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At what point do you replace tires?

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At what point do you replace tires?

Old 04-06-12, 10:41 PM
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Originally Posted by ZippyThePinhead
Maybe... maybe not. This video has circulated a few times on the forums. Good technique for any tire:

Generally a good video, but I would disagree with the guy's assertion, when he starts mounting the final edge of the tire at the valve, that "you can start anywhere." Not true, for two reasons, which become quite apparent as he works away at completing the tire mounting. You should ALWAYS start opposite the valve, and finish mounting at the valve because:

1. If you start at the valve, you cannot put the tire bead adjacent to the valve into "the well." This loses you precious tire circumference. I'm amazed that this guy cannot see that! If you start opposite the valve, you can put the entire tire circumference into the well. The one place you don't need to put the bead into the well is at the valve, but that's OK, because that's where you finish!

2. You notice that the guy keeps having to push the inner tube into the tire to make sure it doesn't get caught under the bead as he nears completion. If you finish at the valve, this is not an issue, as the tube stays put because the valve is in the valve hole. And at the point where you push on the final section of the bead, you merely push the valve up so the bead can clear it, pop on the bead, then pull the valve back down to seat it in the valve hole.

Finishing at the valve I learned from John Forester early in my cycling career. The first time I tried it, I was amazed at how much easier it was.

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Old 04-07-12, 05:17 AM
  #27  
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I change mine when the air starts showing through.
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Old 04-07-12, 05:23 AM
  #28  
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I Start at the valve and once I have the tyre almost at the point it gets difficult to mount- I push the valve stem up inside the tyre to allow the bead to locate. The bead fully locates on the rim as it is being pulled into the well. That's my theory but the other way will have just as good a reason.
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Old 04-07-12, 05:42 AM
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Originally Posted by JanMM
Those are not lightweight delicate namby-pamby tires - at 580 grams (559 size) they should be plenty durable.
Well, I don't intend to ride them over to Namby-Pamby Land.
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Old 04-07-12, 07:50 AM
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Originally Posted by TomD77
Don't forget to close your brake quick release...
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Old 04-07-12, 07:51 AM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by jmccain
I change mine when the air starts showing through.
That's always my temptation.
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Old 04-07-12, 08:33 AM
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you could use that squared tire for drag racing ... don't know about its cornering capabilities. just move that front tire back there when the rear starts showing too much wear, and get a new front. front tire flats at speed are no fun. ask my dislocated shoulder, from a front puncture doing a wind-aided 25 mph in the flats, Duck, NC. better now, after surgery.
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Old 04-07-12, 01:10 PM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by TomD77
I seem to be hard on rear tires. Below is a picture of a Conti Gator Hardshell with about 2100 miles, the contact area has been worn flat, no longer round in profile. The front still looks pretty much like the day it went on.

It's not like we have tread wear indicators on these tires to tell us when to replace so the question is: when is it time to replace?

I replace them when I get the third flat in the same year, or I see a defect in the tire. A defect would be cords showing through, a bulge or separation. Usually the rear wears out first, so you put the front on the rear and put a new one on the front.
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Old 04-07-12, 03:12 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by jmccain
I change mine when the air starts showing through.
Probably the Winter air trying to get out--Replace immediately with fresh stuff.
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Old 04-07-12, 05:22 PM
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Originally Posted by BikeWNC
When tires, as the rear in the photo, get squared off as such, they might be ridden for more miles but they lose their cornering feel. My rear looked just like the one shown and I could tell on descents especially there was a more defined edge. I replaced them yesterday. Now I would normally move the front tire to the rear and put a new tire on the front but my LBS gave me a pair of Specialized Turbo Pro 25s to try so off came the Spec. Turbo Sworks 23s. I rode them today and they felt quite nice. I'll know more after tomorrow's 70 miler.
^^this.

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Old 04-07-12, 06:31 PM
  #36  
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Maybe because of this thread I went ahead and switched out a Primo Comet Kevlar 26x1.5" tire with a Forte Metro K(evlar) 26x1.25" on the rear of my V3. Moderate tread wear and a few cuts on the comet - I'll keep it as a backup - but I wanted to again try the smaller Forte - lost around 100 grams which is a plus.
I've found that both tires are dirt easy to install/remove on Velocity Aeroheat rims. Used one plastic lever to start the removal of the Comet and the rest of the removal plus install of the Forte with fingers/thumbs.

The local Performance store had the prices for Forte Metro kevlar- and non-kevlar versions of the tires switched. Pointed that out to the sales guy and he sold me the kevlar tire for $9.99. The Comet Kevlars run in the $50-$60 range theses days.
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Old 04-07-12, 06:46 PM
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BTW, my impression of the Schwalbes, if I might have an opinion from limited experience and knowledge (and why not? Everyone else has one) is that they are like so many things in my life: harsh but dependable.
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Old 04-07-12, 07:12 PM
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I put 71 miles on the new Specialized Turbo Pro 25s and they were great. Unless I find a reason over the next few weeks that they don't work in certain conditions, I can't see switching to something else. I rode them at 90psi +/- and they sucked up most all road chatter, cornered well and were generally confidence inspiring. I'll need to take them out on wet roads to see how they handle that condition as today was a perfect bluebird day. They rolled great, I felt no increase in aero resistance and they were comfortable.
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Old 04-07-12, 09:25 PM
  #39  
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Continental GP4000 tires have wear indicators. When these two holes are worn off, the tread rubber is almost completely gone, so the tire is ready to be replaced. Maybe other Continental tires have these, too?

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Old 04-08-12, 02:51 AM
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I did a 100 mile ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway on Saturday, that finished with a 13-mile downhill stretch where I got up over 40MPH.

When I was putting the bike in the car, I saw that the rear tire was down to the cords in a big 4-inch patch, and the cords were showing through most of the rest of the way around the tire.



I guess I should have replaced the tire before I took that downhill

Sundays ride is out, I guess, unless I can find a bike shop here in Blacksburg that opens early on an Easter Sunday...

Last edited by JimF22003; 04-08-12 at 02:56 AM.
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Old 04-08-12, 07:45 AM
  #41  
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I agree with the guys that think about downhill speeds when discussing worn tires. The thought of a worn back tire at speeds over 40 MPH is something I try to avoid, therefore, I probably replace tires TOO soon. Continental Attack/Force has become my tire of choice.
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Old 04-08-12, 09:17 AM
  #42  
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Originally Posted by JanMM
Replace them when you no longer have complete faith in them.
+1. If you're riding in Florida I might wait until I could see cord, but if your hitting 45+ mph on downhills as we easily to on the tandem I use the above approach.

You will need to experiment. We lowered tire pressure on the tandem because we were wearing out rear tires very quickly. At high pressure (and depending on your weight) the tire you picture could be just on the verge or showing cord. At lower pressure, where the patch is wider, you may have reasonable miles left. .
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Old 04-08-12, 09:23 AM
  #43  
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Originally Posted by 10 Wheels
You will have much fun installing the Schwalbe Marathons. My friend had to use metal levers.
Not necessarily. I run Marathons and Marathon plus on most of my bikes, and I don't find them difficult to mount at all. I just finished a build with 700x25c Marathon plus on Velocity Deep V rims, and was able to put them on without tools .
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Old 04-08-12, 09:33 AM
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I just did my first 70 mile ride of the season last weekend on a bike with Gatorskins. Just a few miles from home I was cruising along at a brisk pace on a busy road, and suddenly saw the bike lane was *covered* in broken glass. Imagine a gravel path, but the gravel is entirely crushed glass. There was too much traffic to swing out of the lane, and I was going to fast to brake before running into it, and I really didn't want to brake hard on a loose surface, so I plowed right through it. It extended for perhaps 20 yards. By the end, I slowed down, pulled over, and checked the tires for embedded glass, and...YIKES! I had cords showing through the rear tire, but no embedded glass.

The bike got a new tire as soon as I got home.
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Old 04-08-12, 11:36 AM
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Originally Posted by rm -rf
Continental GP4000 tires have wear indicators. When these two holes are worn off, the tread rubber is almost completely gone, so the tire is ready to be replaced. Maybe other Continental tires have these, too?

Oh, that's what that is,
I thought it was decorative .
Dang
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Old 04-08-12, 11:55 AM
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Originally Posted by Shimagnolo
I just did my first 70 mile ride of the season last weekend on a bike with Gatorskins. Just a few miles from home I was cruising along at a brisk pace on a busy road, and suddenly saw the bike lane was *covered* in broken glass. Imagine a gravel path, but the gravel is entirely crushed glass. There was too much traffic to swing out of the lane, and I was going to fast to brake before running into it, and I really didn't want to brake hard on a loose surface, so I plowed right through it. It extended for perhaps 20 yards. By the end, I slowed down, pulled over, and checked the tires for embedded glass, and...YIKES! I had cords showing through the rear tire, but no embedded glass.

The bike got a new tire as soon as I got home.
Now, if you could just catch the reprobates that scattered all that glass, huh?
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Old 04-08-12, 12:17 PM
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Originally Posted by rm -rf
Continental GP4000 tires have wear indicators. When these two holes are worn off, the tread rubber is almost completely gone, so the tire is ready to be replaced. Maybe other Continental tires have these, too?
I just bought a new Gatorskin and they still don't have them.
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Old 04-08-12, 03:36 PM
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Originally Posted by BikeArkansas
I agree with the guys that think about downhill speeds when discussing worn tires. The thought of a worn back tire at speeds over 40 MPH is something I try to avoid, therefore, I probably replace tires TOO soon. Continental Attack/Force has become my tire of choice.
I probably wouldn't trust a back tire that was worn at 40MPH, I sure as heck wouldn't trust a worn front tire at that speed, a front tire blow out at 40MPH would most likely be fatal.
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Old 04-09-12, 09:58 AM
  #49  
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Originally Posted by Wogster
I probably wouldn't trust a back tire that was worn at 40MPH, I sure as heck wouldn't trust a worn front tire at that speed, a front tire blow out at 40MPH would most likely be fatal.
Your take on the front tire issue is similar to my thoughts until a couple of events. First, my brother, who is much faster (and younger) had a front tire blowout at 45 MPH on a downhill. He said he held it straight and stopped with very little problem. Surprised him and me. A short while later I had a front wheel blowout on a flat at 21 MPH. Not similar to a downhill 40+ MPH blowout, but still I had no handling problems. Besides, I very seldom have much wear on the front tire. The back is the one that wears and flats the most.

Last edited by BikeArkansas; 04-09-12 at 09:59 AM. Reason: spelling
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Old 04-09-12, 10:20 AM
  #50  
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Originally Posted by rm -rf
Continental GP4000 tires have wear indicators. When these two holes are worn off, the tread rubber is almost completely gone, so the tire is ready to be replaced. Maybe other Continental tires have these, too?

And one of the holes is deeper than the other. By the time the first hole is level, I will likely have started getting flats, and the tire will have squared off a bit. I replace if I get a couple of flats that weren't from major debris.
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