Mixing tyre brands? Again.

[charlie34]

I'm running conti road attacks at the moment and the front is virtually brand new, but the rear is squaring quite a bit now. With a track day coming up, i'm beginning to wonder if it needs to be replaced, but will it be ok to put a road attack 2 on the back, with the road attack 1 on the front?

cheers
dan

[Glen650]

Hi Dan as long as you stick with the same make of tyre you should be fine its only when you start mixing different makes cheers Glen

[theboatman]

I have been running mismatched tyres for nearly a year now, yes I know its not recommended, however I have always made sure that the front is stickier than the rear, thus if I feel I am loosing the rear I can ease off, if the front starts to slide, it seems a little harder to catch.... More recently I have been mixing with the same brand, Pilot road front and pilot road 2 rear. Basically make sure the front keeps gripping!

[fenjer]

Hi Dan as long as you stick with the same make of tyre you should be fine its only when you start mixing different makes cheers Glen


"it's only when you start mixing different makes"... what?

what happens? The wheels dont go round? the bike doesnt follow in a straight line? What exactly is the issue??

I've been running mis-matched tyres (maxxis front and bridgestone on the rear then Maxxis front and pilot road 2 on the rear) for general road riding for a while and I've never noticed any issues.

I assume it's very different for track days, and I know there are some who would NEVER mis-match tyres, but for me, it's never been an issue.

[Lozzo]

Fenjer is right, 99% of road riders would never know the difference. I've got a few mates who mix tyres on trackbikes with no problems either. Alot of the talk surrounding mixing brands is ill-informed and scaremongering. A a general rule try to ensure the front is a softer compound than the rear but if not just back off and ride accordingly.

[JamesMio]

Got a PR2 on the back and a BT014 on the front of my SV and it rides and handles beautifully.

Granted, I'll almost certainly be pairing up the PR3 shortly as the front's getting a bit worn - but absolutely zero problems reported so far.

[yorkie_chris]

Hi Dan as long as you stick with the same make of tyre you should be fine its only when you start mixing different makes cheers Glen

Oh right then I'll go and do some laps round a roundabout with a supercorsa pro SC1 rear and a pirelli rock-'ard-b*stard-goldwing-touring-special front then and see what happens...

In case you didn't guess, I disagree with you.

[Brettus]

Subtle as a shock stick as always YC ;)
And no, you can't have one even if it is your birthday as I'd be one of the first on the receiving end next time you are performing archaeology on my calipers "you see these layers of sediment that have formed? some date back to as early as 2008, I can tell because there is a bit of spira wrapper in there too"

[Dicky Ticker]

Lozzo,The point being by reading the posts is that not all people are well informed or knowledgeable regarding tyres and mixing tyres can,although not necessarily depending on the mix, be detrimental to the handling which could result in an accident for the inexperienced.
My advice in the interst of safety to those in doubt would be to use a reputable tyre fitter and take his recommendation as to the compatibility of the tyres

[Glen650]

maybe its because im a ex racer that rides a bike to the max thats why i wouldnt mix makes of tyre but there you go maybe i dont know what im talking about

[charlie34]

I had a feeling these may be the answers I got. Ha. Well i'.ve decided to go for the road attack 2 on the back, as they're as close to the same tyre as I'll get and I can in no way ride to the limit of my tyres any way.

The fact the 1's are no longer made also helped make up my mind.

So all going well, I can experience a proper shaped tyre and I will live to tell the tale.

[speedyandypandy]

I had a feeling these may be the answers I got. Ha. Well i'.ve decided to go for the road attack 2 on the back, as they're as close to the same tyre as I'll get and I can in no way ride to the limit of my tyres any way.

The fact the 1's are no longer made also helped make up my mind.

So all going well, I can experience a proper shaped tyre and I will live to tell the tale.
Just remeber to check your tire pressure, that's the most important thing on tires next to there actually beinging tires on your bike. Ask the tiredude at the track what pressure you should be running if you are unsure.
And did you know for every 20 kilos above 75kg you should add 0.05 Bar(0.72psi) in your front and 0.1 Bar(1.45 psi) on your rear when road riding? Atleast that's Michelins rule of thumb, and I'm guessing it's the same for any other brand. Now do your trackday and grind away them pesky footpegs.

[yorkie_chris]

maybe its because im a ex racer that rides a bike to the max thats why i wouldnt mix makes of tyre but there you go maybe i dont know what im talking about

So my example of mixing 2 pirellis, one rock 'ard and one made of chewing gum you'd be fine with?

[mikerj]

maybe its because im a ex racer that rides a bike to the max thats why i wouldnt mix makes of tyre but there you go maybe i dont know what im talking about

So as an ex-racer could you explain why it's fine to use two random tyres from the same manufacturer that may vary significantly in grip, profile etc. but using a pair of tyres from different manufacturers that may be very well matched is verboten?

[Glen650]

if an explanation is needed here I would leave 2 wheels alone and walk everywhere

[yorkie_chris]

With one running shoe and one hobnailed boot (but both from clarkes)?
:-P

[sv_rory]

I've been running pirrellis since owning the bike but last year my rear one needed changing so I got an avon, I havent had any problems, infact the bike handles better

[Steve_God]

Usual story, it's not recommended, but plenty of people (including myself) have been fine mixing tyres, as long as you ride accordingly.

[number75]

Perhaps someone can offer an actual example of mismatched tyres causing the earth to stop spinning, no-one is saying its good practice but this is the real world and people do end up with a crossover sometimes, so the more experienced among us can provide some evidence against this heresy?

[Steve_God]

Perhaps someone can offer an actual example of mismatched tyres causing the earth to stop spinning, no-one is saying its good practice but this is the real world and people do end up with a crossover sometimes, so the more experienced among us can provide some evidence against this heresy?

Hard evidence of someone flying off into a field and dying due to it? No.
Simple facts of grip levels and variance? Yes.

Having different tyre models on the front and rear (regardless of whether it's simply a different manufacturer, or a different type of tyre), will give different grip levels.
The variance in grip levels will vary between different tyres depending on the differing mixture of compounds used.
To go for an extreme example (that I've used personally) - I had a sports tyre on the front, and a touring tyre (Avon Storm) on the rear. Front tyre had a softer compound, with a higher operating temperature for its optimum grip levels. The rear had a harder compound, with a lower operative temperature for its optimum grip. This meant that at the start of a journey when my tyres were cold, the rear would be giving me plenty of grip, yet the front would be really poor - as my journey went on, the front would warm up and get into it's operating window, giving loads of grip, however if I tried to really make use of the grip, the rear would then start to slide as it didn't have a sticky enough compound to keep up.

Long and short of it is that those kind of riding conditions are manageable, but 'could' cause an accident if you weren't expecting it.

[mikerj]

With one running shoe and one hobnailed boot (but both from clarkes)?
:-P


:p:p:p

I now understand the reason for the "ex"