Sidewall graze.
 

Brought my Daughter on her first charity cycle today and when I got home I did my usual post ride checks. When checking my tyres I found that the kick stand on my Daughters bike had been rubbing on my from wheel while in transit resulting in 2 or 3 small (2-3 mm round)worn areas on my sidewall. You can see the threads just under the worn rubber but none of the threads are damaged. Just wondering if it's still ok to use these tyres as they are pretty new or do they need replacing. Thanks in advance

Exposed threads and casing on a sidewall are usually an indication that the tire is done. At the very least, if you really want to keep it, boot it with a section from an old tube and put it on the rear.

Would I still need to boot it even though the damage only seems cosmetic and hasn't penetrated the inner wall?? I have a photo but haven't worked out how to post it yet! !http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=421443

Get a new tire soon.

I would throw it out or move it to the rear, where a failure would be less dangerous. Had a rear tire with similar wear that survived several thousand more miles before wearing out.

Welcome to BF!

+1. buy a new tire .. save that one for emergency spare ..

I wouldn't be concerned about that as long as the fabric isn't broken.

A tire with exposed threads should always be booted, since if the rubber was abraded away there's likely to be damage to the threads as well, even if they're not immediately apparent to the naked eye.

Personally, if it was my bike I'd *probably* be OK with that on the rear, booted, on a townie bike. But I wouldn't ride it for very long at all on anything I rode at speed.

Perfect. Thank you.

If none of the threads have been frayed, get some liquid latex and paint it over the exposed areas. This will provide the same protection the original coating provided.

That is cosmetic non of the casing is damaged and booting that will do nothing if it had a hole then yes.
Ride it

I would replace it. I mean, you could ride with it for a bit, but it'll get worse and cause issues. You might as well replace now as opposed to riding it and having it cause an issue; leaving you stranded somewhere.

Exposed but undamaged is perfectly OK. The fabric is what provides the strength, and the rubber over that is partly cosmetic, and partly to protect the fabric.

The OP can use some rubber cement to seal the outside and maintain the status quo, or he can do nothing, and odds are not suffer any consequences as long as he stops the rubbing that brought it to this juncture.

Picture it this way. You trip and rip your jeans over your knee, but the knee is unscathed. So you can go on with your uninjured knee, and the ripped jeans won't matter. Or you can buy new jeans in case you trio again.