Fifty Plus (50+) - Cautionary tale #654

I have a friend who is getting his bike ready for a 7 day trip through Oregon. Last night, he was checking his tires and found a tiny piece of glass IN EACH TIRE. Neither had worked its way through to the tube yet, but who knows in the next 500 miles?

Now, I keep my bike pretty clean. But I will admit I don't check the tires very carefully when I have the Giant up on the rack. I just now went out to check them over. Guess what? A 1/4 inch cut in the tire, right about where the sidewall meets the part that touches the road (I don't know the name of that part). :notamused:It wasn't all the way through, but I could see it was just about to make it. I put a sticky boot on it and am confident it will last, but I will keep an eye on it. This Conti GP 4000 s has about 1800 miles on it, so I would like to get another 1000.

PEOPLE! Go check your tires right now and report back.

I do check my tyres after every ride and it only takes a minute or so. Wipe with a damp cloth to remove the dirt and check the tyre. Easy enough to prise out the offending object with a screwdriver and if the tyre starts hissing at me- I can repair the puncture in the comfort of the Lounge.

Since starting this regime I have only had one tyre deflate when I pulled the glasss out and no other flats on the rides.

Murphy's law now dictates that I had better start carrying a spare folder and another spare tube.

How did you know? I just went to check the MTB and sure enough the tire was flat. The tube was just split through and through. After thurough checking and nothing found.............new tube............new air (I only had about 500 miles on that air and I am sad to let it go) no longer flat.

I'm sort of disappointed that I didn't find anything. Its nicer to have some cause for a flat other then just bad Kenda.

Good advice to routinely check tires. I do this on a weekly basis (check them inside and out). Once a month I try to take the tires and tubes off so I can go over the wheel quickly to keep it true. Every now and again, I find a flat waiting to happen, and can take care of it before it does.

Thanks,I check my tires everyday I come back from riding. I'm going to put the 4000s on mine, when these 4 seasons wear out. I have just over 2000 miles on them now.

An advantage of using 700x32 tires w/tread, and the 20"x1.75" off-road tires on my bent, is that you don't have to worry much about these things. I glance at them once in a while to see if any glass is caught in the tread.

I have 2900 miles on my Pro2 race Michelins and they are definately worn out. This morning on the way to work I ran over a small piece of metal and about 200 yards later I could hear the air hissing out. I stopped and put my used spare tube in, pumped it up and the stem broke on the tube. It was dark and rainy so I didnt try to patch the original one. I called a friend and fellow rider who picked me up on his way to work. On the advice of some of you, I have a set of Conti 4000s on the way from Probikekit.com. I am planning on rotating them to try to get more mileage out of them.

Yup, good advice, been doing this all along. I've picked out lots of tiny sharp bits before they could do their nasty deed.

I have been in the habit of wiping my tires occasionally as I ride as well.

I check them when I clean the bike which is every couple of weeks. A while back I had enough little holes from glass that I just went ahead and replaced the tire even though it had never flatted on me. On my other bike I had noticed teh back tire was getting a little flat topped so I replaced it even though it was not worn out, better safe than sorry. That reminds me - I have been meaning to ask, does anyone rotate thier tires? I don't but I have thought about it (and then rolled over and went back to sleep).

That reminds me - I have been meaning to ask, does anyone rotate thier tires? I don't but I have thought about it (and then rolled over and went back to sleep).
I rotate mine but would advise against the practice because it puts a less than perfect tire on the front. If a weak tire is going to cause a blowout, better it be on the rear than the front. A front blowout could play hell with steering and cause a crash. No fun at speed.:twitchy:

There have been debates on this subject. I believe Sheldon Brown championed the idea of moving the front tire to the rear then putting a new tire on the front and discarding the old rear tire. This way the front always has the least worn tire.

*I am assuming readers realize that rear tires wear down much faster than front tires.*

Here's the link to the master himself (RIP).
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-rotation.html

How did you know? I just went to check the MTB and sure enough the tire was flat. The tube was just split through and through. After thurough checking and nothing found.............new tube............new air (I only had about 500 miles on that air and I am sad to let it go) no longer flat.
I'm sort of disappointed that I didn't find anything. Its nicer to have some cause for a flat other then just bad Kenda.


I have ESPN.

How did you know? I just went to check the MTB and sure enough the tire was flat. The tube was just split through and through. After thurough checking and nothing found.............new tube............new air (I only had about 500 miles on that air and I am sad to let it go) no longer flat.

I'm sort of disappointed that I didn't find anything. Its nicer to have some cause for a flat other then just bad Kenda.

Ihave ESPN.

Oooops. I also have brain freeze.

I thought that was ESPN2

I Have only been riding on the road for a couple of years and I Find that as the flat appears on the rear tyre tread- It will not be long before it is very thin and time to replace. By this time- the front tyre has just about lost its Mould marks and is nicely run in. Perhaps I should just replace the rear tyre as it wears but I do put the new tyre on the front and the front tyre on the rear

On the MTB's- I find that tyres give up on me well before the tread becomes thin. The Tyre just gets chunks bitten out of it by the flints- or Splits come in the carcase from Thorns and flint.

Did you know that if all cyclists made sure that their tires were fully inflated at all times, McDonalds would go out of business?