Originally Posted by ******bagonwhlz
This spring as I was slobbering on and wanting to ride my good bike, I noticed that the rear tire has shown what I think is a lot of wear. There is actually a flat surface on the contact surface of the tire. The tires were brand new last fall on a brand new bike that only got about 700 miles last fall. I would say that 60-70% of my riding is on asphalt, and the rest would be chip and seal and other marginal paved surfaces.
the tires are continental gp 3000s, size 23, and I always make sure they are to 120lbs before I ride, b/c I weigh 235 and don't want any flats (still got one though).
after this I checked my SS tires and the rear hadsimilar wear on a 23 michelin megamium. but the ss is not a good comparison b/c I frequently ride it with my work crap and man purse items which surely total 30+ lbs sometimes. and on rougher surfaces....
FAT KIDS: What is a good high mileage tire?
also: is this site slow on anyone else's computer? I look at pictures all the time, movies, all that good stuff, and it never tires out my computer like bikeforums.
There are three issues with tires, the heavier the load, the wider the tire should be. This is why you often see 30mm+ tires on touring bikes, a bike with a 170lb rider and 65lbs of gear is the same as a 235lb rider with no gear. Personally I think bike frames should all be built to accomodate a wide tire, after all if a 500lb guy wants a bike (extra extra uber clyde?), and needs a 48mm tire to carry the load, why should the frame hold him back. Mind you mountain bike frames all accomodate 50mm+, some handle tires as wide as 60mm, so that is always an option.
Second issue, the softer the rubber, the faster the wear, soft sticky rubber can wear out in nothing flat, so you want a harder compound tire then the one your using, mind you it will have less grip as well.
Third, rear tires wear faster then fronts do, to get best use out of your tires, when the rear one wears out, get a new tire, put it on the front, put the old hardly worn front tire on the rear. This way you always have the best tire on the front, a blowout on the back, means a bumpy stop, maybe a skid out, a front blowout means loss of control and a possible face plant, and those hurt If you want to find out, how I know a face plant hurts, see my blog.