a cautionary tale

[Biciclista]

At the Mazama mountain pass ride we did two weeks ago was a couple who usually rides Tandem. But he was riding and she was not.
Turns out they crashed about 6 weeks ago. (dates not accurate here)
He had noticed little threads getting caught in his brake pads. Hm, that's odd.
well, they had a flat tire on the tandem and only 5 miles to go, so he pumped it up. Going downhill, the tire rolled OFF the tire. the moment the rim hit the road, the bike fell. She ended up with a broken hip and broken collarbone.
He walked. The poor guy is consumed with guilt.
Anyway; turns out the threads were the sidewalls UNRAVELING!
So yesterday i saw a piece of thread in my brake pad. Upon further examination, sure enough it was the sidewall. I am getting new tires tonight.

[beccaB]

wow, what timing! I noticed some threads coming off my sidewalls last night, and a small puncture in my armadillo tires. We were pumping too much psi in them for a while because the recommended psi on the side of the tire was exceptionally hard to read. Last fall my husband got a flat and popped 2 tubes because the tire was bubbled out and he couldn't see it. That was in a century ride that we had to cut short. We're doing one on Saturday, and I'm glad I got new tires last night.

[Hi Ho Silver]

Just a quick note - I have read that the tire pressure(s) on tire sidewalls do not represent optimum pressures, rather, they represent the manufacturer's attempt to limit their legal liability. The high pressure stamped on the sidewall is a fraction (maybe about 1/2) of the PSI that will cause the tire to blow off a typical rim. If there is a second lower pressure on the sidewall, it represents a multiple of the PSI that will cause the tire to roll off a typical rim. Neither pressure on the tire's sidewall is optimal ...optimal PSI depends on the actual load on the tire. Check out http://www.michelinbicycletire.com/michelinbicycle/index.cfm?event=airpressure.view and also http://www.bikequarterly.com/images/TireDrop.pdf )

[Sky King]

Great post, thanks, I have learned to check my tires every ride and now it is a habit. (Knock on wood)

[spokewench]

Good reminder - since I don't ride that much anymore, and my tires are old, it is probably a good thing to look over the bike with a fine tooth comb before I Ride!

[Biciclista]

the unraveling tire was a continental. I was shocked how much more it had unraveled in just 6 miles. Have a new tire there now. Schwalbe Marathon Plus

[OakLeaf]

Conti used to date code their tires same as motor vehicle tires, although I think they don't any more. Does he know how old the tire was?

[Biciclista]

my tire was about 3 years old.

[bmccasland]

Thanks Mimi for the info. Note to self: check tires and side walls. Your tires are a few years old, and part of that time was in a hot garage.

[Biciclista]

hot garage? it doesn't get that hot. We're in Seattle now :)

[blue_angel]

wow, what timing! I noticed some threads coming off my sidewalls last night, and a small puncture in my armadillo tires. We were pumping too much psi in them for a while because the recommended psi on the side of the tire was exceptionally hard to read. Last fall my husband got a flat and popped 2 tubes because the tire was bubbled out and he couldn't see it. That was in a century ride that we had to cut short. We're doing one on Saturday, and I'm glad I got new tires last night.

I'm doing that same ride tomorrow morning! Good luck to us both.

[OakLeaf]

Well y'all thought I was overreacting about the shop trying to sell me outdated tires. I don't feel so hypersensitive now. :cool:

[Owlie]

:eek:
I know it's been mentioned, but how do you go about determining whether your tires need replacing, before it becomes painfully obvious?

You've got me nervous now...my tires are two years old but don't have that many (~600) miles on them...

[Biciclista]

in my case, I had some rubber left (can't really call it tread) but there were those threads. EYEBALL it.

[Biciclista]

wow, you found a road bike tire that can handle goat-head thorns??!?!
the Schwalbe marathon tire i just put on my bike comes with a great recommendation. My husband has ridden his 9000 miles without a flat!

[Biciclista]

yeah the Schwalbe are expensive, but if you spread that $50 per tire cost over 3 years, that's pennies.. and the promise of NO flats is hard for me to resist

[Biciclista]

ps you got a good price on the tires you bought!!

[wackyjacky1]

After reading this thread, I took a close look at my tires. The rear tire had some loose threads here and there. It doesn't seem like much to me, but I don't really know about this stuff.

My tires are the originals on an '08 Trek 7.2FX. They've got about 2000 miles on them, give or take a few.

Is this sufficient to warrant new tires? There are four or so little spots like this along the sidewall where small threads are tearing away. I ordered new tires from Nashbar, but now I'm wondering if I'm just being paranoid.

[ridebikeme]

Another vote for the Schwalbe Marathons! I have two customers that rode xc with those tires, and between them they only had one flat! An interesting tidbit, both are still riding with their orginal tires:cool:

I just put them on my touring bike, so will try and post a picture once the bike is completed.:D



http://chasecyclery.blogspot.com

[soprano]

yeah the Schwalbe are expensive, but if you spread that $50 per tire cost over 3 years, that's pennies.. and the promise of NO flats is hard for me to resist

I have about 4,000 miles on my Schwable Marathon Supremes and have had one flat, which was caused by a 1/2" nail. Most of my riding is in an urban area, so I go through broken glass on a regular basis. The rest of my miles are from loaded touring. Those tires were pricey but worth every penny.

[wackyjacky1]

I suppose it's a case of "better safe than sorry." I went ahead and put on the Nashbar tires. They have a kevlar belt, too, so hopefully they'll give me as many flat-free miles as the original tires did. :)

(I've never had the same bike long enough for stuff to start wearing out...this is new for me, lol.)

[OakLeaf]

I think it depends on what kind of riding you do on that bike.

For one thing that tire is BALD.

The tires on my commuter are 8 years old. :eek: The rear probably doesn't have any more tread than yours, either. But I only ride the thing on flat pavement (except for a bridge or two) and at most five or six miles from home. So I'm not too worried about the tires ... when I start getting flats I'll replace them.

If I were going to be going longer distances, higher speeds, or off road, it would be different.

But since you've already ordered the tires, go ahead and replace them. The new ones are still going to deteriorate sitting around in your basement or garage (possibly even faster, since the inside walls of the tires are more exposed to air when they're not mounted), so you may as well get some use from them.

[Biciclista]

wackyjacky, I'm glad you got new tires!!

[AZchick]

Holy cow! Great tip! They always say to check tires pre-ride, but I've never thought to look carefully at the brakes for threads!