[Closed] How does a faster rolling rear tyre make any difference?

Simplistically, a 'slower' tyre needs more force to turn so you have to work harder to go at the same speed.

It's not really about speed, it's about drag. That's a combination of the front and back tyres but we tend to accept a bit more drag on the front because that should also mean more grip which is quite useful for steering and things 🙂

There is more drag on the rear as there is more weight on the wheel - therefore going to a lower drag/faster rolling tyre on the back will make more difference. Steering and braking traction is more important on the front, and you pay less of a penalty for the slower rolling.

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Bigger tyre on the front for control and braking.

And what everyone has already said.

And Really? You need to ask?

Surely the bike will only roll at the speed of the fastest tyre

Brilliant 😀

Well, if you wheelie everywhere, you'd be much fasterer.

On the weekend I used a slow draggy mud tyre on the back as I needed to stop the back wheel spinning in the mud on the climbs. Had no grip on the front on the muddy descents which made it quite interesting. 😆

Summer? I admire your optimism!

...or am I missing something?

I came across a similar barmy notion on a road trip up to Scotland last year. I was grumbling as we had been stuck for some time in a convoy of slow moving traffic with a lorry at the front.

ME: "grrrr I'm sick of this; we've all been at 40mph for nearly an hour" (or something like that)

GF: "Yeah, apart from the cars near the front"

ME: "Im sorry....?"

GF: "well they are going much faster"

ME: "but we're traveling in a line; we're all going the same speed"

GF: "No, the cars at the front must be going a lot faster"

ME: "seriously - that is what you think.....hahahahahahaha"

ME: "oh my god - you teach A-level - we're all screwed!"

ndthornton - do we have the same girlfriend?! Sounds just like mine...

can open... worms all over the place !!!

Surely the bike will only roll at the speed of the fastest tyre or am I missing something?

well done. you have brightened up my afternoon!

If you put a faster rolling tyre on the back, what happens is, as the back is goes faster, it overtakes the front, and then becomes the front, so you end up riding backwards down the trail. As the back (which was the front) is going slower than the front (which was the back) the front accelerates away, stretching the bike, which then means you can't get round the next switchback and the bike gets stuck.
Or something like that.
Go round your local trails on a Sunday and you'll see lots of elongated bikes stuck between the trees at sharp corners with bemused-looking riders scratching their heads...

Because this is what happens when you put the faster rolling tyre on the front.

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It's because the bike is rear wheel drive. If you move the chain to the front wheel, you'll need the fastest tyre on there. Look at dragsters. Slick tyre on the drive wheels, every time.

^ Chip 😆

[sprays coffee on keyboard]

brilliant!

chip

Someone above said it, drag.

A faster tyre isn't faster, it just suffers less losses.

A faster tyre isn't necessarily faster (insert note), it will just slow down more slowly maintaining what effort you put in for a longer amount of time.

Note -though when you're accelerating it there are less losses the whole bike will end up a bit faster, just just the one wheel, it's all connected together, if you wanted to be pedantic the rear wheel will be pushing the bike forward as it were