Front tire wore out very prematurely. What's the cause??

Bill Hilly · 05-24-2024, 12:40 PM

My KPX has 2,500 miles now, and my front tire has about had it, but my back is still very good. I don't usually gauge my tires before a ride, but I always check them and make sure they seem hard. My tires never leaked on the KPX, and every time I did gauge them the had about 32. A little while back, I purposely aired them down to 27, because I wanted to improve the ride on gravel, but one day, I went to my cousin's in South Parkersburg, about 40 miles away, and went RT 21 most of the way. The bike did find, but when I got there a guy was on the sidewalk, and I could tell he wasn't quite right, but I didn't think too much about it. After a couple hours I left, and the same guy was just sitting on a lawn mower that wasn't even running. I still didn't think anything about it, well I got probably about 8 miles from Ripley, and went through a really sharp low speed turn, and it felt really weird, but just in that curve. I stopped for gas in Ripley, and I noticed my front tire was almost flat looking. I pumped it up, and sped home expecting it to go flat quickly, well it's not gotten low since that, and that's been weeks ago. It was low when I got the bike, but never leaked down after. I have came to the conclusion that either the strange guy, let my air out, or maybe the valve core didn't seat properly, when I aired the tires down a little, but is seated now. The pattern of wear on the front is a lot like the rear knobby from the Hawk, each clear is shaped like a ramp, or a wedge. I adjusted my preload in the rear, but never did anything about front preload, and I wonder if that may be the cause. Any opinions?

05-24-2024, 12:40 PM	#1
Bill Hilly Join Date: Feb 2021 Posts: 951	Front tire wore out very prematurely. What's the cause?? My KPX has 2,500 miles now, and my front tire has about had it, but my back is still very good. I don't usually gauge my tires before a ride, but I always check them and make sure they seem hard. My tires never leaked on the KPX, and every time I did gauge them the had about 32. A little while back, I purposely aired them down to 27, because I wanted to improve the ride on gravel, but one day, I went to my cousin's in South Parkersburg, about 40 miles away, and went RT 21 most of the way. The bike did find, but when I got there a guy was on the sidewalk, and I could tell he wasn't quite right, but I didn't think too much about it. After a couple hours I left, and the same guy was just sitting on a lawn mower that wasn't even running. I still didn't think anything about it, well I got probably about 8 miles from Ripley, and went through a really sharp low speed turn, and it felt really weird, but just in that curve. I stopped for gas in Ripley, and I noticed my front tire was almost flat looking. I pumped it up, and sped home expecting it to go flat quickly, well it's not gotten low since that, and that's been weeks ago. It was low when I got the bike, but never leaked down after. I have came to the conclusion that either the strange guy, let my air out, or maybe the valve core didn't seat properly, when I aired the tires down a little, but is seated now. The pattern of wear on the front is a lot like the rear knobby from the Hawk, each clear is shaped like a ramp, or a wedge. I adjusted my preload in the rear, but never did anything about front preload, and I wonder if that may be the cause. Any opinions?
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