Really fast tire wear?

[Steve Knight]

When I got my racing bike the tires were in good shape. They are 700x25 well at the time I was about
265. I had a slow leak and sometimes the tires were a bit low and that caused the sidewall to shred.
Well my buddy gave me another pair (can't remember what brand but they were good quality) and I kept
them inflated. I used them for about two months 20 miles a day 100 miles a week. Sometimes I had to
go through gravel but I am careful. Well tonight I was filling a slight jerk in the motion and I
thought I had not trued the wheel well. So I took my bike in tonight to true the wheel and on the
sidewalls I found three little cuts and the inner tube poking out. I also found bare spots on the
tire. This seems pretty fast wear but I wonder if it is my weight? I am down about 12 pounds or so.
If I go through tires like this what brand/type should I get? Since I put in tuffies I haven to
gotten a flat. Here my bike was sitting there and I debated on if I could make it to work tomorrow
where I have a spare tire or do I take the bike on the buss. I heard a small pop and a raspberry and
the tire lost it's air (G)

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[Q.]

> This seems pretty fast wear but I wonder if it is my weight? I am down
about 12
> pounds or so.

I can't speak from personal experience, but every guy I know that weighs more than about 225
complains about the rear tire wearing out quickly (including my Dad). I've also heard the same thing
from people on newsgroups. Most just accept it as par for the course ... I've not heard of a tire
that's better for "portly" men yet.

Don't feel bad, if my Dad is any indication I'll be joining you shortly (c:

C.Q.C.

 

[Per Elmsäter]

Steve Knight wrote:
> I also found bare spots on the tire.

Don't use your brakes. I ruined a brand new tire from braking too hard, going very slowly. Racing
tires are not made for braking. They are made for going fast.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

 

[Ron Garrett]

If you had bare spots it is an indication of locking up you rear brake. You can also have poor quality tires. Racing tires are not 25mm wide generally. I use 19mm and sometimes 21mm. They make Carbon tires that may last a little longer. Cheap tires or anything as for that matter, you usually get what you pay for. Never, never ride you bike with threads showing, dry rot, or severe cuts. You can boot a tire for an emergency, but should replace it A.S.A.P.

Originally posted by Steve Knight
When I got my racing bike the tires were in good shape. They are 700x25 well at the time I was about
265. I had a slow leak and sometimes the tires were a bit low and that caused the sidewall to shred.
Well my buddy gave me another pair (can't remember what brand but they were good quality) and I kept
them inflated. I used them for about two months 20 miles a day 100 miles a week. Sometimes I had to
go through gravel but I am careful. Well tonight I was filling a slight jerk in the motion and I
thought I had not trued the wheel well. So I took my bike in tonight to true the wheel and on the
sidewalls I found three little cuts and the inner tube poking out. I also found bare spots on the
tire. This seems pretty fast wear but I wonder if it is my weight? I am down about 12 pounds or so.
If I go through tires like this what brand/type should I get? Since I put in tuffies I haven to
gotten a flat. Here my bike was sitting there and I debated on if I could make it to work tomorrow
where I have a spare tire or do I take the bike on the buss. I heard a small pop and a raspberry and
the tire lost it's air (G)

--
Knight-Toolworks & Custom Planes Custom made wooden planes at reasonable prices See
http://www.knight-toolworks.com For prices and ordering instructions.

 

[Ron Garrett]

Originally posted by Ron Garrett
If you had bare spots it is an indication of locking up you rear brake. You can also have poor quality tires. Racing tires are not 25mm wide generally. I use 19mm and sometimes 21mm. They make Carbon tires that may last a little longer. Cheap tires or anything as for that matter, you usually get what you pay for. Never, never ride you bike with threads showing, dry rot, or severe cuts. You can boot a tire for an emergency, but should replace it A.S.A.P. Also buy a good floor pump and make sure your tire pressure is always at the suggested operating pressure. High pressure tires will lose air, depending on the lightness of the tube, it may lose half of it's normal pressure. I use latex tubes so I have to pump daily.

 

[Phil Brown]

>Don't use your brakes. I ruined a brand new tire from braking too hard, going very slowly. Racing
>tires are not made for braking. They are made for going fast.

"I make my cars to go, not to stop"-Ettore Bugatti

 

[Steve Knight]

>If you had bare spots it is an indication of locking up you rear brake. You can also have poor
>quality tires. Racing tires are not 25mm wide generally. I use 19mm and sometimes 21mm. They make
>Carbon tires that may last a little longer. Cheap tires or anything as for that matter, you usually
>get what you pay for. Never, never ride you bike with threads showing, dry rot, or severe cuts. You
>can boot a tire for an emergency, but should replace it A.S.A.P.

no the whole tire is worn there are patches of bare spots but it is just wear I don't lock the rear
wheel. I am pretty sure the brand was Continental and they weren to cheepies. I know these are not
great but the price is right. if I have a lot of wear it may be the way to go.

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/cboProfile.cfm?SKU=5528

--
Knight-Toolworks & Custom Planes Custom made wooden planes at reasonable prices See
http://www.knight-toolworks.com For prices and ordering instructions.

 

[Art Harris]

Steve Knight wrote:
> Well my buddy gave me another pair (can't remember what brand but they were good quality) and I
> kept them inflated. I used them for about two months 20 miles a day 100 miles a week. Sometimes I
> had to go through gravel but I am careful.

Two months at 20 miles per day is about 1200 miles. Considering your weight and the fact that you
ride partially on gravel, that may not be too terrible. Were the tires brand new when your buddy
gave them to you?

> If I go through tires like this what brand/type should I get? Since I put in tuffies I haven to
> gotten a flat.

I've gotten good wear from IRC Triathlon tires. They have a kevlar belt under the tread and are
listed as 700c x 28, but actually measure
25mm. You can often get them on sale at Nashbar for about $13.

Do you have a good gauge to measure tire pressure? And do you check the pressure at least every
couple of days? Running low pressure will definitely reduce tire life, and will likely cause pinch
flats. At your size, you should probably inflate above the "max pressure" on the sidewall. For 700 x
25 tires, you should probably inflate to about 115
psi.

See:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tires.html#pressure

Art Harris

 

[Art Harris]

I wrote:
> I've gotten good wear from IRC Triathlon tires. They have a kevlar belt under the tread and are
> listed as 700c x 28, but actually measure
> 25mm. You can often get them on sale at Nashbar for about $13.

Oops, I should have said IRC Road Winner. The IRC Triathlon is a skinnier tire.

Art Harris

 

[Steve Knight]

I think the tires may have worn faster because I only kept 90 pounds of air in them. I liked the
feel (G) well they are replaced and I will keep 120 pounds in them. now the next day one of the
setscrews on the RD moved a bit so chain came off the large cog into the spokes. well had to get the
wheel rebuilt today, man there goes any spare and non spare money this week.

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Knight-Toolworks & Custom Planes Custom made wooden planes at reasonable prices See
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[meb]

Originally posted by Steve Knight
I think the tires may have worn faster because I only kept 90 pounds of air in them. I liked the
feel (G) well they are replaced and I will keep 120 pounds in them. now the next day one of the
setscrews on the RD moved a bit so chain came off the large cog into the spokes. well had to get the
wheel rebuilt today, man there goes any spare and non spare money this week.

--
Knight-Toolworks & Custom Planes Custom made wooden planes at reasonable prices See
http://www.knight-toolworks.com For prices and ordering instructions.

If the higher pressure doesn't do the trick, you might need decide whether you need to a slightly wider tire or simply expect to continue replacing the tires frequently to keep the lower rolling resistance. At your weight, you probably are pushing the envelope on the 25mm. For a heavier rider the wider tire won't increase the rolling resistance proportionately as much for a lighter rider.

 

[Steve Knight]

>If the higher pressure doesn't do the trick, you might need decide whether you need to a slightly
>wider tire or simply expect to continue replacing the tires frequently to keep the lower rolling
>resistance. At your weight, you probably are pushing the envelope on the 25mm. For a heavier rider
>the wider tire won't increase the rolling resistance proportionately as much for a lighter rider.

28's should fit. lets see what happens. well at a pound a week of weight loss that could be a fair
amount of tires (G)

--
Knight-Toolworks & Custom Planes Custom made wooden planes at reasonable prices See
http://www.knight-toolworks.com For prices and ordering instructions.