lifespan of a tire

I started commuting to work 2 years ago. Previous to that, I cycled infrequently, and my bike came with the original tires from about 8 years previous to that.

That winter, after a bit of snow, I experienced 3 flats. I was told the tires were at the end of their lifespan. Fair enough.

I bought 2 Specialized Flakjacket tires last year. I haven't had a flat til Friday.

Question is: how long do tires last? the thing that gave me the flat left a fairly large gash on the tire and I don't think it's worth patching. The kevlar's been compromised, and every time something hard gets in there, I'll have a flat. I'm thinking I'll just get a new one.

It seems like a bit of a waste considering it's only been a year, but since I ride pretty much 10x/week and sometimes more in the summer, maybe it's just regular wear and tear?

If I understand correctly, your tires are 2 years old? How many kilometers do you think you've ridden on them? What does the tread look like?

How big is the gash? 1 cm long? 3 cm long? more than that?

Personally, I would see if it can be patched. It's so easy. Any old piece of duct tape or similar will do. . If you start getting serial flats, then it's time to change the tire. If the slice is more than 2 cm though I would rethink that and just replace the tire.

actually, it's ony a year old (rear tire, the front one is only 6 months). The rubber was actually quite worn with numerous gashes, so I opted to get a new one.

Unlike what I thought was a kevlar-enforced one, I had a regular one so this time I invested $$$ in the Specialized Armadillo. A ***** to get on, but I should be invincible now :D

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Originally Posted by badger

A ***** to get on, but I should be invincible now :D

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That's what they say! Enjoy!

funny they sensor bee eye tee cee ehch on this site.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by badger

funny they sensor bee eye tee cee ehch on this site.

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Ya, especially since it's the title of my favorite magazine which I've tried more than once to reference here. :rolleyes:

Try not to measure "life of a tire" in terms of time.

It is probably more useful to measure it in terms of time or kilometres/miles.
In two years, we all will have done different distances on any given set of tires...

For example, a commuter who rides 10-12x/per week, 5km each way, is going to have much less wear than a someone training for a brevet.

you also can't say the diminutive of Richard D I C K on this board. Even if it's a name like **** Blick.