How long should tires last?



jwroubaix

Member
Jun 6, 2007
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I have about 1200 miles on my Specialized Roubaix Pro, my rear tire nearly worn out. Is this weird or normal?
 
Depending on the tire type and model you have, your weight, your local road conditions, inflation pressures, riding style, etc. it can be very much 'normal' wear.

I train on racing tires, as opposed to heavier or harder compound training tires or touring tires or...whatever other kinds of tires there are. Rear tires can be shot at 1000 miles on my crappy roads, but usually last 1200-1500 miles. When the first sign of cord is showing or there's a little lifting of the paper thin rubber they get tossed in the trash and a new one installed.

My front tires generally last through the life of three or four rear tires, so maybe 3500 to 5000 miles?

For reference: I weigh under 160, ride decent to really rough chip & seal roads, ride it like I stole it and run with 100-110 PSI in both tires and over the last five years have been using 23 MM Michelin Pro 3 and Pro 4 Service Course tires. They are not the very lightest and most delicate in the Michelin racing tire lineup, but they are certainly not the ideal training tire for a guy with a concern for fast wearing. I value ride and grip and a good road feel over wear or puncture qualities. Pro 4's are often tested as 'Watt suckers' with a poor rolling resistance. In my admittedly subjective experience they roll as well as anything else I've had on my wheels and puncture resistance has been very good (or I'm really lucky!).
 
Regardless of almost ALL conditions & possible variables, comparable rear tires do not last as long as comparable front tires ...

And, more expensive "racing" tires which have a tread made with softer compound of rubber (for enhanced/better cornering capability) do not last as long as "training" tires ...

FWIW. 1500 +/- miles (depending on rider weight & road conditions) on a "racing" tire mounted on the rear wheel is about what I would except for an average weight rider.
 
I have about 1200 miles on my Specialized Roubaix Pro, my rear tire nearly worn out. Is this weird or normal?

Not atypical if you are not light or if the roads are rough or if the tarmac is blistering hot.

I rarely got more than 800 miles out of the previous generation of Vittoria CX Corsa clinchers on a rear wheel. I understand the new G+ compound is much more durable and will be checking out a set in 28 mm.

The best wearing fast tire is the Continental GP4000 with the chili compound but this is also a relatively harsh riding tire. I just put 2500 miles on a rear mounted 28 mm Continental GP4000 and it looks barely worn and with latex tubes, it is probably the lowest rolling resistance (non tubeless) tire out there. I have a 25 mm Continental GP4000 on one front wheel that has been on there for 3 years and I have no idea how many miles are on it but suspect it is 8-10,000 miles.

Life is too short to run crappy, slow tires
 
Life is too short to run crappy, slow tires

This.

Tires that ride like buggy rims, roll like the road is melting and slide around like I'm on ice are not anything I want to ride, regardless of the high wear factor.
 
I like the Continental Grand Prix 4 Season on my road bike. I'm a heavyweight (230-240lbs depending on cookie intake), and run the 23's for about a season, leaving a little tread at the end of a 2500 mile season. I also tend to swap front and rear about 1/2 way through the year because the rears wear out considerably faster than the fronts.

From my experience, these tires rarely flat, handle excellent, wear well, and are cost effective for my use.
 
Life is too short to run crappy slow tires...so it's better to spend 4 times the money 3 times more often on fast racing tires for someone who doesn't race? For some people it may be that life is too short to spend $85 on a fast tire that wears out fast and flats more often.

Specialized Roubaix tires are very good tires, the Pro series is not as tough or as long lasting as the Roubaix Armadillo Elite tire, but the Pro is about as good as any other tire in that class on the market. I have a set of those Pro's but I haven't used them yet.

Like another poster said tire wear depends on rider weight, road conditions etc, but if you've been riding a while you should have a baseline as to how long tires on average last for you, and the way you said it in your post I took to mean they didn't last as long as other tires you've had, if you had tires of similar weight and they lasted say 3200 miles then there maybe something with those Pro tires I haven't gotten around to finding out about yet; but I got them on sale for $20 each. Some tires use a softer rubber compound for better traction those will wear out fast.

This review by owners say some interesting things about the tire, see: http://www.roadbikereview.com/cat/w...ecialized/roubaix-pro/prd_369164_2489crx.aspx Durability was listed as a high point, but one poster said you need to rotate the tires frequently for them to last a long time. The last reviewer I think is a nut, he claims both of his new ones blew out at 1000 km mark which makes me think he's either lying or he hit something.
 
Life is too short to run crappy slow tires...so it's better to spend 4 times the money 3 times more often on fast racing tires for someone who doesn't race? For some people it may be that life is too short to spend $85 on a fast tire that wears out fast and flats more often.

Specialized Roubaix tires are very good tires, the Pro series is not as tough or as long lasting as the Roubaix Armadillo Elite tire, but the Pro is about as good as any other tire in that class on the market. I have a set of those Pro's but I haven't used them yet.

Roubaix Armadillo Elite is $55 bucks but it gives a hell of an ass beating. These tires suck.

The Continental GP4000 Sii in 28mm is $45 online. It should last at least 3,000 miles on the rear and probably more. With latex tubes it is very, very fast and pretty comfortable....not the best but ok. The only other tires faster in my stable are Conti supersonics and Vittoria TLR tubeless.
 
Roubaix Armadillo Elite is $55 bucks but it gives a hell of an ass beating. These tires suck.

The Continental GP4000 Sii in 28mm is $45 online. It should last at least 3,000 miles on the rear and probably more. With latex tubes it is very, very fast and pretty comfortable....not the best but ok. The only other tires faster in my stable are Conti supersonics and Vittoria TLR tubeless.

Latex is VERY VERY fast? I didn't realize that a 2 watt gain would qualify something as being very very fast. You'll never feel a 2 watt gain, though in a long race it could mean the difference between winning or losing, but if a person is not racing the expense and hassle of latex tube isn't worth it. The bike will ride a tad more comfortable with latex, sort of like riding on butyl tubes inflated to say 75 psi instead of 110 that some people inflate to.

Any highly flat resistant tire will ride like a piece of wood, there are tradeoffs and one has to decide if the tradeoffs are worth it. When I use to live in goathead city I was getting an average of 2 flats per ride due to the goatheads penetrating everything I could think of doing to prevent flats, but nothing worked. Than one day I walked into a local LBS and they turned me on to Specialized Armadillo All Condition tires, after that I only got one flat in over 30,000 miles and that was because I let a tire wear down to the cords. But the ride quality sucked on the Armadillo but I was willing to trade of comfort for not having flats. Now that I no longer live there I no longer need that level of flat protection so now I have traded back for comfort.
 

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