Running in new tyres/tires....TIPS?

Hi guys,

I spent a most enjoyable night reading through many threads in this forum and have picked up some good information, however, nobody seems to have spent very much time on this specific subject.

RUNNING IN NEW TYRES

Well I just booked my bike in to get some new BT-021's fitted :steve:, on Thursday, later this week and am really only slightly aware of the dangers of riding on brand new tyres and would like to know how best to approach wearing them in, safely and effectively.

BTW the shop have told me £240 all in. - comments on how reasonable the price is/n't would be welcome too - [ from UK :uk: riders obviously! ]

Darren

I would say take is very easy for the first 100 miles or so, no hard acceleration or braking but make sure to get all the way over on both sides of the tire, go take some twisties you know well. That way you know the tire is completely scrubbed in over the complete surface of the tire and you won't have a slippery surprise when pushing hard through a bend.

I have about 800 miles on my bt-021’s. The first thing I did to break in my tires was to reduce the pressure a couple of psi in each tire. The idea is to run the tire softer than normal to put more rubber in contact with the road for safety and aid in the scrubbing process. It also helps to warm the tire up faster and flex the tire.

The first 60 miles or so I just ran easy with no aggressive turns. The next 150 miles I ran the curves progressively more aggressive. I’m not a very aggressive rider to begin with but the goal is to slowly work up to your normal riding style.

After the first ~200 miles I reinflated the tires to normal pressure and rode pretty much normally being cautious for the first few turns at the higher tire pressure.

rvbiker said:

I have about 800 miles on my bt-021’s. The first thing I did to break in my tires was to reduce the pressure a couple of psi in each tire. The idea is to run the tire softer than normal to put more rubber in contact with the road for safety and aid in the scrubbing process. It also helps to warm the tire up faster and flex the tire.

Click to expand...

that all sounds cool and logical to me, although I am slightly unsure as to the 'correct' pressures to go with? the handbooks says 33psi and 36psi, but I have read in places on this forum that some of the guys raise their's by almost 10 psi

I weigh no more than 168lbs and am 5' 10", so i don't see that I need an increase in pressure for those reasons?

I'm not worried by all these variables and I will take the advice given and ride easy and smooth for the first 150+miles, I guess I'm just looking for some clarity on these issues/ideas....


Thanks Guys

D

The manual allows tire pressures to go up to 36psi front and 42psi rear based on loading. However the amount you soften the tires is specific to the rider. The first and foremost factor should be safety.

I live way out in the countryside, and usually go out in the middle of the night and go to a specific local big roundabout on private land.... I spend a good while going round both ways (private road honestly!), increasingly using *slightly* more lean angle to get as much of the tyre used as I can... not ideal in cities, or if you have no roundabouts on private land!

But I usually take it easy for 400 miles or so, before I start using them more aggressively, although, I am the least aggressive rider I know...

What I've always done is figure 8s in a parking lot for 5-10 minutes. It's amazing how quickly you can scrub in a tire that way.

As far as PSI run what the tire manufacturer has on the side of the tire and check it cold that is what they are made for that is what they should be run at, Underinflation could cause some problems. But otherwise take is easy for about 150 miles getting good lean angles in to scrub all of the tire you can get safely.