JeffOYB

I just had a nice fresh Challenge Grifo filetread tire blow "kapow!" on me while riding hard on a nice trail.

I suppose the tire is 10 yrs old but just mounted for the first time a couple months ago. Maybe 50 miles on it. It has white tread and a black sidewall.

It blew out along one of the grooves of the tread, diagonally across the tread.

My first reaction isn't "dead tire" like most but "Hmmm, I wonder if this thing could be booted..."

I can't afford new sweet CX tires and I don't have many of them. I don't ride that much or that hard. I am totally into kludge fixes.

Now, maybe one failure foretells another... Possibly the rubber is aged and there ya go. Well, if I can get a couple more months outta it...

So I figure if I can find a nice section of other good but truly dead, thin, worn tire that I could maybe glue it to the inside of this one. Or...what about a half dozen layers of Gorilla tape? I kinda don't want a huge lump, but some layering built up inside might work. Might be worth a try.

If I boot with old tire section maybe I could peel off the tread to just leave the casing of a quality-but-dead tire? Did I read about someone doing that here? Maybe a dude on a ride showed me such a boot. So there are nicer boot options out there...

I've peeled off a foot of base-tape to reveal a zone for operations. (Dang, that tape is on TIGHT!) I haven't unstitched yet. I've patched dozens of tubies in my day. I've booted and used duct-tape to line tires before to get hundreds of more miles out of them.

...But I haven't had such a failure before! Diagonal tread failure? Yow!

It's hard for me to say if riding soft trail with 25-30psi is harsh stressful duty for a tire, or not. I suppose all tires work hard.

Whattaya think? Any other ideas?

fietsbob

How is your sewing skills ? got a very curved Needle ?

the casing cords are on a bias.. Car tires were bias ply before the Radial cord tire casing wrapping machines were invented.

JeffOYB

As usual, I can't tell what you're suggesting, but to try to glean the most expertise from your post, so I can follow your instructions: what do you mean?

Should I try to sew shut the sliced-open tread? Sew a boot in place?

Maybe sew shut the slice AND add a couple layers of gorilla tape on the inside? ...I'm kinda liking that idea. But I need confirmation from the expert!

dabac

I've had good luck repairing split tires with liquisole reinforced with thin nylon cloth.

AnkleWork

Yes, there ya go.

well biked

Google Tire Alert. I know of many satisfied customers, with most of the repairs being Challenge CX tubulars.

edit: since the damage is to the tire's tread, I don't know if they can help you or not, but I'm sure they've seen it all regarding CX tubulars. Would be worth contacting them through their website and asking.

JeffOYB

Yes, I hear good things about them. I hesitate to ask how I might do a hasty fix at home. They're pro's. I assume they'll suggest I mail it in to them. ...I've patched hundreds of tubies in my day and am not about to wimp out now. The people who send them tires are, frankly, rich wuss roadies. (Ouch!) Sad to hear that CXers are in that group. So we'll see... Have you heard that they like to give tips to DIYers? I don't wanna be a nuisance to them. (OK, I just googled em. Their only 'info' is where to send your money...)

JeffOYB

Um, I suppose I'll still fool around with this tire but I'm now highly doubting that stitching will last very long across the tread... I'll use some really stout nylon carpet thread but sheesh... I'll smear it with shoe-goo, too. And boot the inside. Joy...

Looigi

If a tire fails not due to external factors like a puncture or cut, but due to its own lack of integrity, I'd trash the tire. And I'm wont to trash a tire or tube before it's totally thrashed.

JeffOYB

Update: I booted and sewed my tire. I've trained on it a dozen times and raced on it once. It's holding up for all my filetread needs. Which aren't many. I prefer my knobby Grifos. I don't like how filetreads corner. They like higher pressures, too. They seem to suddenly collapse and get squirmy in cornering at the pressures I like. But I suppose they're just for fast conditions. They worked pretty good in the one race I used them on this season.