I have a dumb question - what is the theory behind running larger tyres on the front and smaller on the back? I only have ever had pinch flats on the back and the main reason I like the bigger bag is to lessen the chance of pinch flats. What difference does the big tyre on the front make to handling?JMUSuperman said:It's good. Honestly I can't tell much of a difference between it and when I had the 2.35 on the rear as well. Maybe it's faster because of the reduced weight? I'm riding in the pac nw where we have a lot of wet roots and conditions can really vary between bone dry and extremely wet sloppy stuff in a few hundred yards. The big difference is that it's much better than The Captain tires for the conditions out here. I'm using my The Captains as around the town tires on another bike.
No.JMUSuperman said:Since the front tire does most of the turning and uses the tread out of the side the most (in theory)
Thanks JMUSuperman and HandyMan. HandyMan your point 2 (better traction required up front) is actually quite consistent with JMUSuperman's observation that the front "uses the tread out of the side the most".HandyMan said:No.
reasons to run a smaller rear tire:
1. Usually the frame has less clearance than the fork, so a bigger tire just doesn't fit in the back
2. Many people prefer the back end to have less traction than the front, so it breaks lose first (its easier to save a back end slide than a front end wash out)
3. To save weight
