So I mounted my front tire after having it replaced, and the bike rides like a dream. My dad later looked at it and told me I had it mounted the wrong way. I didn't understand how. The tread (when looking at the front of the bike) looks like a "v" which I thought was right since if you were riding in rain it would split the water to the sides after channeling it from the middle. Also, there seems to be small arrows on side of the tire (the part with the brand and sizing) that point in a front rotation, which further convinced me I had it mounted right. However, after looking at some pics of bikes (one on here) the tread on those tires is in a ^ shape. Which is right and why?

 

If the tire you put on your bike is a directional tire, meaning it is meant to rotate in one particular direction, then it will have an arrow on the side of it pointing in the direction that it is supposed to rotate. As far as the tread design, only the engineers that designed the tirewould know why the "V" is in one direction or the other. I suppose that there are different schools of thought on either way.

 

Well I was thinking about it, and on cornering the ^ shape would make more sense than the v shape. The outer edges would hit water first and push it to the middle of the tire, effectively steaming it away from the contact surface of the tire since the middle tread line would be off the road. But that really only works with cornering. Maybe the same idea applies with grip. Perhaps if the tread is in a certain direction it gives the tire more grip than the other way.

 

ditto on the arrow on the tires if they are directional. also match the arrow on the rim too.