Darwin and the skid patch
 

So this weekend I threw an old dried out IRC skinwall on my rear wheel, for a bit of skidding fun. A 'bit' turned into LOTS, and I have worn the tire through to the casing in many spots.

I told myself I would change it over to my regular tire before commuting today, for safety.

Well.. my girlfriend distracted me yesterday afternoon and I forgot to change the tire over.
I remembered right before bed though.
I figured it wouldn't be wise to ride on the casing, as its got no grip, and its
likely to get cut up. So I quickly grabbed a tube of black RTV sealant, and went around the
tire, filling up the holes in the tread.

This morning I hopped on, and rode it to work.
The RTV was a little stickier than the rest of the tire, but it held up just fine. Looking at it now, its almost hard to tell where the patches of missing tread are, as the RTV adhered to the remaing rubber so well.

The plan for this afternoon is to ride it home conservatively, until I get to the last steep hill before home. I will then skid it all the way down, in an attempt to blow it out. I can only hope that it catches fire in the process.

Have any of you cats ever had a blowout mid skid?
I can't imagine the handling of the bike changing that much as the majority of weight is on the front tire anyways.

I'll be doing this on a low traffic street, wearing a helmet of course.
Wish me luck =]

chicken

yes. yesterday on the parkway while racing a bus. it was no big deal.

Why were you skidding while racing a bus?

i saw some video some where here on the internet called Mt.skidmore. I dont remember who produced it. but, in this video,
one of the guys is going down a circular parking garage for a while and he blows out near the end while skidding.
to answer your question:
i havnt done it, just seen it done.
cheers

to take the exit.

My friend did. It was a long fun downhill skid, drunk. It always ****ed his wheel up and he spent two hours with it, adjusting the locknuts and truing it. Of course it wasn't his intention to blow out the tire. He said his bike was skidding from one end of the lane to the other as he was trying to maintain control.
It's fun but it might end up bad.

Say goodbye to your rim if you blow a tire during a skid.

Enjoy

the deflated tire and tube pretty well protect your rim unless you foolishly decide to maintain the skid to the point of completely ripping the tire apart or throwing it from the rim (neither of which i've ever been unlucky enough to do)--which might be tough to do. if you stop skidding, ride out of it and tend to the wheel, you shouldn't destroy the rim. maybe i'm just not neanderthal enough about it. good bike components are pretty durable and/or repairable. perhaps i've just been fortunate about that though.

The problem for the OP becomes what to do once the tire blows half way down the hill.
Ride it out and hope the tire doesn't come off the rim and wrap around the cog/axle.
Keep skidding and scuff the rim up.
(I am assuming brakeless)

Enjoy

I think I'll be alright if it blows.
I've got a brake, so I should be able to bring it to a stop before damaging the rim.

I'll have to look for that Mt. skidmore vid.
A parking garage seems like the perfect place to try this.

Meh. I've blown a tube/tire in mid-skid, and that bunch of rubber acts as a tremendously effective brake. You just kinda stop.

Like I said my friend kept skidding after the blow out. then again his speed and the downhill grade of the road weren't helping.

PS: This thread just says STUPID IDEA all over it. That said, have fun whatever you do. Just don't cry if you hurt you or your wheel in the process.

Totally =]
Thats why I titled it accordingly.

I'll report back on how it goes tonight.

Unless the OP soaks the tire in gas and uses a steel rim.
Squeeeeeal...POP...Scrape....Whooosh...Screeeam....Sirens.....

Now it has Jacka$$ wanabe written all over it.

Enjoy

it is somewhat a right of passage to put on new tires and skid through them the same day. Back in the skate days we used to do that with trucks too - put on a new pair of trucks and grind to axel in one day (which is 1/4" of metal, and pretty effing sick).

Not so much, assuming a straight-line skid (as opposed to a hockey stop) and pavement that is not continuous potholes. You blow out your tire mid-skid, the tube deflates immediately, and when the tire flattens out due to lack of pressure, the portion between the rim and the road is going to be the parts on either side of the center tread, where you've still got some rubber left, so it's not like you skid through to the tube and you're instantly grinding your rim against the ground. Rideable? Not really, but then not any less so than any totally flat tire.

I've done it several times now. Whenever my rear tire is about to be replaced, I go around the block skidding like an idiot until I blow it out. Lots of fun, actually.

http://www.eleventooth.com/videos.htm

found it. half way down skiiidmore

Word to the video. Good fun that looks like.

Bwahahaha, bonus points for you.

actually, go ahead and cry and then post about it so everyone can say "told you so!"

when i finally learned to skid i destroyed my tire in a matter of days. i was running a 48/16 ratio so there was just one huge skidspot. i flew off a curb on the way to school and it blew out and sort of started wobbling under me. scared the **** out of me, can't imagine feeling that in the midst of a skid

Well.. I made it home. The last hill wasn't as steep or smooth as I thought, and I came to a stop multiple times. Due to the 30 skid patches, the tire is pretty trashed all around now.
I might take it out to my alley later tonight, but I'll probably just throw my Serfas tire back on for tomorrow.

EDIT: Thanks for the vid link, West Los CA! Initial D style.

a few months ago, i was skidding on an old rubino when some part of the casing wore through and a large bubble burst out of the sidewall, sticking out half an inch or so.

the tire didn't blow, but my clearance is tight and the bubble wedged on the chain stay and locked up the wheel. luckily, i was on an empty road but it was quite a shocking first.