Road Cycling - Cuts in tire

Getting cuts on tires is pretty normal...but at what point do you actually replace the tire? Basically, how do you know the tire is still safe to ride on?

Getting cuts on tires is pretty normal...but at what point do you actually replace the tire? Basically, how do you know the tire is still safe to ride on?

I had about 2200 miles on my rear pro race before I could see the casing. I actually rode for about a week before I noticed it was the casing and not just dirt:) However, if there is a large enough cut or hole that things keep getting caught in I either try to somehow fix it or just buy a new one.

It depends how big, how deep, and where it is.

I think most would agree that side-wall damage is much more dangerous that tread damage

my friend got a pretty sizeable gash on the shoulders of his new vittoria tires.. they were 45$ a piece (wtf???????) so he ran a patch from the inside of the tire and its running fine so far

If you know the tire is getting bad, either carry a boot or a spare foldable. For me, it depends on where I'll be riding. If is is a night ride or involves downhill speed, I want good tires mounted. If the ride will be local and on flat or rolling terrain, I'll ride'm till they die.

Getting cuts on tires is pretty normal...but at what point do you actually replace the tire? Basically, how do you know the tire is still safe to ride on?


Well, my tires pick up cuts now and then from glass (almost always causes a flat). The cuts are generally pretty small maybe 1/8" or so and I have never had a problem.

Now if you start getting tears in the sidewall, that is a different matter. I had one type of tire that did this twice on me. Great big splits down the sidewall of 6" or so and no way to repair it even with a boot.

I have noticed that my flat frequency seems to go up when the rubber gets thin on a tire. I have not tried to do an objective analysis on this. I just change the tire. Now I used to ride on tires until the rubber was worn off completely and casing was showing through. I never had a problem with any of the handling characteristics of the tire.

I think even a very worn tire would not be particularly dangerous, it would merely produce flats more frequently until it bugged you enough to replace it. Well, I suppose a REALLY worn tire COULD be dangerous if you went and found the biggest steepest longest descent like Teton Pass in Wyoming and went bombing down it as fast as possible and you had a blowout :eek: . But outside of extreme cases, I don't think there is any particular risk.

Wouldn't putting a boot on the inside of the tire cause a bumpy ride?