Uneven Wear - Schwalbe Marathon Plus

[IronMac]

Hi all,

I've noticed that my rear Marathon Plus seems to have worn a bit more on the left side (facing front) than the right side. It's quite noticeable but not grossly so.

It's been ridden for about 3-4000 kms on (British-left side) tarmac roads with no panniers. I just use a Carradice seat post bag so weight is squarely in the middle. Does having a Rohloff hub result in such a lopsided wear?

The front tire is in great condition, hardly any wear to it. In fact, it looks like the rear tire will have to be replaced long before the front one is.

Thanks!

[julk]

I swap my front for rear tyre occasionally to even the wear out but I have never seen one side wear more than the other.

Is one wheel tracking slightly off true?

[geocycle]

I don't think this is a known rohloff issue.  Check your wheels as Julk suggests.  Then check your shorts and saddle!  Could you be rolling over a bit when pedaling???

[Donerol]

That's odd. Here in the UK we have found our tyres wear more on the RIGHT side. I've always assumed that this is because of the road camber. The difference is very slight, though, and the surfaces today are so bad that I'm not sure that it is still happening to the same extent.

[IronMac]

Donerol, that's the word! "Camber". I would have thought so too but I have cycled tens of thousands of kilometers in Canada and never noticed uneven wear on the LEFT side.

geocycle and julk...I think the wheel is tracking true but have never checked it on the stand so will do that next time it is there. As for rolling...that's a new one! I was just putting some Proofide on the Brooks but did not notice any odd wear on it. Hrmmm...ok, will go and check that. I am pretty sure that the shorts are fine, though.

Thanks!

[David Simpson]

This is an odd mystery, and odd mysteries often have interesting answers.  I'm very curious about the cause of the uneven wear.

Is it possible that the tire is not evenly seated on the rim?  Perhaps the tire looks even when there is no weight on the bike, but with weight, the left side settles lower so that the actual contact patch with the road is to the left of the center-line of the tread.

I doubt that the camber of the road would cause that wearing.  The camber on most roads is so slight that the offset (from the tread center-line) of the wear would be not noticeable.

Do you ride in left-turning circles a lot?   

- Dave

[IronMac]

Do you ride in left-turning circles a lot?   

Actually...I do ride in a car park a bit but I don't think that would make any sort of difference.   

Ok, I can't figure it out. Saddle does not show any unusual wear and shorts are fine. Until I put the bike on the stand, I guess the suspicion is that the tire is a bit off.

Once mystery solved, will report back!