When to replace tires?

[M..Leuck]

I have a Vision R-50 with Primo front and back, the back has become pretty smooth with no more trace
of tread although it's not showing cord either. I have about 1400 miles on it.

Time to change it?

 

[Bob]

If you have to ask it's probably time.......

Bob

"m..leuck" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I have a Vision R-50 with Primo front and back, the back has become pretty smooth with no more
> trace of tread although it's not showing cord either.
I
> have about 1400 miles on it.
>
> Time to change it?

 

[Cletus Lee]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> I have a Vision R-50 with Primo front and back, the back has become pretty smooth with no more
> trace of tread although it's not showing cord either. I have about 1400 miles on it.
>
> Time to change it?

I'd say it depends on how inconvienienced you are willing to be and the neighborhoods that you will
be traveling.

Another alternative is to buy a folder tire and carry it as a spare.

BTW, it does not take long to wear the tread off of a Primo Comet. My experience with Primos has
been to retire them with sidewall or tread damage lone before 1400 miles.

--
Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager http://www.clee.org
- Bellaire, TX USA -

 

[Al Kubeluis]

Hi M, Some tires have wear indicators, as hollow dots found on some slick tires (when dots smooth
out, replace). I check tires before riding, pick out any embedded matter, and look for cuts, bumps,
wear. Cracking tire wall indicate deterioration and tire should be replaced. A tire may last
thousands of miles or only a mile if cut or punctured severely. Tread wear, especially on a light
tread tire as Primos, alone does not indicate need to replace tire. A smooth or slick tire has
greater traction on non-loose dry and wet surfaces than a treaded tire. Ergo unless you are riding
on loose surfaces, tread wear should not be a problem. On my dual 650 wheel bent, I carry a spare
folding tire for bad cut insurance and duct tape for a variety of repairs.
--
~~~al.kubeluis..md.usa.earth.sun.milkyway.virgo.universe..corsa~~~

"m..leuck" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I have a Vision R-50 with Primo front and back, the back has become pretty smooth with no more
> trace of tread although it's not showing cord either.
I
> have about 1400 miles on it.
>
> Time to change it?

 

[Christopher Jor]

"m..leuck" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I have a Vision R-50 with Primo front and back, the back has become pretty smooth with no more
> trace of tread although it's not showing cord either. I have about 1400 miles on it.
>
> Time to change it?

Primo Comets last a heck of a long time! I wanted the reflective sidewalls Schwalbie Marathons have,
so I replaced the Primos. Bad mistake! Schwalbie lasted less than a day, so the Prime went back on.
MANY miles (several thousand) with lots of wear but no threads yet- no problem; just ugly "gumwall".
Why change it?

Chris Jordan

 

[Jeff Wills]

[email protected] (Christopher Jordan) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> "m..leuck" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> > I have a Vision R-50 with Primo front and back, the back has become pretty smooth with no more
> > trace of tread although it's not showing cord either. I have about 1400 miles on it.
> >
> > Time to change it?
>
> Primo Comets last a heck of a long time! I wanted the reflective sidewalls Schwalbie Marathons
> have, so I replaced the Primos. Bad mistake! Schwalbie lasted less than a day, so the Prime went
> back on. MANY miles (several thousand) with lots of wear but no threads yet- no problem; just ugly
> "gumwall". Why change it?
>
> Chris Jordan

Chris and I have just finished off a "discussion" of the relative merits of Primo vs. Schwalbe
tires. I've had terrible luck with the Primo tires, he's had terrible luck with the Schwalbes.

As long as the casing fabric isn't showing (through wear or tread cuts) and you're not having lots
of flats (another indication of thin tread), keep 'em going.

Jeff

 

[Geob]

> Primo Comets last a heck of a long time!

I have an R40, with teh 20" Comet. It lasted about 1000 mi. It had lost all the tread in the middle.
It had quite a number of small to medium cuts on the tread area. The only thing holding the tube in
was my Mr Tuffy strip.

> I wanted the reflective sidewalls Schwalbie
> Marathons have, so I replaced the Primos.

I now have this on the front.

> Bad mistake! Schwalbie lasted less than a day,

What happened? Mine seesm to resist cuts and punctures better than the Primo Comet.

 

[Bob Stan]

On Mon, 07 Apr 2003 04:15:01 GMT, m..leuck wrote:

>I have a Vision R-50 with Primo front and back, the back has become pretty smooth with no more
>trace of tread although it's not showing cord either. I have about 1400 miles on it.
>
>Time to change it?

I got about 1700 miles on my Primo's. Rear tread is gone and both have a few cuts - so I elected to
replace them.,

 

[Tom Thompson]

"m..leuck" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I have a Vision R-50 with Primo front and back, the back has become pretty smooth with no more
> trace of tread although it's not showing cord either.
I
> have about 1400 miles on it.
>
> Time to change it?
>
I just went out and checked an old 349 Comet I had in the Garage. The tread is worn smooth in the
center, but it feels like about 1/8- 1/4" of rubber is still left over the casing. Dunno how may
miles on this tire.

The 406 Comet on the front of my TE has close to 2k miles on it and still shows the herringbones all
the way across. No problems ever with this tire. But, on the front of a LWB, it takes a lot less
punishment.

Bottom line - if you're uncomfortable with the condition of the tire, replace it.

Tom Thompson

 

[Christopher Jor]

[email protected] (GeoB) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>
>
> What happened? Mine seesm to resist cuts and punctures better than the Primo Comet.

The one that blew did not "grab" the rim tight enough. But I cannot complain too much- I have 2 good
(so far- what, 2 months??) Schwalbies and 1 shabby and well-worn Primo on my TerraTrike. I am
waiting until one tire goes, so I will have another matching set of 3 whitewalls!

Chris Jordan

 

[M..Leuck]

"Tom Thompson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "m..leuck" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > I have a Vision R-50 with Primo front and back, the back has become
pretty
> > smooth with no more trace of tread although it's not showing cord
either.
> I
> > have about 1400 miles on it.
> >
> > Time to change it?
> >
> I just went out and checked an old 349 Comet I had in the Garage. The
tread
> is worn smooth in the center, but it feels like about 1/8- 1/4" of rubber
is
> still left over the casing. Dunno how may miles on this tire.
>
> The 406 Comet on the front of my TE has close to 2k miles on it and still shows the herringbones
> all the way across. No problems ever with this
tire.
> But, on the front of a LWB, it takes a lot less punishment.
>
> Bottom line - if you're uncomfortable with the condition of the tire, replace it.
>
> Tom Thompson

Good idea, the front has almost a thousand and its in pretty good shape so I'll replace the back for
the heck of it

Thanks for the response everyone

 

[Don]

What the heck are you guys doing to your tires? Maybe Primos don't qualify as a "real tire". I have
never ridden one because they scare me just to look at one. I am running a Conti 26x1.0 wire bead on
the rear of my Leprechaun. 4500+ miles and looks great. Not many road miles. Mostly bike trail so I
avoid cuts but the miles are certainly there. I also recommend Conti tubes. They are light, tough,
and hold air very well.

Schwalbe 349 Kevlar Marathon on the front. The first one blew itself up (while parked) when it was
just a pup. Took a chance on a second because I won't ride the onion-skin Primos. I do not have
enough miles on the Schwalbe's to judge how long the tread will last (providing it does not blow up
first). Before that I had a 305 wheel on the front with Schwalbe City Jet and a Maxxis Hookworm. The
Maxxis is one rugged tire but a horrible ride.