I'm flattening out my tires
 

I've put more than 700 miles on my bike so far, a stock Specialized Allez with 700x23 slick tires. I weigh 235 lbs and am pretty religious about keeping my tire pressure 115 - 125 psi. However, I've noticed that my back tire (and to much less of an extent my front tire) is flattening out in the center of the tread.

Is this something to ignore, are my tires just cheap, or do I need to be running higher tire pressures/wider tires? I had a friend tell me that he tried running 130 psi in his 700x23 tires but they'd blow off his rim too easily when he attempted to do that.

I was thinking of switching to 700x25 tires once these wore out, but I doubt it would make that much of a difference when it comes to this issue.

Thanks,

Scott

That's the way tires wear. WHen it gets too flat, time to replace.

Stock tires suck though. When I get a new bike, I take them off as soon as I get home. What brand are they. I've had really bad luck with Specialized tires. Bought a cheapo at $20, lost a 2 inch chunk of rubber after 500 miles. Bought a $45 non cheapo, lost a 2 inch chunk of rubber after 700 miles.

Had Stock 700X25's on my New Lemond. About 400 miles into the life of the tire, the sidewall split. Put a 23 on the front, placed the Bontrager 25 to the rear. Next week, same split on same this tire.

I use wire bead tires. Continental 2000's (think they are called Race now) were $20, now $30. Seem to wear well. I never use light race tires. Too soft and the rubber wears quickly.

Well, I'm your weight, and have used multiple brands of tires in the 23/25 range, they've all done that to me sooner rather than later. I used to run 28's and they eventually did the same, but took longer to do so.

I either rotate the tires around 500 miles which will get me around 1000 miles for the tires, or just by three tires when I buy a new set and replace the rear tire around 600-700 miles. That'll get me 1200-1400 for the set of tires.

Conti gatorskins do this less than other tires, but the sets I've had wear out in the sidewall instead.

I just consider it another price I pay to cycle, and I load up on tires when they go on sale. I've got 4 conti gp 4000's and 3 pairs of conti attack & force tires sitting in my garage, they're all $50+ tires that I found on sale at various times always for less than $30.

I have been rotating my tires on my road bike and mountain bike for a long time, just due to the fact that being a clyde the rear tire will just wear out sooner. it's easy to rotate them and then you can get at least as much live as possible out of them. Just the price we pay.

I used to rotate my tires and was told by LBS and also read on Shelden Brown site that it is not advisable to rotate tires... I've since decided it is not worth the risk of a front wheel blowout so I now replace both tires at a time and consider it part of the cost of cycling. I've had pretty good luck with the Conti Attack/force combo and I now am very happy with Vredestein Fortezza. I liked the ride of the Michelin Pros but they didn't last long at all.

I roll with michelin krylion carbons. I love em. But they do tend to square and then it is time to have a new pair handy.

One thing I do is rotate the front and back tire to get a little more life out of them. That way I can replace them together.

Normal wear and tear. Twice I have gotten about 2000+ miles out of my Bontrager Select (700X35's).

Since I am getting a new bike in a few months I am going to experiment and see just how far this wheelset will go. It currently has 2,150 miles. With 3 months to go they could get well over 3,000. Wish me luck.

My rear tire wears faster than the front....nature of the beast. When My rear wears out, I'll rotate my front to the back and put the new tire up front. More wear that way and I always keep the better tire up front that way. A rear blowout is usually manageable, but a front blowout can be a disaster with me going over the bars, and I hate hitting the ground at high speed if ya know what i mean!

I don't rotate for that reason. Plus a front tire may last up to a couple of years on my bikes. that's anywhere from 4,000-7,000 miles per year.

Plus I don't understand how rotating is saving money. You wear out 2 tires, you replace two tires. You wear out one, you only replace one. It all the same in the end.:o