5.3.2
Preparing the wheel
There is an arrow on the sides of the tires with the
inscription ROTATION to show the direction of
rotation. The inscription says DRIVE on older
tires. The rotation direction arrow indicates the
recommended direction of rotation. On road tires,
the direction of rotation is mainly for optical
reasons.
Figure 50: Rotation direction arrow
The direction of rotation is much more important
on off-road terrain because the tread creates an
interlock with the ground. While the rear wheel
needs to transmit the drive forces, the front wheel
is responsible for transmitting braking and
steering forces. Drive and braking forces have
different directions of action. This is why some
tires are mounted on the front and rear wheels in
opposite directions. On these tires, there are two
rotation direction arrows:
•
The FRONT rotation direction arrow indicates the
recommended direction of rotation for the front
wheel.
•
The REAR rotation direction arrow indicates the
recommended direction of rotation for the rear
wheel.
Figure 51: Rotation direction arrow on MTB tires
The rotation direction arrow must point in the
direction of travel when the wheel is placed in
the fork.
There are also non-directional tire profiles with
no rotation direction arrow.
Assembly
64