"David L. Johnson" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 12:52:46 +0000, cheg wrote:
>
> > I have been running Conti Ultra Gatorskins on my road
> > bike and lost the
front
> > one to a sidewall blowout last week. I noticed that he
> > rear tire is worn
through
> > most of the tread pattern after about 1400 miles so I
> > replaced them
both. Is
> > that a reasonable life span for quality tires? I'm
> > curious how often
people
> > normally replace tires.
>
> I consider that pretty poor. I avoid Continentals since
> they do seem prone to sidewall failures. There will be
> some who say that they have never had one, and that may
> be, but damn near all the people I encounter on the road
> with the sidewall blown out have been on Contis.
>
> On the other hand, "tread" wear is not an indication of
> tire wear for road bikes. Since the tread does not do
> anything useful, it is of no consequence when it is worn
> off. Tires are worn out when the casing begins to show
> through. For me, with my Avocet tires, this happens
> somewhere around 3000-4000 miles on the rear, and never on
> the front (since I move the front to the rear when the
> rear is worn out).
>
> --
>
> David L. Johnson
>
> __o | Do not worry about your difficulties in
> mathematics, I can
assure
> _`\(,_ | you that mine are all greater. -- A. Einstein
> (_)/ (_) |
>
When I was commuting I used to wear the rear tire out pretty
fast, also riding Avocet tires. Most of my commute was flat.
After about 2,500 miles the middle of the tire would be
pretty square. After 1000 miles, I would switch the front
with the rear. Now that I'm riding a lot of hills and
cornering on the descents, my tires are rounded and have a
longer life. -tom