I do a hell of a lot more reading on here than posting, and I did a search that didn’t do give me a definitive answer. It pulled up some on small cuts, music, cars, etc. This is my first summer into the riding thing. I did 150 miles in the past week though so I don’t feel quite so pitiful reading this week.




Any, the tire has about 800ish miles on it and I ride on the road and paved trails. Most concerning is that on my 30 mile route, I get to go up a great big hill and then come back down it. If I peddle stupid hard, it’ll hit 38-40 mph.

So…

#1 . What’s the chances this’ll blow out?

2. What is a good replacement tire?

If the tire is now at full pressure, it looks pretty good. You can check by deflating it and pinching the cut open so you can see the bottom. If it doesn't reach to the cords, or has barely cut any then it's just a tread cut and the structure of the tire is fine.

OTOH if you see cut cords you have a choice. You can remove the tire and "boot" it inside with fabric patch to restore the strength, or ride it as is alert to "thumping" as the tire begins to pull apart at the cut. That's the key, as the fabric frays at the cut the tire will twist or bump visibly and so you'd feel it when riding and get some notice before a possible blowout.

My personal rule for questionable tires is to keep them close to home, so I use them for commuting and local rides, but replace them if planning long trips.

You could probably go even faster if you get into a good tuck and coast instead.

I like everything in FBinNY's response.

If the tire doesn't show any signs of cut fabric, you may try cleaning the cut tread well, smearing some Shoe Goo in there (tire inflated to full pressure), wiping off the excess, and allowing it to dry for a day before riding again. I've done this a couple times when I wasn't ready to give up on a tire yet, and it seems to do a good job of making the tread whole and keeping other crap from getting in there. I'd keep that tire on the back and not venture far away from civilization without a spare tire.

Bad stuff happens, so the cut may not be the fault of this particular tire brand or model. Tire recommendations are hard with so many good ones out there and so little information on your riding situation...

I ride on Continental Gatorskin tires 700 x 25. No tire is perfect but I usually get 4000+ miles out of the rear tire and 6000+ for the front tire.

Thanks a lot folks. I appreciate the info.