thedave80

I think this falls under mechanics, mods feel free to move it if I was mistaken. THe back tire on my bike, a Hutchinson Top Slick 2, has some areas where it looks like the sidewall is seperating. This is a relatively new tire and i'd hate to pitch it for no reason so I was hoping to get a second opinion on these cracks. Is this safe to ride?

10 Wheels

I would ride it.

I buy tires when I find them on sale ahead of time.
Start looking now.

Pain

Looks like the brake pad is rubbing on the tire.

BCRider

Those are age/exposure hardening cracks. These tires are either quite old or they've been left out in the sun. The heat and UV causes the rubber to age and perish pre-maturely.

They are safe to ride but along with the side walls going this way the rubber of the tread will be hardening as well. If they aren't there already you'll soon find the same sort of crackign occuring in the tread if there's any significant tread sipes. But in any event the rubber is getting hard and more plastic like. This effect reduces the maximum traction the rubber has so you'll likely find that the tires tend to skid easier than they did when newer.

There's no panic but it wouldn't be a bad idea at all to start shopping for a sale on some new tires.

One thing is to avoid tires from shops that put the tires out on display in a sunny window or where they sit unsold for many months or even a year or longer in the flourescent lights of the store. Fourescent lights also shed a high degree of UV which ages the tires prematurely. I've seen and handled "new" tires which never sold. One was around three or four years old and had sat exposed to sun through a front window on one side and flourescent lights on the other. I took it down to look at it as it had a funky brown color. When I flexed the sidewalls they actually cracked instead of bending.

MilitantPotato

They're fine. Unless the threads are damaged and/or there's bulging, it's safe.

Some tires crack fairly quickly. I've two sets that started cracking a few months after purchase, and are still going strong 1500 miles later.

thedave80

I have no doubt that that is an old tire. It's new in that i've only been running it for about 6 months but i'd be willing to bet it had been on the rack at the bike shop for at least a year, plus however long it took for it to get to the shop. Bike shop on a military base in Korea, definately last on the supply chain lol.
Cool. I'll start keeping an eye out for a replacement tire but i'm not going to miss any rides over this. Thanks for the help

gyozadude

I just picked up a vintage touring bike with some Michelin 27 x 1 1/4 tires. They must have been 10 years old, and just hanging in this guy's garage. (Retired, said he had a stroke about 12 years ago and couldn't balance any longer and he's too old to fall and break bones any longer). The tubes, surprisingly were still holding air. The outer sidewalls, though, were really bad. I tore through the casing just taking tires off. The tires pictured here look far better than those. I would remove tires and feel the sidewalls behind the cracks. If it feels like the casing has lost integrity and is stretching from behind, I'd replace them asap. Otherwise, I'd personally continue riding them at proper pressure (but not over pressure) for a 500 hundred more miles.

Ira B

I too would remove and carefully inspect them. If the rubber flakes off of cracks more when flexed I toss em. Most places here in WA you are either going up hill or down hill and at high down hill speeds you don't want to be wondering if you tires are going to blow.
Tires are waaaay cheaper than trips to the E.R.