noodle soup

The roads are generally pretty good, and I weigh 175-180 pounds. IIRC, he weighs more than that.

woodcraft

Haven't replaced that tire yet, & rode it a few more times.

But meanwhile, another one is down to the cords, also without a flat. This a 25mm Sprinter. Running 23mm/25mm at about 60/70. Just a little squish during sprint-type efforts.

This tire is very uniform, as the cords are showing about 80% of the circumference.

alcjphil

Maybe all you guys who wear tires down to the casing should be buying lottery tickets. I have done this once by mistake and I am not bragging about it

Seattle Forrest

I've heard green tires reduce vibrations and road chatter. Is this true?

woodcraft

I have a black one of the same 'Pave' model, so can check it out.

Had red tires BITD- I think they were faster....

Deal4Fuji

Plenty of life left....now this is a worn tire

woodcraft

Yeah, but have you been 50 miles from home on that?

Deal4Fuji

You got me there - this was on my rainy day bike that was just being ridden on my close-by local loop so I was never that far away or group riding. I was curious to see how far I could go with it. Soon after this pic it went with a slow hiss, no loud sudden blowout.

noimagination

Um. Rear tire (like OP's), maybe yes. I'd never let a front tire get anything close to that worn, however. We all evaluate risk differently, I guess.

CAT7RDR

I ride a lot of steep grades. My risk management spidey intuition tells me the bike gods would frown upon me if I rode tires like those in the above pics.
Nothing like a face plant at 30 mph from a tread separating. I would never feel confident in the corners with those types of worn tires keeping me glued to the tarmac. Medical co-pays can be in the 10's of thousands; I'll fork out the $40-$50 bucks for a new tire.

noodle soup

now that I use tubeless tires, the rear gets replaced when cords first start show(about 3k miles). the front tire lasts 3x as long, and gets replaced long before any cords are showing.

Last week I replaced the front and rear tires, and on the second ride a piece of glass cut a 5mm slice along the center of the rear tire. I was about 3 miles from home, so I just started to walk home. After a few hundred yards, the tire was still holding some air. It wasn't enough to ride on seated, but by shifting my weight onto the front tire. I was able to ride home at about 8mph.

Rides4Beer

I was pretty excited when I was finally able to actually wear out a set of tires, after losing my first three sets of tires to damage. But nothing like what's been posted, I rode them down till the wear indicators weren't visible and then replaced them. I think I might actually be close to wearing out the rear again, with no damage!

woodcraft

To me it's a victory over tire cuts. I think there is less glass on the roads lately.

According to my somewhat far-fetched theory, the yahoos are suffering less angst with one of their own in the White House,

and are tossing fewer bottles.

woodcraft

You still get the prize for riding that on the front!

Deal4Fuji

I'm riding this tire on flatland, 16-17 tops and no tight turns other than my turn-around points of my double dead end loop, which are too slow to matter. I'm also not standing on the pedals so my weight is probably 60% on the rear wheel and at the time I was 260 lbs, ( a slim 235 now ) Being a big guy I don't run really high tire pressure. On the negative side I'm on a 27" frame so I'm riding higher than most...still I just can't see a blowout in those circumstances ever putting me over the bars, but these cautionary comments will keep me from ever doing it again. Thanks

Seattle Forrest

I know red is fastest and just found out blue handles best. So it stands to reason green would be most comfortable.

ckindt

260 on a low-pressure 25? I am apprehensive about riding 25s at a svelte 200.

Deal4Fuji

I didn't say low pressure, I said not high (100+) like some people like. I use the hard pinch to judge, where I have to pinch hard to make an indention...usually around 85 - 90 on my pump gauge. For what it's worth those are Vittoria Ziffaro 27" x 1 1/8" tires

noimagination

It's not OTB that I'd worry about, it is the front wheel washing out from under me. Not saying that you shouldn't have worn a front tire that low (I don't know anything about how/where you ride), just saying it's not something that I'd do.

I don't understand the comment about being big meaning you don't run high pressures in your tires. Generally speaking, the greater the weight borne by the tire, the higher the pressure required to mitigate against pinch flats and/or damage to the wheel rim when hitting bumps.

Deal4Fuji

You seem to have the impression my tires are running semi-flat when they're not. I'm pretty sure I'm running the best tire pressure for my size & weight based on the fact I rarely have flats. Also recent research that a lot of people over-inflate and may actually lose speed and efficiency by bouncing hard over road bumps & debris.

noimagination

No, no impression at all.

You said "Being a big guy I don't run really high tire pressure", I am confused as to how being big means that you don't run high tire pressure since, all else being equal, a bigger rider generally runs their tires at a higher pressure than a smaller rider to get the same contact patch under load, and thus protect against pinch flats.

CliffordK

I have felt that thin rubber with good belting/protection may well reject glass and other flat causing stuff more than thick rubber...

So no need to change early. Of course, one can also pick up cumulative damage over time that impacts older tires.

Nonetheless, I'll wear until the rubber is mighty thin.

noodle soup

Cuts seem like they can happen to new or old tires, but thorn punctures become more frequent when the tread gets thin.

(edit) Goatheads don't care about the thickness of your tread.

CliffordK

I avoid riding over goats whenever possible.

Blackberries can be a pain, but generally not too bad as lone as one keeps off the shoulder edges.

TheDudeIsHere

Reminds me of a tire I used a few years ago. Specialized Armadillo, old scholl wire bead!

Thing was so stiff it would stand in the center of the room on its own. OK not really, but close.

I was training for a big mountain ride event so I spent a lot of time up in the mountains without many resources. I wanted a durable tire so I went with the 'dillo. Not sure how many miles exactly I did on that tire but used it all year and totaled 5,000+ miles. Most on that bike. The tire wore so much that it had a red band around the center of the tire when I was done with it (belt under the tread ?). I ran over rocks, thorns, tarantulas, whatever was there and never one flat.

Heavy tire but good training tire. Never a flat but once I swapped out the tire for the Conti couple weeks before the event, felt like I was flying. I loved that tire, super strong and durable, belt exposed and not one flat.