Mixing tire types ?
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 58
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From: Delta Colo
Mixing tire types ?
Back in the day, I know you were not supposed to mix bias ply tires with radials on cars or trucks. What about bikes? Sometimes you find a great price on a tire only to find that it's a radial (or bias ply) and the next bargain tire is for the different ply type.
How do different ply types on a bike affect handling, (i.e. radial on the back, bias on the front)? Also, which wears, corners, stops better?
I've never seen this discussed here or anywhere.
Gary In Delta
How do different ply types on a bike affect handling, (i.e. radial on the back, bias on the front)? Also, which wears, corners, stops better?
I've never seen this discussed here or anywhere.
Gary In Delta
Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 183
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From: Earth
I had a radial back/bias front Avon Cobras on my 2012 Fat Bob. This was the configuration recommended by Avon and rode great. When the indy shop first suggested it I did some searching online and found that the mix was a common setup.
Road Master
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,115
Likes: 69
From: Bay Area, NorCal
Late last year I swapped out the OEM wheels for some 18-inchers which were mounted with a Metz bias on the front and a Metz radial on the rear. My impressions have been the bike handles/rides as well as, if not slightly better than, the OEM setup, at least in the dry - have not tested in the wet as I try to avoid riding in inclement weather. I believe HD and a couple of other mfrs in the recent past have installed bias frt, radial rr tires as standard on a couple of models, so it doesn't appear to be as much of a 'no-no' as it was years ago when radials first came out on the market. Good luck with your choice.
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Joined: May 2008
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From: 'Noke, VA
No issue.
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Cruiser
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 214
Likes: 0
From: oklahoma
Same here, no issues with mixing.
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