Road Tyre Anomaly

It's more likely to be another example of "you can't please everyone, all the time". With those user-review sites, you generally can't take much from a single contrary review to dozens of others; if there was a real problem with a piece of equipment, you'd expect more reviews to mention it.

Point 1, isn't an issue. The tyres are designed to fold and not to crease or break the bead etc.

Point 2, I'd trust Maxxis and Hutchinson tyres to be well made.

Point 3, most likely. Some people have weird ideas about tyre inflation that seem "right" in their minds, but actually seriously degrade ride comfort, puncture resistance, wear pattern, etc.

Also, there is so much variation on what happens on the road. You could ride 1000k without a single mark on the tyre and then get 10 cuts/holes/whatever in the next 1000k.

fauxpas said:

Just bought a pair of Hutchison Excel tyres for daily use. They cheap and I remember CSC using this brand.

I hate the chinese/taiwanese tyres and these Hutchisons are the first, brand name tyre I've had... If they are cool, I may buy a box of them...

Just my ten centimes' worth... Every single set of Hutchinson tyres I've had (and I've had a lot, living in France where they're common as muck), has perished and deteriorated long before wearing out. I just don't buy them any more, no matter how cheap they are. Experience with various Michelins (Speedium, Krylion etc) has been much better.

Well how long do ordinary road tyres last?

fauxpas said:

Well how long do ordinary road tyres last?

Front 10,000k, Rear 5,000k

fauxpas said:

Well how long do ordinary road tyres last?

Another how long is a peice of string type Q. I currently have 5.5k kls on my front Specialized All Condition Pro 25mm & other than some small cuts, it wouldn't surprise me if I get another 2 or 3k kls before its shot. It's rear partner though only had 1k kls before having tube & sidewall sliced beyond repair by a chunk of glass.
Past experience wise I'd get 2 to 3 X more from a front compared to a rear.

There's no magic time limit to how long road tires last, when you start seeing threads, then replace.

Maybe it's just me, but I had a pair of Hutchinson Excel tires last year and both blew out the kevlar bead. If the bead goes, then you're pretty much hosed until you replace the tire as the tube will bubble out where the bead goes, so I was stranded twice due to those POS tires.

I usually get 3000-5000 km out of a set of tires. they might have more life left in them, but the wear patterns usually make them square shaped rather than round... That is, the top of the tire wears away and the sides stay the same. This makes them ride and corner terribly so I replace them. The amount of wear you experience will depend on your weight, tire pressure and road conditions as well as the hardness of tire compund itself.

I agree with other people. Getting a flat has more to do with luck than anything. Some tires have casings which are much thicker and prevent flats due to punctures from glass, thorns, etc but they are typically quite heavy and don't ride very well. All the tires you'll be looking at have similar thickness casings - ergo, it comes down to luck.

John Swanson
www.bikephysics.com

I'm on my 3rd set of Maxxis Detonators. I get ~2K miles out of a set and I replace them when the road contact tread gets thin because I know I will begin getting frequent flats. I don't think they're great in the wet, but that's only based on a few puddles since I don't ride in the rain. I pay ~$25 per tire, which is pretty reasonable for a training tire.

ScienceIsCool said:

I usually get 3000-5000 km out of a set of tires. they might have more life left in them, but the wear patterns usually make them square shaped rather than round... That is, the top of the tire wears away and the sides stay the same. This makes them ride and corner terribly so I replace them. The amount of wear you experience will depend on your weight, tire pressure and road conditions as well as the hardness of tire compund itself.

I agree with other people. Getting a flat has more to do with luck than anything. Some tires have casings which are much thicker and prevent flats due to punctures from glass, thorns, etc but they are typically quite heavy and don't ride very well. All the tires you'll be looking at have similar thickness casings - ergo, it comes down to luck.

John Swanson
www.bikephysics.com

Ha, you must be riding on much better tyres than me. Are you using rollers? they really flaten out tyres. If riding by yourself, just ride harder in the corners, braking on the way in and accellerating on the way out. he he.