Hey Josh,
Thanks again for another very thorough reply. But I'm still curious about the reason why people run a wider tire on the front. You've told me what, and who, and sold me on wider tires in general. But WHY wider in front?
If everyone is doing it, there has to be a good reason. If wider tires in general are so great, then why not 2.35's on both front and rear?
Regarding profile shape, I am really liking the round shape of the Slant Six. Just as you said, when you lean the bike over into a corner, the tire just smoothly transitions into the turn. Very predictable, and no weirdness. That shape is a keeper for me, and I may always use round profile from now on. OTOH, it's good to know that I can mix it up and put a more square profile on the rear without inducing some strange handling -- like mismatched tires on a car.
the simplest reason why alot of people run wider tires in the front is this. Most frames can not fit big tires in the rear. I know alot of my friends would run 2.3s+ all around if their frames could. On both my Redline and Anthem X a 2.3 can sometimes rub.
The next reasons are this....
Most good riders live on the front of their bike for cornering and 70-80 percent of their corner force is coming from the front tire. If you watch someone who can really corner their shoulder will typically be even with the front hub.
if you watch most recreational riders ride, they typiclally sit their ass on their seat and corner though turning their handlebars instead of getting forward and using their pressure and angles to create the turn.
your rear tire is the tire hat is taking most of the weight while rolling straight and climbing having it weigh less can make it effectively roll faster it does make it spin up faster but just remember this. Assuming 2 tire weigh the same and have the same tread the wider tire always rolls faster.
lastly is some people probably just tried it and liked it......
FYI at XC races its very rare to see someone running a squarer profiles on the front unless it is very wet and muddy.
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