How many miles from a commuting tyre

bedraggled

How many miles would you expect to get from a commuting tyre?
I've never kept a record but earlier this year I bought a new bike with a new speedo, therefore I know exactly how many miles I've done. I got a puncture today and when I changed the tyre found it had pretty much disintegrated.
It's a Specialized All Condition Armadillo so it isn't a cheap tyre and I thought it would have lasted much longer.

clarkey cat

how many miles had it done?

bedraggled

2876, am I just being a skinflint?

davis

At a guess, about double that.

msmancunia

I've got the same - new bike, new speedo etc. I've done 2400 on the bontrager ones that came with my bike, they're in really good nick and I've never had a puncture*. Maybe I'm just light on my wheels :-)

*I know, I'm tempting fate....

rick_chasey

Depends how fat you are.

bedraggled

Rick Chasey wrote:

Depends how fat you are.

I'm not overweight, do too much cycling for that

sketchley

I'm 18 stone and I get about 3000 from a rear tyre maybe a bit more, more from the front though, a lot depends on where you ride and when winter being harder on tyres than summer, gravel harder than tarmac. Also one piece of glass can screw a one day old tyre as much as a 3 year old one

Long_Time_Lurker

I might have expected a bald patch or two if you go fast and are heavy on the brakes, but that tyre is screwed.
Would have expected more miles than that.

Wheelspinner

I'm sorry, let me get this straight. That's a photo of your *actual* rear tyre, and you only noticed the condition of it when you got a puncture??

UndercoverElephant

Wheelspinner wrote:

I'm sorry, let me get this straight. That's a photo of your *actual* rear tyre, and you only noticed the condition of it when you got a puncture??

Done that, however I'd actually gone to change the other tyre, which was much less worn. No punctures, nothing. Nice full mudguards meant I never knew.

OP, it depends on the tyre. More expensive doesn't always mean longer lasting, quite the opposite sometimes.

sketchley

Looking at that again there is a lot of wear round the whole tyre, are you sure nothing is rubbing? Mudguard maybe? Are you locking up rear tyre a lot everytime your brake?

craker

I expect the longevity of a tyre is inversely proportional to the amount of grip you get.

My recent tyre strategy was 'buy cheap replace often' as offering better vfm - so I got a pair of Schwalbe Blizzards at £17 for the set. Pretty disappointed that the rear is done after less than 2000 miles. Not 'done' like the OPs though, I think those tyres are 1000 miles past replacement. :-)

TheStone

That's not normal. Something rubbing or a defect tyre.
I'd get around 7000k from Schwalbe Duranos (and I change them way before they really need to be).

BelgianBeerGeek

I reckon on a set of tyres every year. Maybe if I get a few months more out of them I'm lucky. With the other riding on top of the commute, that's about 3000-3500 miles a year. The commuter/cross beast came with Kenda Small Block 8's and I'm still on them. I swapped the front with the back ones about 2 months ago to prolong the life. I have been pleasantly surprised they have worn this well for stock tyres supplied with the bike, but I got a puncture on Tues from a flint washed into the road. On inspecting the tyres they are pretty well knackered so am now hunting for replacements for the winter.
The commute is 16 - 20 miles (depending on the route I take) of pi**-poor country road so they do take a hammering.

mudcow007

fecking hell!!

have you been doing burn outs at the traffic lights or something??

Gussio

Does a tyre wear faster if it isn't inflated to the correct pressure?

Armadillos are pretty hard-wearing in my experience. A bit too hard wearing in fact, which I think is what makes them a bit scary in the wet. I don't use them any more, opting instead for the Conti Gatorskins (which can often be had for mucho cheapness at Ribble).

mudcow007

Gussio wrote:

Does a tyre wear faster if it isn't inflated to the correct pressure?

yeah they must do, less psi's more tyre on the ground

more psi less tyre?

fossyant

Blimey, do you not check your tyres ? Should have replaced that ages ago.

The Rookie

mudcow007 wrote:

Gussio wrote:

Does a tyre wear faster if it isn't inflated to the correct pressure?

yeah they must do, less psi's more tyre on the ground

more psi less tyre?

So how does that make it wear faster? Wear differently maybe, but faster, no.

fossyant

mudcow007 wrote:

fecking hell!!

have you been doing burn outs at the traffic lights or something??

He's just awesome !

bracketed

I have that tyre on the back wheel. It's on about 2100 miles right now, and the rubber is starting to get thin. In places I can see small bubbles where it is just starting to detach from the layers underneath. I'll be replacing it soon...

I've got a Conti GP4000S on the front - it's done about 1500 miles, plenty of rubber left, but its starting to cut up a bit now. It's softer than the armadillo and grips better, but I found they wear out too fast on the back (and again, cut up too readily). Great on the front though.

FWIW, I'm a shade under 100kg, and ride pretty hard and fast, and generally brake with the front. I don't usually expect to get much more than 2000 out of a rear tyre.

UndercoverElephant

Looks quite normal to me, here's my last rear tyre when it was done:



Once they get thin enough for one bit to go through to the casing, it doesn't take long for the rest to follow. That was about 5,000 miles with a 87 Kg rider, going too fast over shite roads, though. But it *was* a Rubino Pro, which are pretty damn tough.

bedraggled

I check the tyres every time I get a puncture
There wasn't any rubbing on the mudguards until a couple of days ago which I assume is when the tread separated from the puncture proof layer.
I actually experienced the same issue a few years ago with the last set of Specialized Armadillos that I had but didn't know how many miles I had done.
I've gone back to Marathon Pluses, the last set I had were over two years old and didn't have a mark on them.

mudcovered

bedraggled wrote:

I check the tyres every time I get a puncture
There wasn't any rubbing on the mudguards until a couple of days ago which I assume is when the tread separated from the puncture proof layer.

Wow. My rear Conti 4 seasons is in better nick than that after the same sort of milage!. I reckon I've got at least that many miles again before I have to replace the rear one.

It really does look like its been rubbing on something. Note to self don't buy specialised armadillo tyres.

Mike

gbsahne001

The armadillo I had on the rear of the BSO has also worn noticeably faster than the Gatorskin hardshell on the front. I'm guessing but I think that I changed it at about 4k, as it was showing signs of distress but nowhere near the state of the OP's and the hardshell on the front is still going, although I should really change it with the new one under my desk

mudcow007

my marathon pluses are on 4000 miles at the moment they are cut up pretty bad but still loadsa meat on em

i will be replacing them when we are through winter (if they last that long)

vorsprung

I put the new Marathon Plus on the front, put the old front Marathon Plus on the back and bin the old back Marathon Plus* This happens approx every 5000 miles

So the total mileage is 10000 miles per tyre but they only last about 5000 on the back before they are completely slick.
I weigh over 80kg ( 87kg atm ) and this bike is on horrible lanes with mud and stones and crud all year round.



* actually I don't, it's still ridable and I keep it as a spare

Santa cruzing

I'm 2700 miles into a pair of rubino pro 2 folders. the rear is a little squared off but loads of life in that yet. I find them a pretty good balance of speed/grip/cost/mileage.