Lifespan of Tires
 

Just hit the 2000 mile mark on my Continental Gatorskins. I was just wondering, is there a general mileage where tires should be replaced? I weigh about 160, ride on city streets that don't have many potholes or shards of glass, keep the tires around 110-115 PSI, don't skid at all (maybe once or twice because I had to), and keep my bike indoors away from the elements. The rear tire looks like it's squaring off a bit. Any advice would be greatly appreciated - thanks.

I rarely replace my tires at a specific mileage.

I get one pair at the start of the riding season (April) and another around early to mid July.

Of course, if I start to see threads, small holes or imperfections or any other kind of unusual wear, I will replace them asap.

Thanks for the reply. I don't do races, training, or anything like that. The majority of my riding is to school and back everyday (12 miles round trip) and then some riding on the weekends on the river channel. I think I've had the tires on for a little under a year.

I think I'll wait until I can see threads or if the shape changes drastically. I'd rather play it safe as I regularly get up past 40mph. A tire failure at that speed would be disastrous.

Continental usually puts 2 small dimples in the tire tread to be used as wear indicators. When mine are almost gone, I'll take the tire off an use it indoors on a trainer only. I then move the front tire (which always lasts much longer) to the rear and put a NEW tire on the front. I like to keep the front as nice as possible since a blowout up there would be bad news.

As for running a tire until you see cords, that's up to you. Depends on your budget and how much risk you wanna take. Sometimes I end up 60 mi from home before I turn around, so I dont generally ride on tires that worn. For your short commute, that may be a totally acceptable way to go.

Thanks for the replies, I'll be sure to keep an eye out for those dimples if they're not there already. That's a good point about not commuting very far - if something went wrong with a tire then I wouldn't be that far away from home. The furthest I go is about 20 miles away from home. However, I don't want to be riding on horrible tires because then I'd lose some speed. I'm usually going 18-22mph depending on the wind conditions. Since my budget is tight then I think I'll put some more miles on them and then put the front on the back and buy a new for the front.

Gatorskins last a long time. At 140 pounds I've gotten 4000 miles out of a rear tire and it still wasn't worn out. I doubt at your weight those tire are anywhere close to worn out.