tyre cuts - best fix?

rickeverett

Done about 500miles on a new pair of GP4000 tyres. No punctures yet however I spent this afternoon picking out tiny bits of glass and grit from cuts on the tyres (mainly rear).

I'm sealing the cuts with some puncture repair glue that quite flexible and rubbery when dry, but it doesn't seem to last forever. Some older cuts are beginning to open up again.

Just wondering if anyone has any other good methods to bung up these little cuts in the rubber.

sungod

just leave them, it'll be fine

mercia_man

I've successfully used superglue.

gubber12345

Getting the same problem with mine now as well.no punctures for a long time now they seem to be a regular thing.wee change to something else me thinks.

any ideas whats good with low rolling resistance? ?

darkhairedlord

I've had ultramodern zx's, fast but perished after 2-3months. Rubhino pro's, durable but really really slow. Michelin pro 4 sc's, fast but cut up real quick. Bought some very cheap conti ultra sports from planet-x for the winter and they have very durable, quite grippy and quite fast. No cuts or splits yet but did need scrubbing in.

chris_bass

i tried superglue once but the superglue hardened in the cut and then pushed through under weight and actually ended up puncturing my inner tube.

i'd just leave them and replace them when they get too bad.

littledove44

A puncture can really spoil your day at high speed on a wet corner.

Any cuts on my gp4000s and they are in the bin.

Life's too short.

adr82

littledove44 wrote:

A puncture can really spoil your day at high speed on a wet corner.

Any cuts on my gp4000s and they are in the bin.

Life's too short.

If that's your attitude then why take wet corners at high speed under any circumstances, even on brand new tyres? Punctures can happen at any time, even with brand new rubber... but keep wasting perfectly usable tyres if it makes you feel better.

Personally I just ignore any small cuts. If I can't see the tube through it then it's pretty unlikely that anything else is going to poke through in that exact spot again. It's only once a tyre starts collecting a bunch of cuts that I think about a new one.

apreading

I just tried shoe goo on some 4000S that I have - like you about 500 miles and much more in them but one cut was a little bigger than I would like. If I am still posting here in a week or two then I lived, despite riding such tyres!

slowandsteady

Wee dab of super glue on the bigger ones for me.

If you're out on a ride though and a tyre splits, say on the side wall, causing a puncture, what do you use to repair the tyre so the tube doesn't blow our the split and puncture again?

marcusjb

Slowandsteady wrote:

Wee dab of super glue on the bigger ones for me.

If you're out on a ride though and a tyre splits, say on the side wall, causing a puncture, what do you use to repair the tyre so the tube doesn't blow our the split and puncture again?

You can use whatever you have on hand to boot the tyre in the event of a split.

I carry a small park tools emergency boot (a bit of sort of plastic stuff with an adhesive backing).

But, you can boot a tyre with anything flexible and strong that you can find/buy - enough to get home taking it a little easy.

Thick plastic from rubble type bags can work, as can a paper note folded over. Tyvek envelopes, gaffa tape. Some people carry a small section of an old tyre sidewall.

Depending on the length of the split, the boot will be around 2 inches by 1 inch and needs to be non stretchy.

As I said, a boot probably shouldn't be ridden on any further than you need to get home, and that should be done with slightly lower pressure in the tyre and take it a bit steady. As long as it gets you home where you can bin the tyre (but don't forget to take out the tenner if that is what you used to boot it).

littledove44

adr82 wrote:

littledove44 wrote:

A puncture can really spoil your day at high speed on a wet corner.

Any cuts on my gp4000s and they are in the bin.

Life's too short.

If that's your attitude then why take wet corners at high speed under any circumstances, even on brand new tyres? Punctures can happen at any time, even with brand new rubber... but keep wasting perfectly usable tyres if it makes you feel better.

Personally I just ignore any small cuts. If I can't see the tube through it then it's pretty unlikely that anything else is going to poke through in that exact spot again. It's only once a tyre starts collecting a bunch of cuts that I think about a new one.

No. If I have perfect tyres and I get a puncture then I accept that's sh2t happening.
Riding with cuts on slick tyres is just changing the odds in a way I don't like and therefore too risky for me. The cost is peanuts and I don't care.

rolf_f

littledove44 wrote:

adr82 wrote:

littledove44 wrote:

A puncture can really spoil your day at high speed on a wet corner.

Any cuts on my gp4000s and they are in the bin.

Life's too short.

If that's your attitude then why take wet corners at high speed under any circumstances, even on brand new tyres? Punctures can happen at any time, even with brand new rubber... but keep wasting perfectly usable tyres if it makes you feel better.

Personally I just ignore any small cuts. If I can't see the tube through it then it's pretty unlikely that anything else is going to poke through in that exact spot again. It's only once a tyre starts collecting a bunch of cuts that I think about a new one.

No. If I have perfect tyres and I get a puncture then I accept that's sh2t happening.
Riding with cuts on slick tyres is just changing the odds in a way I don't like and therefore too risky for me. The cost is peanuts and I don't care.

How is it changing the odds? Do you have any information to back that up? I've never heard any suggestion that a cut in a tyre has any impact on its performance. What do the manufacturers of your tyres say about riding on them when they have cuts in them? What about every time you go over a deep pothole - who knows what internal damage that might have done to your frame. Do you throw that away as well?

How many miles do you actually get out of your tyres by taking this approach? Crikey, if you lived in a flinty chalk area you'd be having to call home every five minutes for new tyres!

Have faith in your kit - it is well designed and meant to work perfectly well for many thousands of miles - and, in the case of tyres, with cuts in the rubber.

Chris Bass wrote:

i tried superglue once but the superglue hardened in the cut and then pushed through under weight and actually ended up puncturing my inner tube.

i'd just leave them and replace them when they get too bad.

I'm sort of glad to hear this! I had a theory that repairing a cut using a material which had the properties of a shard of glass might lead to punctures but I'd never heard of it actually happening! With hindsight, it isn't exactly a sensible solution to a problem that probably doesn't actually exist........

rickeverett

Rolf F wrote:

littledove44 wrote:

adr82 wrote:

littledove44 wrote:

I'm sort of glad to hear this! I had a theory that repairing a cut using a material which had the properties of a shard of glass might lead to punctures but I'd never heard of it actually happening! With hindsight, it isn't exactly a sensible solution to a problem that probably doesn't actually exist........

Dont know if I have miss-understood you but the problem is the stuff that gets back into the cut and the cut opening slightly.

We are talking a few mm here, not massive cuts. But the other day I had bits of grit and glass working there way down old cuts towards the threads.

I have the same suspicions about super glue too. It dries like plastic and sharp. Puncture / rubber glue is flexy but doesn't last.

drlodge

GP4000S are pretty resistant tyres, I've had a small nick on the rear of mine and it gave me no problems at all. If the cut is bigger then try some shoe repair rubber adhesive, or superglue.

rolf_f

rickeverett wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

littledove44 wrote:

adr82 wrote:

littledove44 wrote:

I'm sort of glad to hear this! I had a theory that repairing a cut using a material which had the properties of a shard of glass might lead to punctures but I'd never heard of it actually happening! With hindsight, it isn't exactly a sensible solution to a problem that probably doesn't actually exist........

Dont know if I have miss-understood you but the problem is the stuff that gets back into the cut and the cut opening slightly.

We are talking a few mm here, not massive cuts. But the other day I had bits of grit and glass working there way down old cuts towards the threads.

I have the same suspicions about super glue too. It dries like plastic and sharp. Puncture / rubber glue is flexy but doesn't last.

It's possible that you can get something getting into existing cuts that wouldn't otherwise get in. But that something then isn't perhaps likely to be sharp itself (or it would have just made a new cut next to the old, glued up one) - the solution is to just periodically (esp after a wet ride when there has been lots of crap washed off onto the road surface) dig out the contents of the cuts. I suspect the chances that a glued up cut will improve the lifespan of the tyre are fairly small. Given the number of cuts in my tyres, it would probably cost almost as much to glue them as the tyre costs anyway!

chris_bass

Rolf F wrote:

I'm sort of glad to hear this! I had a theory that repairing a cut using a material which had the properties of a shard of glass might lead to punctures but I'd never heard of it actually happening! With hindsight, it isn't exactly a sensible solution to a problem that probably doesn't actually exist........

yeah, i did think it at the time but had heard people saying it worked but it lasted about 5 miles before the rock solid pointy piece of superglue pushed through and into the inner tube! a more flexible glue might work but then it would probably just come off the tyre straight away!

MattC59

The simple solution to all this is to put some sensible tyres on until all the crap is gone from the roads.

I'm not suprised that your GP4000s are full of cuts and nicks after 500miles of riding this winter. My summer rubber (Veloflex Corsa or Ultremo ZX) has been taken off my good wheels and won't go back on until the roads are clean-ish again. My winter bike has some Bontrager Hardcase tyres on it. They've been on the bike for about 4 years and I've not punctures on them once. They don't feel great and aren't the fastest tyres out there, but I've ridden through all sorts of sh!te and they're still intact. Some of the roads this winter have more like beaches than roads !

I've got a set of standard Duranos on the good wheels for dry days when I want to take the nice bike out. As mentioned, they'll stay on until the roads are clean again. They're grippy, puncture resaistant, have good feel and are only marginally heavier than the Ultremos.

The comments about superglue are worth bearing in mind. Hardened superglue will soon force its way through your tyre and cause another puncture.

The comment about replacing tyres as soon as they get a few cuts is utter horse sh!t and doesn't deserve further comment.

BrandonA

Slowandsteady wrote:

Wee dab of super glue on the bigger ones for me.

If you're out on a ride though and a tyre splits, say on the side wall, causing a puncture, what do you use to repair the tyre so the tube doesn't blow our the split and puncture again?

I've boot some "tyre boot patches" this year from Evans and will use them if I split a tyre when out. Some people put things like leaves in the tyre to block the hole.

apreading

BrandonA wrote:

Slowandsteady wrote:

Wee dab of super glue on the bigger ones for me.

If you're out on a ride though and a tyre splits, say on the side wall, causing a puncture, what do you use to repair the tyre so the tube doesn't blow our the split and puncture again?

I've boot some "tyre boot patches" this year from Evans and will use them if I split a tyre when out. Some people put things like leaves in the tyre to block the hole.

Heard a few people using empty (obviously) gel sachets.

drlodge

apreading wrote:

Heard a few people using empty (obviously) gel sachets.

That's a good idea. I was going to use a section of plastic toothpaste tube on my Vittoria Open Paves, but the plastic gel sachets will be thinner.

mercia_man

As slowandsteady says, the technique with superglue is to use a wee dab. The two sides of the cut stick together and there's no sharp shard of hardened glue there to get pushed into your tube. I 'very never had problems with superglue causing a puncture or failing. But then again I have only used it on small cuts.

bigmat

I've tried superglue, superglue gel, shoe goo - they are all fine to begin with. Then you pump 100+PSI into the tyres and the cuts re-open, if not straight away then within a few miles. Unless the cuts are really small, in which case you don't need to bother anyway.

dowtcha

I had some success using Black witch glue which is rubber based and used for fixing wetsuits. It does wear down and I stop using it and my tyres are still going. If a cut goes all the way through then bin the tyre otherwise I would not bother.

racingcondor

Ignore them unless you can see the tube. Replace if you can (with a boot to get you home in the mean time, I use a bar wrapper. Strong, thin and unlike a gel wrapper won't leave everything sticky).

drlodge

What about insulation tape - may be a couple of layers?

wishitwasallflat

littledove44 wrote:

A puncture can really spoil your day at high speed on a wet corner.

Any cuts on my gp4000s and they are in the bin.

Life's too short.

Please don't do that PM me and I will pay you the postage plus a small commission (based on how old they are) to send them to me.

sungod

^^^this

tyres get cut

as long as the carcass isn't compromised (which will result in a bulge and/or the tube pushing through) it makes bugger all difference

due to a fortuitous job lot, i use gp4000s on my commute bike, i commute every day i'm in the london office, so c. 200 days/year, i had a puncture in 2012, and one last week on a now rather squared tyre that's almost down to the bottom of the wear markers

the tyres have umpteen cuts, it doesn't matter

even a relatively light tyre like this is far more likely to wear out than get a cut bad enough to merit replacement

Elfed

The way to seal a cut with superlue is to first make sure the tyre's fully inflated, put the glue in the cut then deflate the tyre and put thumb pressure on the cut, so the cut's edges compress against each other when drying.

This method worked for me on a Gatorskin, couldn't see where the cut was and held for well over 2000 miles till it was squared off and replaced. I've no experience of GP4000S tyres so it could work differently.

You can buy superglue in any pound shop, so worth a try.

jimmas

I replace mine when they get to many cuts, currently trying these SCHWALBE ULTREMO DD TYRE time will tell

philbar72

the only thing 4000s's are not immune to is thorns (i've lost 2 with centreline punctures caused by thorn holes that then just attract small stones causeing repeated issues, but otherwise they are pretty resolute tyres. I'd avoid superglueing, it hardens and then can go through the carcass, causing punctures, just leave alone.