Originally Posted by
tjspiel
Unless he has a blowout at 20 or 30 mph.
Personally those kinds of risks just aren't worth it. The tire is clearly compromised. It
MIGHT be OK to continue riding it that way for awhile but why?
The tire is literally where the rubber hits the road. A catastrophic failure probably won't cause him to lose control and probably wouldn't lead to any rim damage but a problem is clearly a matter of "when" and not "if".
The first time my tube went 'poof' because of the blown out sidewall was when I hit the brakes going ~28mph on a downhill leading to a 90* right turn near my office.
I did the smart thing and continued straight and used my other brake to slowly come to a stop...the bike doesn't explode when a sidewall of a tire blows out. Worst case I could imagine the tire coming off the rim and getting stuck in the brake caliper, but mine didn't even lose the bead seated on the rim, just a ~2" long hole in the sidewall 1/8" above the bead.