Asymmetric front/rear tyres?

[meic]

I've never yet had a quality tyre fall apart,delaminate or fail in fifty years

True in that if it did any of those things it was no longer a quality tyre.

I have had 2 Schwalbe Marathons fail through internal faults, slowly growing over the years.
Two Schwalbe Stelvios where the tread started peeling off the carcass (admittedly very old tyres).
I have had all of my Panaracer Paselas fail through sidewall decay, not one has survived to be worn out so far. Again quite old tyres.

What I was mentioning was that I'd rather have the best rubber up front where it's less likely to puncture or fail,because a front end failure is harder to control than a rear.

That can also be addressed by buying a much better tyre to use up front and using cheaper tyres to wear out on the back. As Matt pointed out you can run different sizes for 75% of the time and wear out the aged front tyre on the rear the other 75% of the time. I have different bikes, so the narrow from one is the fat on the other and the ultimate thin wheeled bike isnt a loaded tourer so is happy with thin front and rear, the worst thing that can happen is that we have to run a bike with the same size tyres once in a while.

[reohn2]

I've never yet had a quality tyre fall apart,delaminate or fail in fifty years

True in that if it did any of those things it was no longer a quality tyre.

I have had 2 Schwalbe Marathons fail through internal faults, slowly growing over the years.
Two Schwalbe Stelvios where the tread started peeling off the carcass (admittedly very old tyres).
I have had all of my Panaracer Paselas fail through sidewall decay, not one has survived to be worn out so far. Again quite old tyres.

Sorry my fault door not explaining properly,I was answering Vorpal and meaning in the first few hundred miles or weeks.
I've had Marathon H308's fail over time with sidewall cracks and Paselas fail with UV degradation both before the tread had worn appreciably,and I've seen a couple of Luganos delaminate on other people's bikes,one chap was quite put it as he'd paid £7 each for them!

What I was mentioning was that I'd rather have the best rubber up front where it's less likely to puncture or fail,because a front end failure is harder to control than a rear.

That can also be addressed by buying a much better tyre to use up front and using cheaper tyres to wear out on the back. As Matt pointed out you can run different sizes for 75% of the time and wear out the aged front tyre on the rear the other 75% of the time. I have different bikes, so the narrow from one is the fat on the other and the ultimate thin wheeled bike isnt a loaded tourer so is happy with thin front and rear, the worst thing that can happen is that we have to run a bike with the same size tyres once in a while.

I tend to try and standardise tyre sizes as much as possible.The two 20in wheelers both have Big Apples fitted,more for comfort than anything else and since my conversion to Hypers some 6 years ago I run those on the Vaya in either 37 or 40mm sizes,the MTB has 2.4inch Conti Clings fitted.

[Vorpal]

When I was younger, I had some tyres fail not long after installation. I also had a Kenda delaminate after 50ish miles. I noticed it, but it was chance that I did so; I had run through a broken bottle or something, so I stopped to inspect my tyres for bits of glass, and noticed that the rear one was coming apart. I replaced both tyres as soon as possible, after that.

Wear out and other problems that occur with tyre aging are realtively easy to identify by inspection. Quality issues are less so, especially when it comes to bonding between layers. Even an expert might have difficulty identifying that sort of thing.

I'm not suggesting that it is high frequency, or high risk. Just that if I am going to run a tyre in, I'd rather do it on the back than the front.

[reohn2]

When I was younger, I had some tyres fail not long after installation. I also had a Kenda delaminate after 50ish miles. I noticed it, but it was chance that I did so; I had run through a broken bottle or something, so I stopped to inspect my tyres for bits of glass, and noticed that the rear one was coming apart. I replaced both tyres as soon as possible, after that.

Wear out and other problems that occur with tyre aging are realtively easy to identify by inspection. Quality issues are less so, especially when it comes to bonding between layers. Even an expert might have difficulty identifying that sort of thing.

I'm not suggesting that it is high frequency, or high risk. Just that if I am going to run a tyre in, I'd rather do it on the back than the front.

Whilst I agree with some of what you say,I've never considered Kenda being at the quality end of the bike tyre market.

[Vorpal]

Whilst I agree with some of what you say,I've never considered Kenda being at the quality end of the bike tyre market.

I wasn't suggesting they were
After two bad experiences with them (tyres that came with bikes) I will never again have Kenda on my bike any longer than absolutely necessary (i.e. to get a bike home).

[reohn2]

Whilst I agree with some of what you say,I've never considered Kenda being at the quality end of the bike tyre market.

I wasn't suggesting they were
After two bad experiences with them (tyres that came with bikes) I will never again have Kenda on my bike any longer than absolutely necessary (i.e. to get a bike home).

Lesson learned

BTW I've seen quite a few £2K bikes being ridden on <£10 tyres,and even had one chap boasting to me how cheap his tyres were,on £1500 bike

[Roadster]

BTW I've seen quite a few £2K bikes being ridden on <£10 tyres,and even had one chap boasting to me how cheap his tyres were,on £1500 bike

The epitome of inverted snobbery, which could quite easily end up costing him a lot more than money.

[Vorpal]

BTW I've seen quite a few £2K bikes being ridden on <£10 tyres,and even had one chap boasting to me how cheap his tyres were,on £1500 bike

The epitome of inverted snobbery, which could quite easily end up costing him a lot more than money.

I've sometimes had tyres that were worth more than the bike they were on

[Scunnered]

I've sometimes had tyres that were worth more than the bike they were on

Indeed, but some tyres cost more than the tyres on my car!

[Scunnered]

For 2014 the Paris-Roubaix race was won on a 30mm rear / 28mm front tire

source: https://silca.cc/blogs/journal/115178628-road-to-roubaix-the-complete-story

[Bonefishblues]

Apropos of Kenda, didn't they come from the BMX end of the sport? Their small block 10s are fantastic little tyres for BFB Jnr's Frog, rolling & gripping very nicely, and I think they are a mainstream BMX tyre.

[reohn2]

For 2014 the Paris-Roubaix race was won on a 30mm rear / 28mm front tire

source: https://silca.cc/blogs/journal/115178628-road-to-roubaix-the-complete-story

Do you think it would've made any difference if he ridden 30mm front and rear?
Racing at that level is so far removed from 95% of all other cycling as to be like chalk and cheese,the ordinary cyclist can't even afford the tyres those chaps and chapesses use.

That said a pointer worth taking notice of is their tyre pressures,which are a lot lower than many people think,especially in bad conditions and or bad road surfaces like the cobble classics.
I've posted on here many times that IMHO many people have way too much air in their tyres in the belief that they're faster,when all they're doing is making the ride more uncomfortable,especially on chip n seal or the poor road surfaces of UK roads.

[reohn2]

Apropos of Kenda, didn't they come from the BMX end of the sport? Their small block 10s are fantastic little tyres for BFB Jnr's Frog, rolling & gripping very nicely, and I think they are a mainstream BMX tyre.

The only Kenda tyre I've heard good things about are their Small Block 8,which is reported as good for loose gravel type roads.
I'm waaayyyy to old to know anything about BMX riding

[Bonefishblues]

Apropos of Kenda, didn't they come from the BMX end of the sport? Their small block 10s are fantastic little tyres for BFB Jnr's Frog, rolling & gripping very nicely, and I think they are a mainstream BMX tyre.

The only Kenda tyre I've heard good things about are their Small Block 8,which is reported as good for loose gravel type roads.

You're right, it is the 8 she has, I misremembered.

[squeaker]

For 2014 the Paris-Roubaix race was won on a 30mm rear / 28mm front tire

source: https://silca.cc/blogs/journal/115178628-road-to-roubaix-the-complete-story

Thanks for the link Well worth a read if you belong in the 'pump 'em up to the max pressure on the sidewalls' camp, too.