Tyre Wear

Sprool

This is my rear tyre, Conti GP4000s, after about 5 months wear, 1500 miles. I'm concerned the rubber is starting to perish and crack. This is probably the worst section but this line of fatigue goes round about 70% of the tyre circumference. Is this normal or is it time to fit some new rubber?

bobones

I would say that is not normal. I have GP4000s with around 4.5k miles on them and they still look perfect. Were these stored in sunlight or some other abnormal conditions?

spankwilder

Has it seen any use on a turbo?

slowbike

Mine look far better than that too ...

My GP4seasons are now 18 months old and the 4000's are coming up to a year - neither set have that sort of cut/wear pattern.

Mine are stored in the garage - dark most of the time - and no direct sunlight. But I'm not sure if yours is UV damage or bad road surfaces & cutting that's caused it.... I think I'd want to know which it is before buying replacements - and probably consider another brand ...

Sprool

Stored in dark and cool in the garage. I use them on my set of rollers when the weathers too wet to go outside.
Roads are bad round here but my old Ultra sports didn't go like this on me and they cycled on the same roads.
The tyres were bought via internet (reputable dealer) and were best price I could find at the time - by no means cheap but maybe they were old stock? You never know how old they may be or how they were stored before.

slowbike

Sprool wrote:

Stored in dark and cool in the garage. I use them on my set of rollers when the weathers too wet to go outside.
Roads are bad round here but my old Ultra sports didn't go like this on me and they cycled on the same roads.
The tyres were bought via internet (reputable dealer) and were best price I could find at the time - by no means cheap but maybe they were old stock? You never know how old they may be or how they were stored before.

Aren't the 4000s are supposed to be a race tyre? Or advanced training tyre - probably not best to be used on crappy roads in the winter ...
Having said that - mine have done a couple of club rides in the last few weeks ...

rob.m

My rear tyre (GP4000s) looks like that too, unsure of the mileage though. Probably around the same miles as you.

Grill

I used a pair of 4000s over 3500 miles in all types of conditions and they never cracked like that. How much time have you done on the rollers as they will wear out tyres quite a bit quicker than on the road.

hatch87

What that pic does shoe is how pointless the tread is, doesn't even get a look in. Slicks all the way for me

bobones

Slowbike wrote:

Aren't the 4000s are supposed to be a race tyre? Or advanced training tyre - probably not best to be used on crappy roads in the winter ...
Having said that - mine have done a couple of club rides in the last few weeks ...

I've only ever had one set of GP4000s, but they were on the winter bike the whole time and I never had any problems with them: a couple of punctures, yes, but no cuts or cracks despite riding them in all conditions. I retired them from my winter bike after 4.5k miles because they were a bit thin, but the TWI dot on both wheels say there is life in them yet. Maybe there's a large variation in quality between batches of GP4000s, but from my experience, I'd rate them as lightweight and durable all rounders that I'll buy again for winter use.

ju5t1n

That’s not normal. Send them back to Conti. Or tweet the photo to @ContiTyres – bet they send you some new ones

ugo.santalucia

I wouldn't ride them anymore... and stop buying ultra light tyres if you want them to last

keef66

My first pair of Conti 4 Seasons went that way after 4-5000 miles / 4 years. Rode them in that state until the council did their usual late summer chip and ping resurfacing job, at which point large chunks of the remaining tread disappeared completely to reveal the carcase beneath. Still didn't puncture though!

owenlars

Here is Sheldon Brown on tyre wear

http://sheldonbrown.com/tires.html#wear

I would keep using them until you can see the carcass or until you get punctures.

Sprool

ju5t1n wrote:

That’s not normal. Send them back to Conti. Or tweet the photo to @ContiTyres – bet they send you some new ones

Can't do any harm, I'll see what they say.

Tiesetrotter

Tyre's vary for me. Last Rubino Pro I had I ripped to shreds in a few months. Latest one looks like it will last for ever with just a few minor cuts and has been doing 200km a week since September. Although on the back I fitted a Runbino Pro Tech ............... now that is a one tough tyre!

Sprool

Conti emailed me back, said they should not show that sort of deterioration for at least 3+ years. Asked me to return them to where I bought them. Trouble is, I can't remember now which popular online bike retailer they came from, I don't keep email receipts for stuff like this. My bad.

Sprool

Chapeau to Joe at Conti, replacement tyre arrived in the post today, having sent the old one back for inspection, even though I could not remember where I ended up buying it (one of the online bike shop somewhere) and did not have the e-receipt. There was speculation that some sort of road pollution mitt have caused the premature ageing and cracking of the rubber but the front one, bought & fitted at the same time shows no similar sign of wear or deterioration. Anyway thanks to Conti for the support