Tony wrote:
> In June I bought my first ever road bike. I am not sure when I should
> replace the tires. How will I know when it is time? I have heard you are
> supposed to record every mile you put on your running shoes and replace them
> at exactly 312 miles. Are bicycle tires the same way? How many miles
> should I get out of them? Is it the same for both front and back? Thanks
> for your help.
>
> 74 days until my first Tri in Mexico. It is going to be a blast!
>
> --
Depends on the tire - most of the time I'm on some quite chunky
training tires (Specialised Armadillos) and I only put on my race tires
(Michelin Pro Race or Ironman) a few days before a race to give me a
boost.
The training tires last me 1000s of miles - have currently done ~2000
miles on them and they've plenty of life left. The race tires I
normally change once a year and I only tend to do 3 or 4 races plus a
few training and warmups rides on them so certainly less than 500
miles. They could probably do more but I don't want to risk flatting
in a race (never have yet, touch wood).
Couldn't say how long yours will last - the pair on the last bike I
bought were some cheap Bontrager jobs that gave me 2 punctures in the
first 100 miles before I binned them. Don't know how many training
miles you're doing but if you haven't punctured in the next 74 days
then I'd take a close look at them before your first race. If they're
quite worn or cut up - e.g. lacerations that haven't gone all the way
through, maybe shards of glass embedded in the rubber, etc - then I'd
put some new tires on for the race. Back tire will wear out quicker.
You also need to decide on race day how likely you are to puncture and
how critical it is - am guessing you really want to finish your first
race so I'd at least carry a pump, some levers and a spare tube.
Amazing how things seem to go wrong on race day!
