Originally Posted by
Retro Grouch
No tire is all rubber. The base of a tire is a fabric caseing. If the threads in the caseing get cut, the internal tire air pressure will eventually cause the cut to expand and the tire will eventually blow out. A boot is only a temporary repair. Incidentally, 6mm is a pretty long tear. There are definitely several cut caseing threads in a tear that long.
Eventually a booted tire is going to fail. Your choice is between replacing the tire in the comfort of your home or replacing the tire somewhere on the road.
I disagree. I've run boots in tires with pretty large slashes, until the tire wore out, but the boots still held up.
OTOH the Park boots are so thin that the edges can wear holes in your tube, and are only good for on-the-road emergency repairs to get you back home.
Best boot I've ever seen and used is made from an old tire itself cut into an ovalized shape about 2.5 inches long. An old cycling friend of mine gave me one when my brand new (8 miles on it) Conti Grand Prix 4000 ($50.00!) blew out a sidewall and I had to make it back home. Since it was cut from an old tire it fit perfectly. Clever idea that works great and is free.
Bob