absolutely... no questions asked.
absolutely... no questions asked.
if you don't like sewing, you haven't found the right fabric
I would likely stick some duct tape on the inside, at least 2 layers, but given the mileage, I would give it a close inspection, might be time to replace.
Thanks for all your input! I replaced it with an Armadillo with reflective sidewalls. Now I have obviously mismatched tires, but fortunately I don't really care that much.
I'll be honest: I really did want an excuse to try this reflective sidewall thing out, and I've heard good things about Armadillos. Handy! But I didn't get the slash on purpose, and I would've probably just lived with it, except I found that when I rode to work on Friday, the knowledge of that cut in my tire made me feel nervous and unsafe the whole time. Since I rarely take risks I can avoid, I replaced the tire that night before the bulk of my commute.
Now seeing all the struggle the LBS people had getting it on -- they have thumbs of steel and they needed a tool to get it on, and even that was a struggle-- I'm not convinced I'll ever get it off to fix any flats. Hopefully I don't get many!
If the slit is in the sidewall, absolutely... replace the tire. If it's in the tread, and you're wanting to eke out a few more miles, put one of the long, rectangular vulcanized patches over the hole from the inside of the tire (like a boot), then a strip of duct tape over that for a little security.
I booted one of the Vittorias on my road bike like that yesterday when a piece of glass punched an annoying little hole through the tread. I'll keep an eye on it for awhile while I look for a matching tire... It's only got about 2700 miles on it so far... ;-)
Well I did just that this morning.
I have some very expensive Continental Grand Prix 4 season tires with only 1,000 miles on them. The other day I saw a little piece of glass just a moment too late to avoid it, and I heard a creepy snapping sound as I went over it.
I found the glass had punched a little 1/8" slit in my rubber right in the center, and I could see the mesh belt if I gently pulled the slit open. DAMN!
I rode an easy 20 mile ride after that with no problem and the tire is not losing air, but I felt uneasy.
So yesterday I first put some epoxy into the slit on the outside and let that dry overnight.
This morning I took the tire off, lightly sanded the inside trouble area, and applied a long 1"x1/2" tire patch from my patch kit. I put a layer of duct tape smoothed on over that. I feel way safer now.
I must add however that if this tire had had 3,000 or more miles on it already, I would have definitely just replaced it with a new tire.
PsyclePath- I had thought of doing a boot, but thanks for spelling out the details.![]()
Lisa
My mountain dulcimer network...FOTMD.com...and my mountain dulcimer blog
My personal blog:My blog
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I gotta say I love my Gatorskins, but they are the very devil to get off and on. All that good stuff to keep from getting flats really makes them stiff. On the other hand, I haven't had a flat this season which is nothing short of amazing.
And I second the WOW for having tires last 6000 miles! My last set of Gatorskins only made it about 4500 miles. After getting four flats in five days I was beginning to think I needed to change my commute route. But when I got my fifth flat it was on my front tire. It was a small puntcure and I had slime tubes. As I was rolling along all of a sudden my front tire was spraying green slime from a least a half of dozen tiny punctures in my tire. It was really funny and I realized then, it was time for new tires.bikerHen