iareConfusE

These are some Hutchinson Atoms, 700c x 21, and when I went to change a flat and inspected my tire, I noticed that the sides of the tires, where there is a crease is starting to dry out and crack. I don't think that it has caused any problems, but I was wondering if this was normal at all, and could it potentially be a major problem later? These tires only have about 200 miles on them...



Thanks.

Panthers007

I don'r really see a problem. Can you either take a more definitive picture, or describe what you see?

iareConfusE

If you look closely right under the crease, you can see lines of white, which I'm guessing is the material under the rubber wall. The rubber is just cracking, I'm not sure how to take a more definitive picture than this, other than to underline the damage, which is pretty clear in the picture.

Panthers007

Perhaps the tire is old stock and drying out. Threads are what the actual tire-body are composed of. Their counts is what tells you their intrinsic strength - such as 170 threads-per-inch (tpi) or 330, etc. Personally I'd buy another tire and ride what you have into the ground. If it dies on you in 2,000 miles - Don't buy another Hutchinson. Many people don't like them due to their mounting difficulty.

If you don't feel comfortable riding them - try another tire. I like Continentals. Specifically the Grand Prix 4000S at 700 X 23C.

What sort of bike are you riding and how? 21C is rather narrow.

iareConfusE

I'm just riding a typical, entry level road bike. I bought these Atoms because they were on sale for extremely cheap, and yeah, the reason for that was probably because they were old stock. Which scares me a bit because before finding out about these cracks I also bought some more Hutchinsons that were on sale at Performance. I hope these ones aren't old stock as well...

Anyways, I happen to like hutchinsons because they actually are really easy to mount. I haven't had a single problem with any of their folding tires, I mount them without a tire lever too.

xenologer

looks like Sidewall Dry Rot
The rubber just gets old and cracks, as long as the threads you can see thru the crack aren't themselves torn I'd keep using it. It's the threads that hold the shape, rubber's just protection.

iareConfusE

Yeah I figured it probably wasn't that severe, but since I'm riding a century in a few days I figured I would switch to my new tires for the ride, then switch back to the Atoms once I return.

Retro Grouch 

Are you sure that you want to do that?

You're not OK risking a tire sidewall blowout on a ride that likely will include tech support but you're OK with having a blowout 10 miles or so from your car on a typical solo training ride?

You said that you bought them because they were cheap. If it was my bike, I'd chalk it up to experience.

rumrunn6

Mount the new ones, toss the old ones. Just "turn your head and spit".

iareConfusE

Well, the insurance is that if I have a blowout on a training ride, I have people that I can call to pick me up, whereas on my century, nobody will be able to pick me up.

Anyway, I will try contacting Hutchinson and Performance about the issue.

edit: I've found the contact us page on Hutchinson's website, but its all in French, and they don't even list an email address... Is there even a branch or a corporate office in North America that I can speak to?

Re-Cycle

Wow my standards must be a whole lot lower then the norm. I've ridden decade old tires that have no more rubber on the side. Its the threads holding the tire together, as long as there is no fraying you are fine.

This reminds me that I have NOS goodyear 28" tires on my Phillips rod brake bike that are thirty years old, rides fine.