When to Replace Tires

[mulp]

When does everyone replace tires? Is it by feel? By look? By miles?

I have a pair of vittoria corsa's that look a bit flat on top, does this mean I should replace them or wait until there are signs of damage?

Thanks!

[Mike Bryant]

When I see fabric versus rubber.


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[benb]

I generally view the visibility of fabric/casing as a sign I have ****** up and that I put myself in danger.

Depends on how cheap you are and your finances.

Some tires have wear markers like car/motor tires.. I replace somewhere around the time the rear tire marker is showing wear or if the tire has squared off to the point that it's annoying.

And I replace them both when the rear is worn out.. again bias towards safety.

I'm pretty cheap with some other equipment stuff, I'm very resistant to buying extra expensive stuff out of vanity.. but I buy nice tires & I replace them a lot. Better performance & safety.

I don't ever want a front tire flat/failure at speed.. so I have no issue with possibly wasting some money replacing a front tire early.

[Blue Jays]

Tires are cheap insurance. Most of us ride our bicycles downhill at 40+ mph depending upon that tiny contact patch.
A few thousand miles and they get replaced. I buy in multiples of three and replace rear at twice frequency of front.

[Mike Bryant]

I generally view the visibility of fabric/casing as a sign I have ****** up and that I put myself in danger.

Depends on how cheap you are and your finances.

Some tires have wear markers like car/motor tires.. I replace somewhere around the time the rear tire marker is showing wear or if the tire has squared off to the point that it's annoying.

And I replace them both when the rear is worn out.. again bias towards safety.

I'm pretty cheap with some other equipment stuff, I'm very resistant to buying extra expensive stuff out of vanity.. but I buy nice tires & I replace them a lot. Better performance & safety.

I don't ever want a front tire flat/failure at speed.. so I have no issue with possibly wasting some money replacing a front tire early.


Just used up a Continental GP5000 when I just started seeing threads. Could barely discern one of the tread wear indicators. The other indicator was worn but plainly visible. Didn’t feel bad about tossing that tire, and didn’t feel unsafe with the amount of rubber loss either.


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[benb]

Just used up a Continental GP5000 when I just started seeing threads. Could barely discern one of the tread wear indicators. The other indicator was worn but plainly visible. Didn’t feel bad about tossing that tire, and didn’t feel unsafe with the amount of rubber loss either.



Yah I mean it's never unsafe until it isn't and you never feel bad about riding with the tire excessively worn out till it bites you and you crash.

A lot depends on how mountainous/hilly it is where you live, how often the weather is bad, and how hard you ride too.

It just never feels like tires are what breaks the bank or is annoying for me. I get way more annoyed replacing chains/cassettes & cables/housing. It costs a lot more, takes a lot more of my time, etc..

[AngryScientist]

i'll wear them right down to the threads if i can, but realistically, with road tires, i almost always wind up tossing them due to some damage before they are worn out.

[Mike Bryant]

An addendum to my previous post about the Conti GP5000 tire wear. In effect tire wear got down to the Vectran puncture resistant belt. Not into the casing plies. And I didn’t start the ride with the tire in that condition.


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[Ken Robb]

I replace tires at the first sign they are squaring off because I know that the bike handling will be SO MUCH better with nice round tires mounted. The deterioration in handling as tires wear is too subtle for me to notice as it happens but big improvement after replacement is obvious!

[cyan]

What about small cuts and pin holes sustained through punctures? What I mean is, if you've had one or two small punctures and some deeper cuts (i.e. those you need to pick debris out), do you replace them immediately even if they still have a long way to go in terms of mileage and wear (e.g. only ~1000 kms)

[ojingoh]

When i start getting a lot of puncture flats.

[Robot870]

On Pro ones I just go until the wear marker is gone.....Then toss a freshie on!

[Mr B]

The great thing about riding trendy gumwalls is that you have an excuse to buy new ones every time a cool new model or slightly updated compound is released.
Even better if you're in the gravel market as Panaracer (or somebody they manufacture for) release something new practically every month!

[Moneywatch]

Does anyone notice more punctures as you increase your tire width say from 23 mm to 28 mm?

[godfrey1112000]

Just used up a Continental GP5000 when I just started seeing threads. Could barely discern one of the tread wear indicators. The other indicator was worn but plainly visible. Didn’t feel bad about tossing that tire, and didn’t feel unsafe with the amount of rubber loss either.


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If I see the zipper threads

[Louis]

When I see threads in enough places that I start to get a bit scared.
Sooner if I think the next ride is going to be particularly long.

It's only really burned me once, when I tried to get "just one more short ride" in, and I got a blowout when the tire was just too thin. Happily it occurred when I was JRA at a relatively low speed.

Caveat: Most people aren't this reckless or this cheap.

[NYCfixie]

Does anyone notice more punctures as you increase your tire width say from 23 mm to 28 mm?

Assuming the same area/roads/rides, I have seen a decrease in punctures.

[lavi]

When i start getting a lot of puncture flats.

This.

However, on Conti's I typically see cords before I start getting flats. It's other brands where the flats start happening.

[soulspinner]

yah i mean it's never unsafe until it isn't and you never feel bad about riding with the tire excessively worn out till it bites you and you crash.

A lot depends on how mountainous/hilly it is where you live, how often the weather is bad, and how hard you ride too.

It just never feels like tires are what breaks the bank or is annoying for me. I get way more annoyed replacing chains/cassettes & cables/housing. It costs a lot more, takes a lot more of my time, etc..

+1

[Tony T]

I change based on the TWI

http://continentaltire.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/896/~/bicycle-tire-treadwear-indicator

https://continentaltire.custhelp.com/ci/fattach/get/45852/0/filename/bike+twi.PNG

[mulp]

Whoa, i never knew TWI referred to tread wear indicator!

[Johnnysmooth]

What about small cuts and pin holes sustained through punctures? What I mean is, if you've had one or two small punctures and some deeper cuts (i.e. those you need to pick debris out), do you replace them immediately even if they still have a long way to go in terms of mileage and wear (e.g. only ~1000 kms)

No, I don't replace them unless a very serious cut all the way through.
I replace mine once tires really start squaring off - ie center tread is flattened. Even then, I often save röntgen tire as it takes forever for them to square off.

[572cv]

I'm about to change the tires on my wife's bike. The tread is ok, but there are lots and lots of longitudinal cracks in the tread, on both the front and rear tires. Rubino pros, they've had a good enough run, but those cracks scare me each time we go out for a ride, of late.

[Tony T]

Whoa, i never knew TWI referred to tread wear indicator!

There is also a direction arrow on the Conti’s as well, though I don’t see why it would matter.

[MikeD]

I replace tires at the first sign they are squaring off because I know that the bike handling will be SO MUCH better with nice round tires mounted. The deterioration in handling as tires wear is too subtle for me to notice as it happens but big improvement after replacement is obvious!


I never noticed that at all, but I'm not taking corners as fast as the laws of physics allow either. Front tires never square off so we're only talking about the rear. There's a lot of rubber left on those tires you're tossing, I bet, and considering the cost of a decent quality tire, you're spending a lot of coin.

[Red Tornado]

Once the rear is noticeably (yes, it's a judgement call) squared off, move front to rear & install new front.

I used to rotate front to rear & vice versa every ~750 miles, and sometimes even flip them around to compensate for road crown angle wear, but I'm way too lazy for that now.

[djg21]

Just used up a Continental GP5000 when I just started seeing threads. Could barely discern one of the tread wear indicators. The other indicator was worn but plainly visible. Didn’t feel bad about tossing that tire, and didn’t feel unsafe with the amount of rubber loss either.


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Conti tires have wear indicators. They are the little dimples on the tread. When you can’t see them, the tires are gone. I usually change mine before they get to that point. http://continentaltire.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/896/~/bicycle-tire-treadwear-indicator

[benb]

I have some Panaracers right now and they have those same TWI dots that the Conti tires have.

I've seen them on some other tires too but it's escaping me. I think some Specialized tires have them maybe.

[djg21]

There is also a direction arrow on the Conti’s as well, though I don’t see why it would matter.

The shark fins on the tread are supposed to face forward.

[Tony T]

The shark fins on the tread are supposed to face forward.

True, but the “shark fins” aren’t really threads, and if they’re facing rearward it would make no difference.

[Seramount]

have kept records of tire mileages for several years.

mostly use Conti 4KIIS (23 f / 25 r) at 85 psi on decent asphalt roads.

using the TWI as a guide, averaging ~4500 mi. r / 10K mi. f.

[oldpotatoe]

True, but the “shark fins” aren’t really threads, and if they’re facing rearward it would make no difference.

'Way back when'..when installing a Vittoria CX tubie front and CG rear, 'urban legend' said to install CG 'backwards', with tread facing that way for 'traction'..did that until somebody whined about the label being on the wrong side, then stopped..on a road bike tire, it means nada.
Once the rear is noticeably (yes, it's a judgement call) squared off, move front to rear & install new front.


What he said...

[Mark McM]

True, but the “shark fins” aren’t really threads, and if they’re facing rearward it would make no difference.

I know of no test data showing that direction of tread pattern makes a difference in traction (or wear) on road tires. But some wind tunnel tests have shown that tread pattern does make a difference in aero drag. This test found that some tires are actually faster when mounted backwards:

https://www.swissside.com/blogs/news/back-to-the-wind-tunnel?locale=de

After the Continental GP4000 was introduced, it was found that it was a very aerodynamic tire - in many cases, it was found to be the most aerodynamic tire for a given wheel. Continental engineers have admitted that this was just a serendipitous accident, that they really hadn't designed with aerodynamics as a criteria. However, when designing its replacement, the GP5000 they did pay attention to aerodynamics, and tried to optimize aerodynamics (wind tunnel testing has found that it is nearly as good as the GP4000). This tire has a direction arrow, and if the engineers did their job right, then it should be most aerodynamic when mounted in the prescribed direction.