sirthx

How many miles should you expect to ride a decent tire before grip starts to fade. Typical asphalt roads, with climbing. A guesstimate would be fine.

Thanks much!

Paul L.

Depends completely on brand and amount of crap that is on your road. With some tires I would run out of tread at 1000 miles, others 2000. Some tires would shred due to road hazards in under 400 without fail. I used to get between 1000 -2000 out of Specialized Armadillos, now I use Gatorskins and generally get over 2000 out of them barring extremely nasty road hazards (nails and stuff that will puncture any tire).

alraicercsu

I haven't noticed a decrease in performance but my tires are getting preaty worn down and my front is getting a little well deformed, they are michelin pro races and I have some were over 3000 miles on them.

RockyMtnMerlin

Exactly correct. I have gotten anywhere from 1000 to 2600 miles out of a rear tire depending on brand and model. I do not tend to run them till they are prime candidates for multiple flats. I am currently using Continental Ultra 2000 (folding types) and the rear has 2600 miles. Looks like quite a bit of wear left in them.

Coyote2

Depends on too many variables, so there is no magic number. You should replace tires when you have worn through the rubber down to the cloth or other material underneath, when you have lots of cuts and other damage that could allow debris to penetrate, or when sidewalls crack. Many people worry when their tires get a flat track down the middle, but I can't understand the problem with this, given that even a new tire will flatten out at its contact patch.

slvoid

I've heard of tires lasting anywhere from 15 miles to 25000 miles. You should expect them to last somewhere in between those two numbers.

Machka 

Conti 1000s

3000-4000 kms in the front
2000-3000 kms in the back

I change them before my 600K brevets, before my 1000K brevets, and before my 1200K brevets ... and anytime in between when I feel they are starting to look bad.

My Hutchison folding tire, however, lasted over 5000 kms in front. Nice tire!!

Extort

I have just over 2500 miles on my Hutchinson Pro Comp, but I need to change the rear as it developed a nasty gash when we were out last. It could last longer... A buddy of mine changes his every 1000 or so, probably because weight makes a huge difference in the wear (he is about 50 lbs more than me)...

Mountain tires are different, I have Velociraptors got 4500 out of a rear and 9000 out of the front...

ed073

3000-4000km is normal.

CastIron

Too many variables to predict use. Anything north of 1,000 miles and I'm happy. More than 5,000 and I'm a bit curious.

knoregs

I like the Michelin Pro Race... I average 3000 miles on the rear and over 4500 on the front... they're about $40 - $50 but worth it... flats are quite rare... of course I only weigh about 145 lbs

Al1943

Michelin Pro Race, 2000 mi rear, 4000 mi front.
Numbers are a rough average and depend on how bad the cuts get. I pull them off before they are completely worn out. Occasionally I'll superglue the cuts.

Al

worker4youth

If you superglue the cuts, don't you feel them when riding?

ed073

When I was a poor struggling bike racer, I used to cut out a section of an old tyre and superglue on the inside of the casing to seal cuts.

Worked a treat, couldn't feel it, either.

clausen

I have 4600 KM on my Vittoria Rubinos ridden in the summer only. I could get another 1000km out of the rear but I'm buring it off on the trainer this winter. Front still looks good, I'll switch it to the rear when it goes. 2 bran new ones going on before the bikes goes back on the road.
I run the cheapest tires I can find for my beater. Since it's ridden in poor conditions the tires may last 2000km before getting a bad enough cut that there scrap, so tread wear is not a issue.

jppe

I got 4000+ miles on a set of Vredestein's this past year. Bought them for $22 each and has been a great value. Very comfortable and no flats but they are a little on the heavy side. Excellent training tire in my opinion.

DannoXYZ 

Got over 5000miles on my rear Armadillo in 700x26c. The rear one used to be on the front and it's getting around time to replace it...

Nachoman

Good question. My last two sets of tires have been hutchinson carbon comps and I have been quite unhappy with the overall mileage. I buy them because they're always on sale. I'll try something else next time.

2manybikes

Depends on the tire and what it is designed to do. I have worn out quite a few sets of soft racing tires in less than 1,000 miles. The touring tires on my touring bike had plenty of tread left at 5,600 miles, but the bead tape started coming off. So I replaced them.

DannoXYZ 

I suspect the width of the tyre makes a big difference as well. The flat worn part of the tread on my 700x26c tyre is a full 20mm wide. While the worn-out stripe on my 700x23c tyre is only about 10mm wide. Having twice as much rubber wear away probably increases mileage tremendously even for the same rubber compound.

plin

I ride the Continental GP 3000's until they are square.

I climb a lot and the roads I practice are all fairly good. The rear tire starts to get worn out after 3000Km, I then switch the front and rear for about another 1000-1500Km. So a pair of tires will last me 4500km. The Michelin ProRace lasted less and Hutchinson Carbon Comp even lesser.

good dog

Tread? What's tread?

I've got over 2K miles on my Hutchinson Carbon Comps. I've retired them to roller workouts.

merlinextraligh

It's not a matter of the grip fading. The tire is going to grip as well, arguably better, with thinner tread. It's a question of when it get's so thin it's prone to flat. I ride them until I see cord.

bbattle

I hope nobody here is sweating over the price on new tires. After the money I burned through on a bike, tools, pumps, jerseys, Clif Bars, helmet, shoes, and tubes; I thought the wrench was pulling my lariat when he apologized for recommending the Michelin Carbons as they were so expensive. I drop that much money in my sofa cushions every week. You can't even buy decent Scotch for the price of a Carbon.

hairyleg

How do you guys get 1000-2000+ mi out of Conti's? I bought a pair of ultra 3000's, had them for a record 500mi. I blew them apart and wore them to threads. I now have some tougher Vittorias, action HSD I think, which should last a while longer, but 3000miles? No way!