Using tyres with cuts in them?

The tire's toast. You could boot it, but I would only recommend that as a highly temporary fix.

Anything on the sidewall is hasta la vista baby. A small nick in the tread that doesn't penetrate the casing is OK. A drop or 2 of superglue will work.

tyler1212 said:

Hi guys, I'm a bit curious about something, how big of a tyre slice is it okay to ride with? Of course it also depends where the slice is located. How about 3-4 millimeters, 2/3's on the tread and 2/6's on the sidewall? Am I crazy for even contemplating it? I could use it on the front with lower psi, maybe. Oh, the reason I ask is that yesterday I ran over some glass and would hate to scrap my almost-new tyre. I also use flat resistant tyre liners, which I believe may aid in keeping the tube from wanting to pop out.
thanks

NEVER put a suspect tire on the front!

If the front tire flats, you could crash ... and, if you are going downhill, you will undoubtedly spend some previously unscheduled time in a hospital if a front tire flats at speeds greater than 6 MPH ...

YES to the SuperGlue for repairing cuts, BTW. The tread protects the casing ... the casing prevents the tube from inflating into a balloon.

Save THAT tire for your indoor trainer ...

tyler1212 said:

Hi guys, I'm a bit curious about something, how big of a tyre slice is it okay to ride with? Of course it also depends where the slice is located. How about 3-4 millimeters, 2/3's on the tread and 2/6's on the sidewall? Am I crazy for even contemplating it? I could use it on the front with lower psi, maybe. Oh, the reason I ask is that yesterday I ran over some glass and would hate to scrap my almost-new tyre. I also use flat resistant tyre liners, which I believe may aid in keeping the tube from wanting to pop out.
thanks

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Hi. I'm a bit of a miser with tyres, and hate to wast things generally. I have been riding/racing on an off for about 20 years. I've ridden tyres with lots of (admittedly) small cuts in them and never, that I can remember had a tyre puncture because of the cut - it's always a new piece of glass or whatever that's done the damage.
For example; My last set of Michelin Carbons - I got over 5500kms out of the back(it was worn flat and many cuts) and over 6000kms out of the front. We have course chip roads here, I weigh about 72kgs and am a reasonably fast rider. I must've only had about 6 punctures in the time I had them. 🙂

Note - I always race on good tyres - to lessen my chances of a punture then.

Don't wast a good tyre for one cut(ok, so put it on the back). Paul 🙂

tyler1212 said:

Am I crazy for even contemplating it....I could use it on the front with lower psi, maybe.

Yeah thats pretty crazy. No sense in possibly wasting your wheels or going down hard and breaking a frame or yourself to save 40 bucks. It's one of those things that comes with the territory...

I'm a contrarian in most things and this is no exception... I patch em from the inside and keep riding, as long as the tube doesn't come out of the hole it will hold. I have done it for years, and I ride and race 400+ miles a week with no accidents (and I am a big boy)... of course there is a risk, but life without risk is boring. 3-4mm is a bit much though, I imagine the tube will bulge through.