Road Cycling - Rant - Stupid Street Car Tracks!

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View Full Version : Rant - Stupid Street Car Tracks!

cyclingshane73
06-26-04, 04:51 AM
So I'm trucking home the other night after work and get ready to muscle over this slight incline. Well about half way up is a set of street car tracks that run perpendicular (sp?) to the road. Well, over the years they may have heaved slightly which isn't a problem...for the street cars. So over I go and pow my rear tire flats big time. Luckly I don't fall so pull over and begin to fix my flat tire. Put in a new tube, inflate it (Gawd I love CO2) and put the wheel back on. Well don't I notice a buldge in the tire sidewall. Further inspection shows that the impact of hitting the steel track has caused a tear in the sidewall. Arrgh!! A perfectly good Mich Pro Race tire ruined! I was so p.o.'ed. :mad:

I'm done. I went out and bought a new tire yesterday, felt like I'd been cheated. The old tire had at least a season or two on it still.

SSP
06-26-04, 07:51 AM
Nobody gets "a season or two" out of Michelin Pro Race tires. They're good tires, but not long-lasting. I average a little less than 2,000 miles on mine, and they seem particularly vulnerable to cuts, especially in the sidewalls.

It's likely that your tire had previously been damaged, and that smacking it into the street car track was the last straw. Otherwise, I don't see how an impact with the track would cause a sidewall cut...that type of impact typically causes a "snakebite" flat instead.

BTW - the best prices for Michelin Pro Race tires (and some others) is at http://www.biketiresdirect.com