Is it okay to have a front and rear tire of different brand? If it is correct size but different brand and model would it make a big difference in terms of safety and handling?
Question about Tires HELP PLEASE
- Thread starter MrNiceGuy
- Start date
vrus
Well-known member
It's okay, but if you're doing some serious riding, IMO wouldn't mix up the types of tires (like sport touring in the front and super sport in the back) . I personally don't have experience riding with that sort of setup, so I don't know if it will make a significant difference or not , at least on the street.
But mr nice guy, no matter what you do, you will always finish last.
But mr nice guy, no matter what you do, you will always finish last.
Crashtest
Well-known member
It's okay as long as you don't care what your bike handles like. The profiles of the front and rear tire are designed to work together for a handling profile as designed by the manufacturer. This goes for the profile/tread as well as the compounds. If you mix brands/profiles then you'll never figure out what you like.
Salos Dafee
Well-known member
It would take an amazingly skillful and perceptive rider to notice the difference,
unless of course one tire were knobby for dirt and the other had a normal road tread.
You and I could ride forever with different front and rear tires, and never notice.
This spring I rode from Florida to Toronto to Bracebridge and back to Florida.
I had an Avon front tire and a Metzeler tire on the rear, and no problems at all.
unless of course one tire were knobby for dirt and the other had a normal road tread.
You and I could ride forever with different front and rear tires, and never notice.
This spring I rode from Florida to Toronto to Bracebridge and back to Florida.
I had an Avon front tire and a Metzeler tire on the rear, and no problems at all.
That really depends on the type of bike you're on, the rider's riding style, the rider's tire need objectives, and the particular tire pair you're playing with.
Sure, you'll probably have the best out of the box luck with a matched tire pair from the same tire model line from the same manufacturer, but there are occasions where you can achieve better results by mixing tires. Best place to go see which "unconventional" pairs and non-stock sizings work best would be bike and model-specific forums.
Some older bikes are particularly restricted when it comes to tire availability. With some you may have only one or two tire manufacturers offering matched sets of tires in the stock sizes, and those choices may be only mediocre and worse than mediocre, and almost anything else would be better.
When you go on bike model-specific web sites you'll often find alternative tire recommendations that involve mixing and matching different tire brands and sizes to suit given tire durability desires, performance desires, etc. Sometimes you can get better performance by using difference brands or models on front and rear, especially when there is limited availability of matched sets for a given bike.
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Crashtest
Well-known member
I'd notice, because I know what tires and profile I like, and I'll know if they're changed. I'll bet a lot of people on this board would be able to say the same thing.
I"m not sure what kind of problems I was supposed to imply you'd encounter with different tires front/back - I don't recall saying they'd delaminate or anything
Mixing tires won't help anybody learn anything about what sort of tire profile/manufacturer they like, and therefore be a hinderance to them becoming a better rider. It's the sort of thing that makes people look for a new rear tire when all they needed to do was drop the pressure on their front, or change the front profile.
I call shenanigans on this.
If someone changed your tires without you knowing, you wouldn't notice until someone told you or until you noticed the new tire visually.
This. I have been riding for 27 yrs, and I have to make a mental note that I am comparing tires to discern tire swaps, unless I am riding like an idiot.....even then, I think my bias if often towards the new tires, simply becasue my most recent memory of the last set of tires , is that of a worn out tire. Of course any new tire will feel better than a worn out one.
That said, I almost always change in pairs, and I always run the same brand of tire front and rear. I just look at it as a safety net...tire engineers are probably alot smarter than I am, and designed them to work together, so I don't mess with it.
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As long as they're the same type of tire you'll be just fine.
I'm running a Pirelli Angel ST on the front and a Micheline Pilot Road 2 on the rear. They're both high-millage dual compound sport touring tires and they're both excellent in the rain.
The bike handles very well the way it is.
Can one of you who are opposed to this tell me why this is bad and back it up?
I'm running a Pirelli Angel ST on the front and a Micheline Pilot Road 2 on the rear. They're both high-millage dual compound sport touring tires and they're both excellent in the rain.
The bike handles very well the way it is.
Can one of you who are opposed to this tell me why this is bad and back it up?
Crashtest
Well-known member
Replace them with tires that act exactly the same way, and I'd agree with you. Otherwise, what you're saying here is that there's actually very little difference between manufacturers.
And even that is debatable. I've read about rider mixing radial and bias ply in some applications and being quite happy with the results.
Then there is the whole dark-side debate among cruiser, touring, and sport-touring bike riders. Car tires put on the rear. Motorcycle tires sold as rears put on the front of a bike. Again, some long-time happy users of such setups, including some who could be considered hard-leaning twisty riders who still get on some pretty decent leans while getting double or more the typical tire tread life.
there isn't enough difference for 95% of riders to tell the difference, especially in street conditions.
if you replaced a tire set in the same market space(lets say hi performance street) from one manufacturer with the same level of tire from another, you're not going to notice the difference.
most novice/amateur racers, even some pros would not notice something like this at race pace.
A good front tire works well, a good rear works well, they are doing different tasks, and operate quite independently. I've had a variety of tires on my bike, all have had the same basic shape, that's what matters. The best the bike has ever felt is with a Qualifier up front and a new Q2 in the rear (both dunlop). Throw a sport touring front and a sport on the rear, you might notice a difference, but if you stay with the same basic type of tire, the minute difference in compound and profile shape would be tough to notice.
I am one of said 95%ers. I have a different front and rear (for the time being) and I don't notice a difference at all.
Crashtest
Well-known member
That's laughable.
Guess you can prove me otherwise?
Have you been involved in blind tire tests in the past?
Have you been involved in blind tire tests in the past?
Crashtest
Well-known member
If you think *you* can't tell the diff between tires, then you're kidding yourself. Q.E.D.
I didn't say "I" couldn't, but I've done a LOT of tire testing with different manufacturers on the street and the race track on over 100 different bikes and I'll stick by the statement that VERY few riders can tell the difference.
just curious what your experience is in this area, have you had tire brands changed on you mid day during testing?
Crashtest
Well-known member
Oh, that's a requirement to continue this discussion now? Nope, I haven't had tire brands changed on me mid-session. I think you'll find that the riders that can't tell the difference don't ride very much to begin with.
