I know this has been discussed, but I have asked about my own concern about this in threads and had no reply IIRC.There seems to be no consensus, so I am starting my own thread.
I have just had installed a Metz Pilot Activ rear on the front of my triked Valk. The tyre guy insisted on reversing its rotation. The argument AFAIK is that the tyre is designed to take acceleration forces on the rear and that in order to make it suit the front's braking forces, it needs to be reversed....a hotly debated subject.
I have actually seen a post to the effect that reversing radial tyres should NOT be done, forces or no.
I also have asked about water shedding. I look at the track of a tyre, front or rear, and see the tread pattern and feel that I get why it sheds water: the tread starts at the centre, where the road is, and radiates to the side wall, so as the tyre rotates it squeezes the water outward, with the rotation helping by flinging it out....sort of like the bow of a boat. I reckon that if I reverse the tread, that is gong to work a lot less effectively: the tyre rotation will tend to force the water inward, against the action of the tread, both by rotational force and by the squeezing of the tread.
The tyre guy just said that was the way he had always been doing it.
Any thoughts appreciated.
I have just had installed a Metz Pilot Activ rear on the front of my triked Valk. The tyre guy insisted on reversing its rotation. The argument AFAIK is that the tyre is designed to take acceleration forces on the rear and that in order to make it suit the front's braking forces, it needs to be reversed....a hotly debated subject.
I have actually seen a post to the effect that reversing radial tyres should NOT be done, forces or no.
I also have asked about water shedding. I look at the track of a tyre, front or rear, and see the tread pattern and feel that I get why it sheds water: the tread starts at the centre, where the road is, and radiates to the side wall, so as the tyre rotates it squeezes the water outward, with the rotation helping by flinging it out....sort of like the bow of a boat. I reckon that if I reverse the tread, that is gong to work a lot less effectively: the tyre rotation will tend to force the water inward, against the action of the tread, both by rotational force and by the squeezing of the tread.
The tyre guy just said that was the way he had always been doing it.
Any thoughts appreciated.