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Bontrager tire question for you tire guys?

Old 03-08-12, 02:32 PM
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Bontrager tire question for you tire guys?

I just got back from a 23 mile bike ride on my Fx 7.3 to find my rear tire (Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase, 700x32c) has about 2-3 inches of rubber peeling off. I did lock up the rear tire when a dog ran out in front of me about 2 miles into my ride so now I need a new tire, don't know if this caused it.
The tires only have 1000 miles as of today and I was running 105#s of pressure in them. If this is something that is common with these tires I would prefer to go with another brand. To get the same tire it will be $45 but I am not against buying two other brand of tires if it would be better for me in the long run.

So now my question.

Is this something that is common with this brand of tire or is it just a fluke?
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Old 03-08-12, 03:33 PM
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ive had bontrager tires before and currently and they have lasted a lot longer than that, never had any rubber peel off the tire, a buddy has that same bike, bought new last year, never had any problems with the tires... the front derailleur on the the other hand.. thats a different story,

i would stick with the same brand, but if you find a comparable tire for a good price, can't hurt to switch...
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Old 03-08-12, 05:27 PM
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Whatever you do make sure you buy tires that have a similar puncture protection to the ones you have now as flats will become more of an issue. I have some bonty race lite hardcase tires on my Trek 7200 and they have worked very well so that might be something to look into.
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Old 03-08-12, 06:03 PM
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A picture might help, but a few seconds of locking up the rear wheel should not cause this.

I've heard of the Bontrager tires separating at the different "layers" but I've put tons of miles on mine and never had it happen. I would see if you could take the tire back to the shop and maybe get a warranty or something if your tire was defective. Otherwise, if it were me, I would've lost confidence in that brand/tire and switch to something else. There are lots of tire choices out there. I've heard good things about Continental Gatorskins.

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Old 03-08-12, 06:09 PM
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i run bontrager tires on a few bikes with no problem even with a ton of skid stopping ive never had any real wear on them.

i agree a pic would be helpfull.
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Old 03-08-12, 07:13 PM
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As I understand, in a panic stop you locked up the rear wheel and
skidded a flat spot in the the tire.
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Old 03-08-12, 08:48 PM
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The question is how long was that wheel locked up for. If I was to lock my rear wheel going 30 mph down hill I would definatly need a new tire by the time I stopped. Now i'm sure that isn't the case but the tire might be damaged from skidding with it.
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Old 03-08-12, 09:18 PM
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here are some pictures of the tire. I was going about 12mph when I locked up the back tire, I just don't know if that was the cause.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg
tire 006.jpg (91.0 KB, 118 views)
File Type: jpg
tire 013.jpg (89.6 KB, 121 views)
File Type: jpg
tire 004.jpg (87.0 KB, 126 views)
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Old 03-08-12, 09:40 PM
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Looks like you skidded through the tire to the kevlar belts. The tire is shot! But if you have a good shop, they might take pity on you and hook you up with new one at a discount.

Learning to effectively use the front brake can help prevent this sort of thing, but sometimes, it is hard to avoid it. Better to lose tread than skin, IMHO!
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Old 03-08-12, 09:57 PM
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Originally Posted by BikeWise1
Learning to effectively use the front brake can help prevent this sort of thing, but sometimes, it is hard to avoid it.
+1

Sometimes when I panic I grab both brakes by accident, but if you're not yet aware in such a situation (on dry pavement) you should only be jamming the front brake just before the point you tip over. This takes practice but it's important safety-wise because the front brake alone will stop you twice as fast as the rear brake alone.
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Old 03-08-12, 11:11 PM
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Originally Posted by BikeWise1
Better to lose tread than skin, IMHO!
I agree with everything that you said, except the sentence that I've quoted. I disagree there, because if you are on a budget, it is much better to get a few bruises and scrapes than to blow through a $50 tire. Though if I had a limitless budget for your bike, I'd much rather lose rubber than skin, but that is not the case.

That being said, I've practiced my front brake for quite a while now, and I now have excellent modulation skills. I've never endo'd, but I have gotten my rear wheel off the ground by about a foot in a panic stop.

Just my $0.02.

Last edited by AlphaDogg; 03-08-12 at 11:20 PM.
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Old 03-08-12, 11:14 PM
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I'd guess you either damaged the tire in the skid or that it was a defective tire. I've not had any trouble like that with those tires and I've been riding them several years. If you like them, get the same kind again.
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Old 03-09-12, 11:03 AM
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With that kind of separation of the tread, I'd look elsewhere than Bontrager in the future, even though others haven't reported any problems. It looks to me like thats a dual compound tire, and there was a bonding issue of the two compounds. Maybe stay away from those in the future?
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Old 03-09-12, 08:56 PM
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I went through three hard-cases, all of them had the tread pull off the casing within 400 miles of being new. I avoid them for a number of reason, durability being one.
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Old 03-09-12, 10:23 PM
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Theres alot of people out there that like the stuff but from what i've seen come thru the shop the past couple of years the quality seems to have gone downhill. 5 years ago i didn't see much of it prematurely fail but as of lately idk whats going on but I make sure theres nothing Bontrager on my bike.
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Old 03-10-12, 12:04 AM
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Originally Posted by mbbiker
Theres alot of people out there that like the stuff but from what i've seen come thru the shop the past couple of years the quality seems to have gone downhill. 5 years ago i didn't see much of it prematurely fail but as of lately idk whats going on but I make sure theres nothing Bontrager on my bike.
You have a good point. The quality is iffy as of late. But nos seems great... One of my bonty hanks (bought these when they came out) bit the dust and I ordered a new one threw the lbs and the sidewall was way more flimsy than the old one and the first trip across town it ended up sidewall failed. I found a guy that had an extra that he got when they came out and have been running it for a while now no prob.

My old select invert are still going strong after god knows how many miles and skid stops.
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Old 03-10-12, 08:42 AM
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Originally Posted by Dodgensince74
So now my question.

Is this something that is common with this brand of tire or is it just a fluke?
Look around and you will find it so, as often as not.

I bought a low-miles '08 7.5fx last May and the selfsame tires delaminated promptly. Knew about this tire's defective character from the web, but didn't bother the dude I got it from about it as he thought they were "good" tires. As such he wanted (and got because I needed the bike) his asking price. Tires, chain, and front hub adustment (this alone) should have got me a few dollars off. If I met him on the street and he asked about the bike I'd not hesitate to disabuse him his opinion of being attentive to this/a bike's funtioning (politely of course on my part)--he claimed he was attentive to such things. Doesn't everyone, no? Le sigh.

I get by with a Serfas Seca wirebead front and a Maxxis refuse on the rear. This combo has been satisfactory regarding puncture but not treadlife. I do ride through all kind of sharp street litter. YMMV.

Gonna try a Fyxation Accela on the rear here before April's end.

As far as the FX, it's allright, but I wouln't get it a second time.
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Old 03-10-12, 08:47 AM
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Originally Posted by mbbiker
Theres alot of people out there that like the stuff but from what i've seen come thru the shop the past couple of years the quality seems to have gone downhill. 5 years ago i didn't see much of it prematurely fail but as of lately idk whats going on but I make sure theres nothing Bontrager on my bike.
The Bonty seatpost on my ride has worked without complaint despite itself
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Old 03-10-12, 01:51 PM
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That seems highly unusual. My dad has these in a 700x23c and has several thousand miles on his and havent even punctured. I have bontrager T1 for training and they are freaking bombproof. 15 bucks a tire, I even use them on a trainer trying to wear them and they look like brand new.
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Old 03-10-12, 02:21 PM
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Isn't 105 PSI really, really high for a 32mm tire? I run 700X32's Michelin City tires on my commuter and run them at about 60 PSI front, 65 rear. I weigh 165. I don't know off hand what the PSI rating printed on the tire is, but I don't think it's higher than 80.

I don't know if that has anything to do with your tire's premature failure. What's the PSI printed on your tire, what's your weight, and why did you choose 105? I don't even run 105 on my 700X23 tires on my lighweight road bike. (95 front 100 rear... never a pinch flat).

I can imagine an overinflated tire having problems, but again, I have no idea if it relates to your problem at all.

That said, I wouldn't buy another set of Bontragers if I had that problem. Why not try some other brand instead. I'm very happy with my Michelin's and they weren't too expensive. ~1500 miles and hardly show wear.

Originally Posted by AlphaDogg
... if you are on a budget, it is much better to get a few bruises and scrapes than to blow through a $50 tire. Though if I had a limitless budget for your bike, I'd much rather lose rubber than skin, but that is not the case. ..
You would actually think about this as either a general rule of thumb or during an actual emergency event - to spare wear and tear on your tire knowing you'd certainly go down as a trade off? I can see consciouisly thinking of maneuvering or going down rather than using the brakes if it's a situation wher your experience has taught you braking isn't the right thing to do in that event. But to actually think about going down when braking would be the effective thing to do? Just to spare a tire? That's what tires are for!

To me the "chance" of ruining a tire (and it's only a chance, not a sure thing) is no where near worth the chance of certain pain of going down and any tiny chance of a broken bone or bad sprain, let alone the added possibility of face, teeth, head or neck problems. Not even close to being worth it, at my most poverty stricken working student days.

To each his own, I guess. But I wonder if you're really serious.

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Old 03-10-12, 02:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Dodgensince74
here are some pictures of the tire. I was going about 12mph when I locked up the back tire, I just don't know if that was the cause.
That's not normal wear. If it was my bike I'd take that tire to a Trek dealer for a warranty replacement.
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Old 03-10-12, 10:03 PM
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I replaced the Bontrager Race Lite tires on my wife's bike with Michelin Pro Race tires. She says that's the best thing I've ever done for her.
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Old 03-10-12, 10:23 PM
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Originally Posted by Al1943
I replaced the Bontrager Race Lite tires on my wife's bike with Michelin Pro Race tires. She says that's the best thing I've ever done for her.
Lmao I've had similar experience but car not bike
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Old 03-11-12, 08:40 AM
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While I dont have Bontrager tires, I use their tubes. I dont know what company makes Bontrager tubes, I understand that there really is only 4 or 5 tube manuf in the world. Any way I have found that Bontrager tubes lose pressure slower than any other tube brand that I have used.
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Old 03-15-12, 08:00 PM
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I decided to replace both tires instead of just the bad rear tire. I went from the 700x32 Bontrager hard case tires to two $15 Forté Strada K 700x28's, I haven't really had a chance to test them on the open road. I did go on a 7 mile ride to Mcdonalds with my nieces yesterday and they seemed to ride smoother then my old tires and today I took my neices on a 4.5 mile ride and a 2 mile walk today. I had the girls go thru some open fields to see how my tires did on hard pack, 2 miles from home the tires on their bikes started going flat. We walked the bikes back home, I took thier tires apart and when all was said and done each tube had 3 to 5 holes each. So far my tires are holding up fine, tomorrow may be different, so far i'm happy with the new tires for now.
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