Advice on slit in rear tyre

Not Another Hill

Recent convert to road cycling.

Half centimetre slit width ways that goes down to the mesh below the rubber tread but not through to the inner tube (Schwalbe Stelvio 300 miles). Not caused a puncture. Is it safe to ride on it or do i need a new tyre? Used to running MTB tyres at lowish pressures so a bit worried about whether tyre is likely to pop from internal pressure.

Tom Butcher

Does it make the shape of the tyre deform at all? If not I would normally just ignore it - especially if it doesn't go all the way through the tyre and the cut is effectively closed unless you manually pull it apart.

portuguese mike

It should be fine but just to be safe you could repair it with super glue.

Deflate the tyre then pinch it adjacent to where the slit is to open it out then carefully apply some super glue into the cut (i use the tip of a scalpel blade) then let the tyre revert to its normal shape. then reinflate before it sets it and that will push the cut sides together which will then stick nicely. oh and remember to wipe off any excess before it sets (again i use the tip of my scalpel). i do this for all minor cuts to my tyres up to about 5mm long.

ColinJ

portuguese mike wrote:

It should be fine but just to be safe you could repair it with super glue... I do this for all minor cuts to my tyres up to about 5mm long.

A few years back I got a small nick in the sidewall of a new tyre. Someone suggested repairing the tyre with superglue and I thought I'd give it a go. The repair seemed to hold okay, so I was pretty happy - after all, it was £20 saved.

A couple of weeks later I flew out to Spain with my bike. After a few days easy coastal riding, my group went inland into the mountains. There was a great 20 km descent off the last mountain of the day and I really let rip going down there, hitting 90 kph at times - super fun!

Next morning, I was standing with my bike at the front of the hotel waiting for the day's ride to begin. The training camp mechanic tapped me on the shoulder and told me to take a look at my front wheel. What I saw made my blood run cold... The superglued repair had ripped open and the inner tube was bulging out alarmingly. It could have burst at any moment. I'd done the fastest descent of my life on that tyre the day before :shock: !

These days, I don't repair cut tyres...

oldwelshman

Bin it. It will easily pick up flints then puncture. If you have a turbo bike/wheel, repair it with glue and use it on turbo.

henderson_mk

on the same topic, i punctured recently on a pair of mich pro2 grips ( i don't think they have any protection?) and there's a nick in the tyre that pretty much goes right through... fairly small though. I've moved it to be the front tyre... is there anything else I can do to help prevent more punctures on this?

lesson learned though... pro2 grips are race day tyres

ColinJ

henderson_mk wrote:

on the same topic, i punctured recently on a pair of mich pro2 grips ( i don't think they have any protection?) and there's a nick in the tyre that pretty much goes right through... fairly small though. I've moved it to be the front tyre...

I assume that you've done this because there is less weight on the front? The thing is... would you rather have a front tyre blowout or a rear tyre? It is often possible to control a rear wheel skid but once your front wheel goes you've had it!

henderson_mk

yeah, put it there because there's less weight. :-) its only a wee small hole, but I guess small crap could work its way in easily enough as there's no protection belt

maybe not the best idea? perhaps I'd be better off biting the bullet and just investing in a another tyre and take it as a lesson learned.

ColinJ

oldwelshman wrote:

If you have a turbo bike/wheel, repair it with glue and use it on turbo.

That's what I used to do. My rear wheel always slipped on the turbo unless I really tightened it down on the roller, and then tyres wore out pretty quickly. I never kept tyres on the roadbikes until they were completely worn. They'd be relegated to turbo duties for the last 20% or so of use.

I've now replaced the turbo trainer with a gym bike which has a whacking great flywheel rather than a 'proper' wheel so I don't have any use for my worn tyres. I now ride on a tyre until its first bad cut, or when it starts to develop a flat section, and then it gets binned.

Meds1962

I got a hole about 5mm dia in the sidewall of a mich pro race 2 after only a week and repaired it by using one of thicker type puncture repair patches glued on the inside and some araldite to close up the outside. That worked ok but when I got a puncture through the tread a few weeks later I just replaced the pro race 2 with a vittoria rubino pro to avoid any more hassle. I've still go the other pro race 2 on the front wheel without any problems so maybe they're better without too much load.

rbarcan

Would you say that a nick in the sidewall of an almost new rear tyre about 3mm but not at all visble from the inside means the tyre should be binned?

RIchard

henderson_mk

seems to me it just not worth taking chances with. as it'll probably blow out at the most inappropriate moment, like on a fast descent or something....