When do you change your tyres

Gregger

Hi

Had my Trek 4 years now and still on the original tyres. Not done mega miles, cant be more than 1500. I should get out more

Is there a ny general rule that tyres will degrade. They dont have grip like motorcycle tyres so you can't see how it wears, still look and feel generally OK

Any thoughts?

ThatBikeGuy

Depends what tyres you are using i suppose.
I replaced my gatorskins for a pair of GT4000s when i noticed how shredded they were from all the glass/road debris that had gotten stuck in them.
Tyres with more wear will probably attract more punctures too.

smidsy

If they are visually fine and they roll/handle ok then keep running them.

If you can see thread perhaps you may consider changing them :-)

slowbike

I've changed tyres when I start getting frequent punctures. Now on GP4 Season on the roadbike and they've been good for 6 months so far - hoping I can get another 3-4 months

rolf_f

Tyres need to get pretty thin before they become prone to punctures - it isn't the rubber that protects the tube - it's the kevlar belt. Maintain your tyres (keep digging out the embedded glass from the slits in the tyre that causes most punctures long after you rode over that piece of glass) and you'll probably be virtually down to the canvas before you notice any increase in punctures.

ricky1980

when the rubber is falling off the fabric - literally! that's how I noticed how worm my tyre was. also the fact that i suffer 2 punctures within 3 days and none for 1.5years

keef66

Me too. The council's hilarious chip and run resurfacing work last September finally put paid to my worn rear Conti 4 Seasons; shredded the remaining rubber and stripped it down to the carcass beneath. Impressively still didn't puncture!

juankerr

When they start to puncture, rot or you can see the threads.

e.g. I had some Conti's that I binned after a year as they were puncturing every week.

On a more positive note for Continental, I also have some Grand Prixs or similar on my mid 80's 531 bike. I reckon they are about 15 years old given that they have beige sidewalls!

rolf_f

juankerr wrote:

I reckon they are about 15 years old given that they have beige sidewalls!

Tan wall tyres are still readily available.

infopete

juankerr wrote:

When they start to puncture, rot or you can see the threads.

e.g. I had some Conti's that I binned after a year as they were puncturing every week.

On a more positive note for Continental, I also have some Grand Prixs or similar on my mid 80's 531 bike. I reckon they are about 15 years old given that they have beige sidewalls!

+1 wait until they are see thro

wishitwasallflat

I replaced last set of Pave's after 3k miles cause there was a cut on the front that was bulging a bit and a few on the rear too.

markyone

I like to change mine regular as i always like the feel of the new tyres rather than run them into the ground.