...well venting about my bad luck with tires. I was about seven months into pair of 700x32 Continental Touring Pluses on my Charge Plug commuter. As the rears wear faster I like to rotate tires after 6 months to even out the wear and help them last longer.

After removing, swapping and remounting I flipped the bike and gave the tires a final once-over to make sure they are seated evenly and the wheels are true...and there it was...

...a small, but deep gash across the tread, as if someone had taken a razor-blade to the tire, although that is highly unlikely, especially since this was previously the rear with a full fender. It's more than likely a puncture that continued to tear. I think I could see the orange of the Mr. Tuffy Tire liners that I put in the tireseven though the Continental Touring Pluses are supposed to have a puncture resistant layer of their own.

I'm a little frustrated that I didn't see this until after taking the time and effort to swap and remount the tires. However, I suppose this is better than having tire failure halfway to work.

It's just that a couple of months ago the same thing happened when I changed out my studded snowtires for summer tires on my other bike. I didn't see a bad breach in the tread until after mounting and all.

It's possible those kinds of tears and gashes don't show up until the tire is inflated.

I guess in the spectrum of bicycle problems this is minor, but I was enjoying the Continental Touring Pluses which were firmer than my usual tire choices, but grippier.

Oh well, I think I may go for something a little more supple since the stiffer, supposedly more resilient Touring Pluses ended up being breached, and the tread wear was no better than other tires I've bought over the years.