the contact patch of a road bike tyre is so small that in the wet aquaplaning was not really a consideration and that the main reason for having tread was to allow the tyre to deform more easily around bumps/variations in the road surface, and consequently provide more surface area in contact with the road. Channeling water (and the risk of aquaplaning) apparently only becomes a problem when the contact area is large (like a car or motorcycle tyre which is huge in comparison to the few square cm that a road bike has).

    Specialized even went as far as saying that even just roughing up slicks provided enough “tread” to improve grip and that in most cases this should be enough.

    So to answer your question, I doubt it really makes much difference, it “feels” wrong to accept this as we’re so used to hearing about how important tread patterns are but don’t forget, that advice is aimed at cars, not bicycles.

    November 6, 2014 at 8:05 pm #664123
    0
    Sidi 700c

    Conti’s, a lot of them, have
    Conti’s, a lot of them, have a some weird semi-circle design on them. Kind of like a wedge. Wide part goes to the rear and the thin to the front.

    I assume you are using road tires.

    November 6, 2014 at 1:26 am #664121
    0
    Richard1982

    I use ‘Continental Grand Prix
    I use ‘Continental Grand Prix TT’ tyres when training in an outdoor velodrome. They have rotation arrows on them but no tread at all. I rotate them as otherwise I’d only get half the use out of them. Never had an issue with them being the wrong way round, although I might start working that into my list of possible excuses for when I have a bad day 😉

    November 5, 2014 at 6:49 pm #664119
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    Chuck

    I think there’s some value in
    I think there’s some value in a bit of tread on more touring-type tyres at this time of year when you can get a sort of thin, slippery sort of paste of mulched up wet leaves on the roads. I have 32mm Marathons and I think they’re maybe a bit better in that sort of stuff than if they were slick.

    For water on the roads though I think it’s pretty widely accepted there’s no benefit, especially on thinner racier tyres. Personally I still make sure they’re on the right way because I’m nerdy enough to care!
    Even if they don’t have arrows it’s easy enough to tell on tyres with any sort of chevron-like pattern on, which seems to be most of them.

    November 4, 2014 at 10:22 pm #664117
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    pga

    All my recently bought
    All my recently bought Continental tyres seem to have no rotation arrows. Even when they did have them they were always difficult to find. Likewise recommended tyre pressures are difficult to read on the tyres. Apart from that Gatorskins have served me well for several years club riding and touring. Some were even being used in the club’s last road race.

    November 4, 2014 at 10:02 am #664115
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    drfabulous0

    I have GP 4 Seasons on my
    I have GP 4 Seasons on my fixie, to change the gear I have to remove the rear wheel and turn it around, so the tyre gets used in both directions. I can confirm it makes no difference at all.

    November 4, 2014 at 9:24 am #664113
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    bikebot

    brooksby wrote:glynr36

    brooksby wrote:
    glynr36 wrote:
    They don’t make a blind bit of difference.

    OK – thank you for this. I put one on, have been riding it with the arrows in the tread pointing backwards for a few days and the sky hasn’t fallen, so I’ll just leave it until I next get a puncture or have to change the other tyre.

    To everyone else: I was asking about tyres, not for a grammar lesson… I was not the original poster.

    Please don’t do that. It won’t do any harm to your bike, but it does cause terrible wear and damage to the road surface. There are so many popular cycling routes that are now covered in potholes, due to this common mistake.

    ….. 👿

    November 4, 2014 at 9:16 am #664111
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    brooksby

    glynr36 wrote:They don’t make

    glynr36 wrote:
    They don’t make a blind bit of difference.

    OK – thank you for this. I put one on, have been riding it with the arrows in the tread pointing backwards for a few days and the sky hasn’t fallen, so I’ll just leave it until I next get a puncture or have to change the other tyre.

    To everyone else: I was asking about tyres, not for a grammar lesson… I was not the original poster.

    November 3, 2014 at 10:12 pm #664109
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    captain_slog

    We is postgrammar world now
    We is postgrammar world now innit. Theres only one rule for apostrophes: stick one in if you think it look’s good.

    November 3, 2014 at 6:48 pm #664107
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    Welsh boy

    Hensteeth wrote:About as much

    Hensteeth wrote:
    About as much difference as there is between a comma and an apostrophe :D

    And an unnecessary apostrophe at that!

    Please people, making something plural by adding an S doesn’t need an apostrophe.

    November 3, 2014 at 3:14 pm #664105
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    Hensteeth

    About as much difference as
    About as much difference as there is between a comma and an apostrophe 😀

    November 3, 2014 at 2:53 pm #664103
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    glynr36

    They don’t make a blind bit
    They don’t make a blind bit of difference.

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