I got this cut going over some glass on only the second ride on my new Continental GPS4000s.



Today, about 600 miles later I had an interesting garage flat. It was interesting because when I pumped up the tire, the air escaped quickly through a hole. That is, it's interesting because usually garage flats are slow leaks.

Anyway, the hole was either under the slash, or under one of the other two holes.

I booted the problem area with some gorilla tape -- do you think that will do it, or should I replace the tire?

gorilla tape would get you home just fine but do you really want to have a puncture on a downhill that lands you in the hospital for a week? IMHO it would be the height of foolishness to try to save a few bucks in this case. If you ride leisurely on the sidewalk at 6mph and getting a flat is no big thing, then ...suuuurrre... but I'd throw that tire out. I distinguish between a point puncture and a cut. A single thorn puncture is so small that I don't consider it to be something that makes the tire less safe, but any cut more than about 1/8 inch that compromises the underlying layers of tire is enough for me to throw that tire away. I'll bet there are some really strong boot materials that would be reasonable to use but I don't know that simple Gorilla tape is really that strong with regard to puncture resistance. Tear resistance...yeah...but that's very different from puncture resistance. Just an opinion....

I wouldn't worry about it. You are not looking for puncture resistance with the gorilla tape, just preventing the tube from poking through. If you're worried about flats putting you in the hospital, find another sport. Flats just happen.

That cut really is not all that bad it should be ok ride it!

Pull the tire and look from the back to assess the extent of cord damage. I boot tires with scraps cut from good cotton fabric, like an old sheet. Don't forget to cut the boot so the threads are on a 45° bias, matching the tire's cords. My favorite boot adhesive is 3m fasttack.

The worries about blowouts are misplaced. As long as your tire doesn't show any lump, bumps or twists, it's OK, and the boot is holding, or maybe wasn't needed anyway. The tire will give you plenty of warning as the damaged area frays apart, so pay attention to any thumping as you ride.

How long it holds up is anybody's guess, I've seen boots outlast the tire, and I've seen them fail very quickly.

That doesn't look bad. Some of my tires probably have similar cuts. Check the backside for cord damage, boot it if if pleases you, and put that tire on the back if it worries you.

Rats - I am glad its not me having to make the decision...

I'd use Tyvek, as from a fancy mailing envelope, and glue it in with tire patching cement. That'll keep the cut from chewing up the inner tube. You might want to cut a few extra patches and boot the other cuts as well. If you're really worried about the cut, you can slap some Shoe Goo on the inside.

Today, 1,160 miles later, it blew. It wasn't catastrophic, but it blew fast enough that I heard the swish swish swish as the tire rotated.

I'll look at the boot I'd done -- I don't remember whether I put some Tyvek in there. If so, I'll replace the tire. If not, I might just boot it better.

If you can write about it online , you can replace it .. Booting tires is to get you home..

Too bad you just got the tire .. thats life .. next time, a Heads up! avoid glass patches by going around them..

If ya gotta ride on it, why not try some 'Spin-Skins' (or some other tire liner?)

But, frankly I wouldn't. All logic aside, that tire has had way too much bad luck for me.

Right. I ordered a new tire, and I'll use a different tire (from the bike "box") until then.

Tyvek didn't hold up for me.

Best I've seen lately is a section of tire casing with the beads cut off.

I carried a piece of the stuff they make SOLAS life rafts out of, in my tire kit.

Tyvek makes a very good boot, but it does degrade over time, so you need to replace it periodically. I had to replace my tires last October due to a double blowout (hit an invisible pothole at speed and it trashed both tires beyond repair), and got a fairly deep cut in the new rear tire fairly quickly. Booted it and forgot about it. I tested some different tires 3 weeks ago, and the tyvek was degraded to the point where I could tear it by hand. I suppose the heat and friction of constantly bending eventually degrades the material.

Tires are important. Booting a tire should be considered a temporary fix followed by tire replacement. Tire failures can result in a "no big deal inconvenience" to a rare life altering crash. Putting that aside, I value reliability. I don't want to find myself fixing a flat because a tire has failed when I could have replaced the tire after noticing damage. Al

Earlier this season I had a small slit in a tire which did not go through. I sealed it with shoe goo and it has held up really well.

Huh? What is 'fairly well'? Is that like being "a little pregnant"?

No problems or issues, completely sealed, no separations, bulges, tears, splits, etc.

Which is why I said "REALLY well".

Gotta get these glasses checked. They've been working 'fairly well' (sorry!)

LOL

No problem. Happens to me all the time!

Cool! Judging by the responses, it doesn't seem like there are many else with your sense of adventure.

Shoe Goo works great for me for cuts & pinholes that haven't damaged the cords.

Boot it -- to the trash can. As mentioned elsewhere, boots are normally emergency fixes to get you home.

I might be able to put my other hobby to good use. I'm a drummer and I'm thinking that the Kevlar fabric used for high-tension drum heads would make a perfect boot. Next time I have to replace one of those heads, I'll keep the old one around.