Binky

I picked up an old bike with these tire scrapers installed, front and rear.

Are these installed correctly ??

How well do these things actually work -- or are they just a gimmick ??

FBinNY 

Tire savers, aka flint catchers operate on the theory that small shards can get embedded in the tread, and as the wheel rotates, slowly get pounded deeper until they cause a puncture. There's debate about theory, with believers and detractors being equally adamant, so I won't go there.

There's also debate about whether they're better mounted point forward, or as in the photo, backward.

So whether they work at all, or which way works better, who knows? IMO they do work somewhat if you ride on roads where there are plenty of small shards of glass or stone, but don't expect miracles. Along with tire liners, liquid sealant, belts under the tread and whatever, they're another attempt to postpone the inevitable, which is that one day you'll be changing a flat along the side of the road.

hueyhoolihan

AFAIK, they are installed correctly. the theory, IMO, is that lightly impeded debris, if left on the tire, will soon cause a flat, possibly within a revolution or two, so the sooner it is removed, the better.

we also thought, at some time in the past, that parachute pants and Nehru jackets were a positive fashion statement too.

DiabloScott

These things are for people lacking the coordination to wipe their tires properly; with their gloved hands.

bikepro

This only works if you realize there may be something in the tire. Also, rear tires are worse about picking up things -- try wiping the rear tire without stopping. Years ago I used tire savers. People who ride where goat heads are a problem used to swear by them.

zonatandem

Vraiment mon ami!

mobilemail

When dry they might be crap flickers. When riding in the yuck, they are definitely mud grabbers. I think they would also be a little more challenging to install on bikes with recessed nut brakes. In their heyday the brakes were nutted, so no problem. Coincidentally, that was the era before tires with good flat protection. C'est la vie! :-)

DiabloScott

You do it when you ride over glass or something - or notice something on your tires.

Yes, I mastered this skill in 1986 - about the same time as these tire savers were popular. Most everybody did it back then - or if they couldn't, they'd get tire savers... QED.

Matariki

I used them and put many, many miles on light tubulars without a flat. Did they work? Who knows? Perhaps I was just lucky. I used to gripe about how much grit and grime they deposited on the bike and me.

79pmooney

I always did it with my fingers to save my gloves. Also so I knew what was on there and what cuts the tire had and if a thorn or glass was still there. (That info was important when I rode sew-ups exclusively, I was an amateur bike racer buying his own tires and I healed fast.)

My "rule of thumb" for wiping the rear tire of my very short chainstayed, steep seattubed racing bike was to find the seatstay and reach down just in front of it. (Nowhere near enough clearance behind the seattube!)

Ben

cny-bikeman

I used them when living in the desert, where nasty goat head thorns were the primary cause of flats. They were large enough that the tire savers helped prevent many of them from causing flats. I took them off as soon as I moved away.

Andrew R Stewart 

Tire savers are shower makers when the roads are wet. Andy.

Grand Bois

I mount them the other way around.

cyccommute 

+1. I would think that they would be ineffective on glass but they do a pretty good job of flicking goatheads out of smooth tires. I never really used them, however. Sometimes, keeping the goathead in place did a better job of preventing air from escaping them pulling them out. You'll still have a flat but it a slow leak instead of a sudden release.

trailangel

Finally someone answered the question.
They are mounted backwards. And yes they work. And you can temporarily bend them up in the rain it you don't like the spray.

squirtdad

if you check out classic and vintage you can get info about these. Member rootboy makes and sells a version'

Fred Smedley

With goatheads, you will never be fast enough.

FBinNY 

Probably right. But possibly they'll help with tires that have a puncture resistant under tread belt, or with tire liners. The belt or liner may resist the initial penetration, and the tire saver will flick it out to prevent woodpeckering.

IME tire savers work best with small shards not large enough to penetrate on initial contact. Anything bigger and half way around is too late.

CliffordK

I do both tires... except on the cargo bike, where the rear is too far away to reach.

However, most flats occur at unexpected times... so when I run across glass... I may pick some up, I don't know, but never get a flat until much later.

One of my recent flats, I had an intact piece of glass sticking about 1/8" out of the tire. First time that has ever happened, but perhaps the tire saver would have "saved" me.

Dad put those on his bike, I never did.

davidad

That is also a dangerous waste of time.

davidad

I used them years ago. After I stopped using them I could see no difference in the number of flats.

DiabloScott

I'm determined to turn this into a tire-wiping megathread war.

davidad

Careful, you will be violating rule number 2.

CliffordK

Dangerous?
I don't move in front of a BUS to do my tire wiping.

Whether it really helps? I don't know.
And, I often do it with bare hands. Perhaps I could get a minor finger cut (which would indicate a good time to stop and inspect the tire), but never have been cut.

trailangel

While riding along, put your hand down on the rear tire between the tire and the seat tube.