Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech New front tire issue - feels weird! unbalanced?

Just got new tires installed and noticed the front one feels funny. At certain speeds if I lean it over slightly I can feel the gyroscopic force in the tire. Ive never felt that before. Does that mean its unbalanced?

It also turns very easy...almost too easy, at a stand still. I was thinking maybe this Dunlop has a taller narrower profile and less is touching the road? Could this be the difference in feel?

taller thinner tire will def make the turn in feel sharper and easier (less rubber contact) i went to a taller fatter one and the opposite was true. As for the other thing, hard to say, if both tires were done it could be either something is out of balance on the front, the rear could be out of alignment with the front, it could simply be a weight issue on the front rim, could be a bad tire, did you have any other work done to it at the time when the tires were replaced?

I have had good luck with the ceramic balance beads, and nitrogen in lieu of air in the tires. Tires feels perfectly balanced and the inflated pressures do not fluctuate enough from temp or load differences to fool with. I still check pressures, regardless.

The tire was bought last season in fear of being the last one available so its been sitting for a while. I would go out and flip it once in a while just so it didn't collapse on one side.

But yeah you know the feeling you get when you hold a bike wheel in your hands as its spinning and you turn it slightly?...that's the feeling that I get in the front tire when I lean it to the side slightly.

The only thing that would increase the gyroscopic effect would be more rotating mass, that's all. Slightly heavier tire perhaps.