Member Contributer CitizenOfDreams Posted June 12, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted June 12, 2008 I use my bike mostly for short city commutes, so my rear tire normally last for more than a year. And the front tire... well, it just keeps going and going like a damn Energizer rabbit until it gets a nail. At the end of its life the front tire has plenty of thread left, but the rubber is all hard and cracked after spending few years under Florida sun. That can't be good for the grip, can it? I wonder if anybody got good results from "mixing and matching" a Pilot Power rear with a softer Pilot Race front? If so, which compound - medium, medium-soft or soft? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer sckego Posted June 12, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted June 12, 2008 I probably wouldn't go with a pilot race. Those soft-compound DOT race tires are going to die from heat cycling long before they run out of tread. It'll probably be rock hard within a few weeks, just from the heat cycles. I bought an extra wheel off of eBay and had a sport-touring tire mounted to it. So, I have my sticky front tire (Metz M3 / Pilot Power) that stays on there permanently, a sticky back tire (Metz M3 / Pilot Power) that gets put on for agressive rides / trackdays, and a hard compound rear (Metz Z6 / Diablo Strada) that I use for commuting. The nice thing about our bikes is that swapping out the rear wheels is a cinch :unsure: I just got new rubber mounted, but before that, I ran through an entire Z6 rear (10,000+ miles) and an M3 rear (5,000 miles) to only one M3 front. And it still had tread left. In essence, your basic idea is sound... but I think it would be a good idea to stay away from the race compounds. The best you could probably do is put a Power 2CT on the front... that's about max grip without having to worry about the heat cycling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 I not speaking from personal experience, but I don't see the advantage of using a race tire on the street. A tire compound designed for the track is meant to run at specific operating temperatures obtained on a track. Most street riders would be hard pressed to keep a race tire at the proper temp during a normal recreational ride or commute. The Pilot Power is designed for street use and is able to maintain an optimal temperature range while on the street. Mix the two and you end up with a nice sticky rear end and god knows what in the front. I'll bet you a nickel, someone has tried it. Plus, if you hang out at a track day, you can probably get a "killer deal" on some used race tires. They'll have lots of center rubber left, but the edges will be shot. Also, don't forget that race tires do not take kindly to a bunch of heating cycles. That's why they keep them plugged into tire warmers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veefer800Canuck Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 If you're looking to experiment with mixing tire constructions and compounds, it can be done. As you are aware, best to have the stickier tire out front. In your scenario, I'd try a Pilot Road2 rear along with a Pilot Power 2CT front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 I use my bike mostly for short city commutes, so my rear tire normally last for more than a year. And the front tire... well, it just keeps going and going like a damn Energizer rabbit until it gets a nail. At the end of its life the front tire has plenty of thread left, but the rubber is all hard and cracked after spending few years under Florida sun. That can't be good for the grip, can it?I wonder if anybody got good results from "mixing and matching" a Pilot Power rear with a softer Pilot Race front? If so, which compound - medium, medium-soft or soft? I never run sets, like the P power the front has life , the rear suks for life , so I dont run the rears some tires dont work as well together Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CitizenOfDreams Posted June 12, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 12, 2008 In your scenario, I'd try a Pilot Road2 rear along with a Pilot Power 2CT front. Thanks for the input! What I'm trying to achieve is to _reduce_ the life of the front tire - and gain some "stickiness" in return. Pilot Power front is wearing too slow for my riding habits, and I assume Pilot Power CT would wear just as slow? I'm happy with the Pilot Power rear and don't want to replace it with anything harder either. So, I need a front tire that's: - Softer and and stickier than Pilot Power - Not racing type (need to withstand hundreds of heat cycles - thank you guys for pointing that out) - "Compatible" with Pilot Power rear - I assume it needs to have similar profile and tread pattern? Does such a tire exist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer skuuter Posted June 12, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted June 12, 2008 A Pilot Power front is already pretty ultimate "sticky" for a front tire.......can't imagine needing more "Velcro" for the front..... :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 A Pilot Power front is already pretty ultimate "sticky" for a front tire.......can't imagine needing more "Velcro" for the front..... Your set already, stop looking for something you don't need! just ride, can't beat the standard Pilot Power front or rear period! :fing02: It's got all the grip you'll ever need, who cares if it grips good for two years! :unsure: :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CitizenOfDreams Posted June 12, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 12, 2008 Can't have too much "velcro". I actually had the Pilot Power slide from under me, although that was caused by my own inexperience and inattention... But I guess I am really trying to solve a problem that does not exist. So be it, Pilot Power front and rear, change them whenever they get worn or old, whichever comes first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 In your scenario, I'd try a Pilot Road2 rear along with a Pilot Power 2CT front. Thanks for the input! What I'm trying to achieve is to _reduce_ the life of the front tire - and gain some "stickiness" in return. Pilot Power front is wearing too slow for my riding habits, and I assume Pilot Power CT would wear just as slow? I'm happy with the Pilot Power rear and don't want to replace it with anything harder either. So, I need a front tire that's: - Softer and and stickier than Pilot Power - Not racing type (need to withstand hundreds of heat cycles - thank you guys for pointing that out) - "Compatible" with Pilot Power rear - I assume it needs to have similar profile and tread pattern? Does such a tire exist? If you're getting next to zero wear out of the front and eating up the rears, it sounds like it possibly could be a suspension set-up problem also. Your chicken strips front and rear should be roughly equal (within a quarter inch). If you have a much larger chicken strip on the front than the rear, the rear end of your bike is sitting too low. If you're running a stock shock, get some body shop shims and put about a quarter inch thick of shims on top of the shock clevis. This will put more weight bias on the front and less on the rear. It will also make the bike handle appreciably better. Note by just quickening the steering but by making the front end feel more "planted". If you by chance are running a Penske, just crawl under the bike, remove the triangular plates, and adjust the shock length out about a quarter of an inch. Should take all of 15 minutes with a Penske. You might be able to achieve the same results by raising the forks in the triple clamps by about 10-15 mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CitizenOfDreams Posted June 14, 2008 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 14, 2008 My chicken strips seem to be the same width on both tires. But I'm sure my suspension still has a few problems. The rear shock is original stock with 50K miles on it, probably dead. The forks are original, probably dead too - although flushed and refilled with fresh oil. One of those days I will fix that... or maybe upgrade to a newer bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 consider keeping your p-power in the rear and putting a p-power 2ct in the front. the center of the p-p 2ct is pretty much the same with the sides being softer & stickier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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