Is my tire truely backward?? Some may say no!! Advice??

[dougspcs]

So I got the 3rd and final rim/tire for my BR..I picked a 26" Bear Claw on a 12" rim for my steering wheel.

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I know nice right?? (again, sorry Jason..) all the great badassness as yours, but half the dinero!! Can't wait to install it!

I figured is was as close in tread design and size as I could get to the 26" Mudsharks on 12" rims that I put on the rear.

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Question is this..Rocky Mountain loaded the tire on the rim and once on the machine it's reversed to direction of rotation marked on the tire by the manufacturer.

Now I have seen of other threads how some guys like this..not sure I follow the logic but I'm willing to listen because if convinced it saves me a trip to the tire shop to have it flipped around..

What say you guys??

[fabiodriven]

If it looks backwards on the front wheel and goes against the rotation arrow then it is indeed mounted correctly in my opinion. Many guys like to put their front tires like that because the front tire is not doing any pulling. It's only stopping and steering. If you follow the tire manufacturer's theory on keeping the treads clean, then it will look like it's on backwards. It really doesn't make a huge difference in the dirt. I think the practice has been adopted from street bikes. If you look at a directional front tire on a street bike, it will look backwards like you're describing. It's mounted that way for a reason though. With a street bike the directional arrow will actually be in the right direction though, with the tread appearing to be backwards. This is the correct way to mount a front tire.

I see people mounting their mud tires backwards all the time because they think they're going to get some sort of "scooping" or "paddle" effect. The truth of the matter is the tire manufacturer is the one who would know how effective the tread is in any direction and there is a reason why they have the direction arrow. I tend to believe what the manufacturer of the tire says, but plenty of other guys do it the other way. I'm sure they'll be chiming in soon.

[dougspcs]

If it looks backwards on the front wheel and goes against the rotation arrow then it is indeed mounted correctly in my opinion.

I like your train of logic in the 1st paragraph Fabio,


I tend to believe what the manufacturer of the tire says, but plenty of other guys do it the other way. I'm sure they'll be chiming in soon.

but then in the 2nd you confused me by saying to follow the manufacturers direction!! Or did I read it wrong and the 2nd was referencing driven wheels?

[fabiodriven]

The manufacturer's direction arrow is the direction in which the tire was designed to grip. Although the arrow is backwards, the direction in which you need it to grip is indeed correct. Braking power versus forward traction.

Your tire is mounted correctly in my opinion.

[dougspcs]

The manufacturer's direction arrow is the direction in which the tire was designed to grip. Although the arrow is backwards, the direction in which you need it to grip is indeed correct. Braking power versus forward traction.

Your tire is mounted correctly in my opinion.

I figured that must be what you meant..I like your logic.

Thanks for the opinion.

[El Camexican]

That thing has reverse, right? If so you will have it mounted correctly at some point;)

[dougspcs]

I know the machine is nothing to look at..all non-OEM and all.

But it's mechanically sound and the new wheels and tires are going places..I went with Fabio and just mounted the wheel/tire as was.

I'm confident that it will perform great..bring on the mud!!

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[Scootertrash]

So how do the Mudsharks compare performance-wise to the Bear claws. You have Bear Claws on the rear of another one of your machines right?

[dougspcs]

So how do the Mudsharks compare performance-wise to the Bear claws. You have Bear Claws on the rear of another one of your machines right?

Yeah I have them on my SX and my previous BR which I sold in the summer.

So far the mudsharks seem a bit better..those big spike treads on the side of the tire really help when trying to climb over a large diameter wet log. I found the Bear Claws tend to get caught on them and just sit there and spin bark off the log until I get off the machine and boost it.

The real test will be the heavy mud in the conservation area near me..at this time the mudbeds are kinda dry. I've been warned by a couple other members that this tread pattern may have a tendancy to side slip on a slippery slope..

I'll let you know in the fall when we get some rain!

[atc007]

Gorgeous bike Doug!! Tires are mounted correctly. You won;t cry a bit breaking through the brush if you scratch her. I would say the perfect trail rig! Looks great!