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Cheap tyres - a mistake?

Old 11-05-08, 09:20 AM
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Cheap tyres - a mistake?

Hi. I recently replaced the tyres on my old Dawes Galaxy after wearing them almost right through. The rear tyre was one of those Schwalbe ones that has a "puncture protection" logo, but it's not the Marathon. The front tyre was something else, I don't know what.

They were both very, very thin and the back tyre was right through to the woven fabric-like layer. I was getting a lot of punctures.

I looked around all my local bike shops and found the cheapest, lowest quality 27" tyres I could find were made by "duro", and appear to be a single piece of rubber homogenous throughout. Since installing them two weeks ago, I've had at least "one" puncture (three thorns right through the tyre), and both front and back seem to be leaking air somehow.

I spent £16 on the two tyres, instead of £40 for the Schwalbe Marathons, which are meant to be everything-proof.

What are your experiences with cheap tyres like mine - are they really crap and let anything through?

I think I will end up buying the marathons soon - and some proper inner tubes as well (instead of these Duro brand ones, which appear to be completely permeable to air).

Are the marathons any good? I ride around town, commute, plus some touring and long distance stuff

Thanks

--Joe
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Old 11-05-08, 09:47 AM
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The Marathons are good, but will still puncture if you hit something sharp enough. Glass and thorns haven't given me any troubles but my rear was slashed straight through by a very thin and razor sharp piece of flint once. The random air leaks are more probably down to the tubes or rather valves. I've had mixed luck with cheap tires but have always chosen my lines with more care knowing I'm on them. I like my Marathons but yes, they are a bit of a investment.
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Old 11-05-08, 11:45 AM
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Thorns are difficult to resist. Tyres that fend those off tend to have kevlar belts and additional resistance can be applied with tyre-liners and thorn-resistant tubes. "Cheap" tyres, as in low-cost, may not have kevlar belts.

Although for total costs, you'll have better puncture resistance by buying a cheap tyre and add tyre-liners and thorn-resistant tubes. Would certainly fight thorns better than a non-cheap tyre alone. It's all about thickness in the tread area before reaching the air-chamber in the tube. Adding 3mm of tyre-liner and 2mm of thorn-resistant tube gives you an additional 5mm of penetration resistance.
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Old 11-05-08, 12:01 PM
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some tires are far more puncture-resistant than others, but that benefit can come at a price: either in cost or in increased rolling resistance, or both. kevlar-based puncture resistance seems to offer the least compromise in terms of rolling resistance, whereas a layer of india rubber, which is found in some puncture-resistant tires, adds significant rolling resistance.

it is also possible to find inexpensive kevlar-lined tires. i picked up a set of 700x35C forte's (off-brand) for $9 a piece from performancebike.com. so far, they've held up nicely.

if your time and energy dealing with punctures is worth a lot, it is probably worth the extra investment in quality tires that will resist puncture.
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Old 11-05-08, 12:29 PM
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Cheap tires work for me, but I don't have thorns.

You need a tire to match your own conditions.
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Old 11-05-08, 12:47 PM
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I find that there are two types of cheap tires:

-those that are super thin and wear quickly. They get lots of flats. Sometimes they ride surprisingly well.

-those that are super heavy and never, ever wear out. They never seem to get flats. They roll like hogs.

Depends what you want I suppose. On occasion, I have gone both ways. And on most occasions I have instead chosen to spend a bit more for better tires. Its really nice having tires that are reasonably light and reasonably flat resistant.

To the OP: its hard to generalize from one flat, but I suspect if they are as heavy as you describe they would tend to be pretty flat-resistant. And probably are hard to roll.

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Old 11-05-08, 01:03 PM
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Tires are the one part of the bike that can put you down hard in a catastrophic failure. I prefer to spend a bit more and have a little more reassurance in the quality.

Just me though.

I also run tire liners in any tire that I use.
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Old 11-05-08, 08:39 PM
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I bought a cheap Bell tire from Wal-Mart last week. $16.95 for a 27" with a kevlar belt. 50 miles so far with no problems. I'll be going 20 miles tomorrow on a bike path and 25 miles Saturday on road, keeping my fingers crossed.
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Old 11-06-08, 12:01 PM
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Yes.
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Old 11-06-08, 12:12 PM
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For me it is a cash flow issue. I prefer a higher quality tire, but in my poor times, I would buy Kendas from Walmart. They'd be dead in 2000 miles, I spent a fair amount of time picking thorns out of them by the side of the road, and in the desert summer heat, they would melt if I stopped at a stoplight, with the rubber coming out through the threads on the sidewalls. But since I didn't have much money at any one time, they were more affordable than the big dollar investment in a good tire. Eventually I saved up enough to not have this problem any more.
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