stupid question - tyre wear?

diy

As an MTBer turned roadie, how do you know when your tyres are worn out. On the MTB its easy because you get more punctures and the tread is gone. On slicks, how do you know when your tyres are worn out?

craker

More punctures...

If the rubber wears through to the casing it's time for new tyres, though I'd be replacing them before this.

sungod

mainly this ^^^

some tyres have wear indicators

TheCornishMong

when they're pumped up givet them a squeeze, if the middle feels niticably thinner than the shoulders they're getting close

ilm_zero7

3 good pieces of advice here - i always find it is the puncture frequency that drives a complete change, unless they is an obvious gash

Monty Dog

I very rarely wear a tyre down to the canvas - frequency of punctures or a big gash is what usually consigns them to the bin.

tiredofwhiners

Monty Dog wrote:

I very rarely wear a tyre down to the canvas - frequency of punctures or a big gash is what usually consigns them to the bin.

+1

And as we live in the same town I know exactly what you mean. Picked up another yesterday in a new GP4000S even though correctly inflated that morning, on the route up near Preston Candover.Its not the flint shards that are the immediate problem, but the mud on the roads that allow the flint to be kept in a nice upright position to dig into your tyres.

FlacVest

When you hit glass and get a puncture; you don't want them to wear too thin, as there's less rubber holding that tire together; a piece of glass or something can then do a LOT of damage to that tire, that simply wouldn't happen if it were new.

If you ride on perfect roads or trails, then you won't have many problems with flats, but if you ride in the street or something, having new, awesome tires is a must, as you can't always swerve out of the way.

Continental GP 4000s. That's what you need. Go get some.

diy

Thanks for the advice - I was looking at the GP4000 since I currently have UltraSports front and rear. my turbo has probably worn out the rear, so I was thinking of switching the front to rear and then replacing the front with the GP. That will get me through the winter and then I can put another GP on for the spring. Ultimately I am probably going to change my wheels anyway, so will end up with a turbo specific back wheel.

FlacVest

diy wrote:

Thanks for the advice - I was looking at the GP4000 since I currently have UltraSports front and rear. my turbo has probably worn out the rear, so I was thinking of switching the front to rear and then replacing the front with the GP. That will get me through the winter and then I can put another GP on for the spring. Ultimately I am probably going to change my wheels anyway, so will end up with a turbo specific back wheel.

Cool cool; I opted for the 4000's because they have a color range that makes things look a bit better, IMO of course.

The 4000S has the black chili compound in it, that basically improves the tire a bit across the board; only comes in black though.

But yea just read up on the tires, they're getting great reviews through and through.

Paul 8v

Continental do a trainer specific tyre if you're looking at a turbo specific rear wheel. Utilising an used tyre is cheaper though ;-)
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/continental-hom ... ding-tyre/

diy

Been looking to retire my ritchey ds alloys and replace with a carbon clincher, so ill or probably just run the ultra sport for a bit on the rear until I source the carbon wheels and then swap them over as necessary.

chrisaonabike

I've been wondering the same thing as the OP. I've done 350 miles since they (and the bike) were brand new, and they don't look much different apart from a couple of minor nicks.

What sort of mileage would you expect from a pair of tyres?

Mine say Giant 'Flat guard' (wtf??) 700x23c PR-3 on the side - they came with the bike.

diy

I would estimate my rear has done at least 4000 probably more

craker

ChrisAOnABike wrote:

What sort of mileage would you expect from a pair of tyres?

I put some schwalbe Blizzards on in march and the back is down to the canvas < 2000 miles. Disappointing really. my theory was 2 x cheap tyres == 1 decent tyre [at £17 the pair I'm probably right].

so to paraphrase keith bontrager: cheap, lightweight, puncture resistant.. choose two.

chrisaonabike

diy wrote:

I would estimate my rear has done at least 4000 probably more

Yes, but what about your tyres?

keef66

My rear 25mm Conti 4 Seasons managed about 3500 miles / nearly 5 years. I knew it was squared off and getting a bit low on tread; the last straw seemed to be when they went and resurfaced most of my local routes with that hateful chip seal stuff. Couple of outings and huge chunks of the remaining rubber simply disappeared leaving the carcase showing through. Still didn't puncture, but I wasn't enjoying the idea of riding a bald tyre.

diy

keef66 wrote:

My rear 25mm Conti 4 Seasons managed about 3500 miles / nearly 5 years.

disgraceful - thats about 15 miles a week.

keef66

You're right, I'm not clocking up the same annual mileage as Wiggo. Disappointing statistic, but I suspect it's about right once you take out the holidays / business trips / illness absences. Haven't been on the thing for a fortnight due to a vile respiratory infection which I'm struggling to shake off.

Must try harder! :oops: