cut in tire--replace?



J

Jiyang Chen

Guest
I got a flat from a piece of glass (I think) a few days ago. There is a
cut through the tire which resulted from rolling over the glass. Should
I get a brand new tire? This was a almost new Michelin Pro Race.

Thanks
 
A miniscule cut in a tire allows for something similar to a pinch to
develop. If the tube so much as shows an ant's baby finger out of the tire
it gets cut off, resulting in another flat. And you never know when, usually
12 miles into the woods. also the cut allows free passage of a sharp small
pebble to peirce the tube again.

So im my opinion I always change the tire too. You can do emergency repairs
with a small cut but the tube is unreliable so I would not go downhill at
high let loose speed with it still on.
 
Jiyang Chen wrote:
> I got a flat from a piece of glass (I think) a few days ago. There
> is a cut through the tire which resulted from rolling over the glass.
> Should I get a brand new tire? This was a almost new Michelin Pro
> Race.
>
> Thanks


I think very few people would get a new tire after every flat. It would get
kinda expensive. My old tires all have cuts in them. Some go all the way
through but most of them don't.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.
 
On Wed, 02 Jun 2004 22:37:01 GMT, "Per Elmsäter"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I think very few people would get a new tire after every flat. It would get
>kinda expensive. My old tires all have cuts in them. Some go all the way
>through but most of them don't.


I did get a cheap rubber gun and will patch larger cuts with the
hardest compound tube I can get. My greater worry is a large cut
picking up a piece of gravel or glass and not letting it go until it
punctures the tube.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...
 
On Wed, 02 Jun 2004 16:45:35 -0400, Jiyang Chen wrote:

> I got a flat from a piece of glass (I think) a few days ago. There is a
> cut through the tire which resulted from rolling over the glass. Should
> I get a brand new tire? This was a almost new Michelin Pro Race.
>
> Thanks


Boot it--reinforce the inside of the tire with something so the tube
doesn't hernia--duct tape is the traditionalists' choice. If it still
worries you, then make sure that the cut tire is moved to the rear if it
isn't already there--but don't rotate worn tires of course--you said these
are new so...

:D
 
Curtis L. Russell wrote:

>
> I did get a cheap rubber gun and will patch larger cuts with the
> hardest compound tube I can get. My greater worry is a large cut
> picking up a piece of gravel or glass and not letting it go until it
> punctures the tube.


Wait - what's a rubber gun?? What kind of compound is in its tube??

--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]
 
On Thu, 03 Jun 2004 11:47:43 -0400, Frank Krygowski
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Wait - what's a rubber gun?? What kind of compound is in its tube??


That's what we call around here the little 'guns' that take various
compounds of rubber and melt them sufficient to patch items. The
compounds come in a variety and I've used them for athletic shoes and
tires (mostly) and they are shaped like a larger version of what you
get in the middle of an eraser pencil.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...
 
On Thu, 03 Jun 2004 11:54:24 -0400, Curtis L. Russell wrote:

>>Wait - what's a rubber gun?? What kind of compound is in its tube??

>
> That's what we call around here the little 'guns' that take various
> compounds of rubber and melt them sufficient to patch items. The
> compounds come in a variety and I've used them for athletic shoes and
> tires (mostly) and they are shaped like a larger version of what you
> get in the middle of an eraser pencil.


on that note, apropo sticky stuff--superglue works great for little cuts
as well, combined with the duct tape boot I already mentioned, you should
be able to salvage some pretty nasty cuts.

Is this "rubber gun" anything like a glue stick gun? Sounds intriguing.

:D
 
maxo wrote:

>
>
> Is this "rubber gun" anything like a glue stick gun? Sounds intriguing.


Sounds like what I'd call a Hot Melt Glue Gun, or just Glue Gun. But I
wasn't aware there are rubber compounds that they can use.

--
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com.
Substitute cc dot ysu dot
edu]
 
Thanks for the responses. How many layers of duct tape do you use?

Jiyang
"maxo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:p[email protected]...
> On Wed, 02 Jun 2004 16:45:35 -0400, Jiyang Chen wrote:
>
> > I got a flat from a piece of glass (I think) a few days ago. There

is a
> > cut through the tire which resulted from rolling over the glass.

Should
> > I get a brand new tire? This was a almost new Michelin Pro Race.
> >
> > Thanks

>
> Boot it--reinforce the inside of the tire with something so the tube
> doesn't hernia--duct tape is the traditionalists' choice. If it still
> worries you, then make sure that the cut tire is moved to the rear if

it
> isn't already there--but don't rotate worn tires of course--you said

these
> are new so...
>
> :D
>
 
On Thu, 03 Jun 2004 14:40:41 -0400, Jiyang Chen wrote:

> Thanks for the responses. How many layers of duct tape do you use?


I just use one. Mind you, if this is a serious gash over half a cm or so,
this might not be your best idea. (that's my disclaimer--of course I'd do
it myself ;))

I've also used a bit of old cut tube under the tape to further reinforce
the tire, but on a skinny tire bike, you'd probably feel it go "thump
thump" as you ride. Not very pleasant. :D If you're off-roading, this
could be good insurance though.

I always keep a bit of old tube and duct tape wrapped around my Rema patch
box.

Hope it works for you--and if you have some superglue handy, do try gluing
the tread back together, I've never done it, but have heard it's quite
effective. Let us know how it goes. Oh, and use good judgement--don't
let spendthriftiness interfere with your safety (too much at least...)

:D
 
"Jiyang Chen" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I got a flat from a piece of glass (I think) a few days ago. There is a
> cut through the tire which resulted from rolling over the glass. Should
> I get a brand new tire? This was a almost new Michelin Pro Race.
>
> Thanks
>


Michelin Pro Race tires seem susceptible to glass cuts. According to my
records, most of the MPR's I've had to scrap have been due to sidewall cuts.
On several occasions I've had pretty new tires suffer a cut that was not
possible to boot. On one occasion I tried several different types of boot
(duct tape, and a bike shop purchased boot), but they failed to keep the
tire from re-flatting.

If the cut is longer than about 0.25 inch (0.635 cm), it may not be possible
to boot it. At least, that's been my experience...YMMV.

~_-*
....G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists
 
On Thu, 03 Jun 2004 13:31:04 -0700, GaryG wrote:

> If the cut is longer than about 0.25 inch (0.635 cm), it may not be possible
> to boot it. At least, that's been my experience...YMMV.


Sounds about right to me and I'd never try booting a sidewall cut, unless
it meant the difference between walking and riding home ;). Of course this
varies tire to tire. I've never ridden these Michelins, so I'm not
familiar with the construction, maybe it's time to look for a sturdier
tire...or perhaps they're worth the hassle?

:D
 
"maxo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:p[email protected]...
> On Thu, 03 Jun 2004 13:31:04 -0700, GaryG wrote:
>
> > If the cut is longer than about 0.25 inch (0.635 cm), it may not be

possible
> > to boot it. At least, that's been my experience...YMMV.

>
> Sounds about right to me and I'd never try booting a sidewall cut, unless
> it meant the difference between walking and riding home ;). Of course this
> varies tire to tire. I've never ridden these Michelins, so I'm not
> familiar with the construction, maybe it's time to look for a sturdier
> tire...or perhaps they're worth the hassle?
>
> :D
>


I think they are worth the hassle. I really like how they perform - they're
light and use a fairly soft compound that seems to hook up well in corners.
They are not, however, high mileage tires. I average around 1600 miles on
them (FWIW, I weigh 175 lbs).

I wouldn't pay full retail for them, but they're reasonably priced at
www.biketiresdirect.com .

~_-*
....G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists
 
"maxo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:p[email protected]...
> On Wed, 02 Jun 2004 16:45:35 -0400, Jiyang Chen wrote:
>
>
> Boot it--reinforce the inside of the tire with something so the tube
> doesn't hernia--duct tape is the traditionalists' choice. If it still
> worries you, then make sure that the cut tire is moved to the rear if it
> isn't already there--but don't rotate worn tires of course--you said these
> are new so...
>

Is there any particular reason not to use a patch for this?
I don't see that mentioned, but I've tried this and it seems to work OK.

I don't quite follow the advice to move the tire to the rear. Rear tires
tend to get more wear, and more flats, and are a bit harder to change when a
flat occurs. Why move a slightly questionable tire to the rear?

--
---
Mike Kruger
Blog: http://journals.aol.com/mikekr/ZbicyclistsZlog/
 
On Fri, 04 Jun 2004 00:07:08 GMT, "Mike Kruger"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I don't quite follow the advice to move the tire to the rear. Rear tires
>tend to get more wear, and more flats, and are a bit harder to change when a
>flat occurs. Why move a slightly questionable tire to the rear?


Because a rear flat at 20+ mph is less likely to cause an accident.
--
Rick Onanian
 
On Fri, 04 Jun 2004 00:07:08 +0000, Mike Kruger wrote:

> Is there any particular reason not to use a patch for this?
> I don't see that mentioned, but I've tried this and it seems to work OK.


that's a perfectly good idea, but how do you make it stick? With the
vulcanising fluid? The theory is sound--that's the way you patch tubeless
tires--I'll give it a go the next time I get a cut and see if she sticks.


:D

>
> I don't quite follow the advice to move the tire to the rear. Rear tires
> tend to get more wear, and more flats, and are a bit harder to change
> when a flat occurs. Why move a slightly questionable tire to the rear?


I'd personally like to have my best tire up front--handling a flatted or
skidding rear tire seems easier to deal with from a control
standpoint--it's the front rubber that does the steering. If the tire
really is quite questionable, then replacement is probably the best
bet--that said, I can't think of a time when I had a blowout or flat up
front and lost control--so perhaps I'm being a bit too cautious.


:D