Expected tyre mileage

Jules Winnfield

I have done over 2600 miles on the same tyres but because of the lack of tread on them (Conti Ultra Sport 2's), I'm not sure when they are due to be renewed, for safety reasons like. Can anyone shed any light on this? Have I got loads of miles left or are they overdue being replaced?

drlodge

A photo would help. I replaced my GP4000S tyres at about 3,000 miles but there was still some life in them. How "square" is the tread through wear? If there's still rubber showing and you're not getting punctures I'd say there's still life left in them.

keef66

+1. I just keep riding till I can see the casing through the tread, or until they start to puncture. It's not like a car tyre where you need a minimum depth of tread for water displacement.

ai_1

What drlodge said.
Also your rear tyre will normally wear far faster than the front if they're both the same type and size. You might get get away with one front tyre in the lifetime of 2 rears! However it's probably a good idea to be more conservative with the front as you're much more likely to go down if you have a problem at the front compared to the rear.
Wear depends on several factors including the tyre type and size, your weight, the roads you ride on and the pressure you normally use. It's not really possible to give an accurate forecast of how long someone else's tyres will last.
Personnally, I wouldn't go as far as some and wait until the casing is showing. If the rubber wears enough that the tyre shape is significantly effected I'll change (the center will wear much more than the shoulders creating a more square cross section).

marcusjb

Ai_1 wrote:

Also your rear tyre will normally wear far faster than the front if they're both the same type and size. You might get get away with one front tyre in the lifetime of 2 rears! However it's probably a good idea to be more conservative with the front as you're much more likely to go down if you have a problem at the front compared to the rear.

The above is very true and I suggest a slight rotation of the tyres.

When your rear tyre reaches the end of it's life (however you choose to measure that - squared off/lots of punctures/down to canvas/wear indicators), move the front tyre onto the rear and put a new tyre on the front.

You always want your best/newest tyre up front as losing grip or getting a front puncture at speed can lead to trips to the dentist.

The rear tyre doesn't need masses of grip - it's got most of the weight on it, as long as you're in the saddle, the grip will be good (clearly traction can be lost climbing out of the saddle etc.).

I've run the above rotation for years now - I don't really track tyre mileage as I swap wheels for different events, but I am always happier to have a newer tyre up front.

Jules Winnfield

Cheers guys and thanks for the tip marcusjb. I honestly never thought about that and it makes perfect sense to rotate tyres in that way.

Cheers

Hereford Flyer

One of those subjective questions - tyre model, road conditions, weight, etc.
For me it's about 2000 miles for a rear Pro4 Service Course. They start to get paper thin in the middle. The roads and lanes in Herefordshire are pretty rough and gritty so my tyres tend to have a hard life.
I'm sure I could squeeze more miles out of them but I'd rather not take chances of increased occurance of punctures etc