trtmn

Hi all,
New to the forums (as of 2 minutes ago). The other day I punctured a tube, to which I replaced and plan to repair.

However I noticed some wear on the tire, likely due to the spill I took (I'm not a small guy, so 300 lbs on a wheel/deflated tire might have been a bit much)

I was wondering if you think I should replace the tire? They've only got about 200 miles on them.

I'm a novice and wanted some advice from some seasoned cyclists.

Thanks!

Matt aka Fishy

(Since I'm so new, I don't have the ability to post pictures yet - You can contact me through my profile info. )

rumrunn6

can you describe the "wear"?

trtmn

Looks to me like a little wear in the side wall. "fraying" would be the best way to describe it.

Here's an image (gonna have to copy / paste) imgur[dot]com/a/kXAJ3G7

gearbasher

A little help:

rumrunn6

time to go, sorry

Bill Kapaun

ASSUMING the tire is aired up, you can see the witness line varies in distance to the brake track.
That means the strength has been definitely compromised.

Wilfred Laurier

That doesn't look good. The conservative decision would be to replace that tire.
I am not generally that cautious, and I would still ride it if the tire was still round. If the damage has resulted in any sort of bulge or wobble in the tire then it must be replaced.

pdlamb

Looks to me like the tire's been rubbing against something (probably the frame). If it's a rear tire, and If your typical speeds are perhaps 15 mph and slower, and If you don't ride too far, such that you could walk home if the tire blows, Then you might get away with riding it a while longer.

Do check that the wheel spins true, that the quick release or nut is properly tightened, and that the tire (new or old) doesn't rub against anything.

bbbean 

Worn/torn sidewalls = new tire. The $20-50 you'll spend on a new tire will be well worth it the first time you aren't stranded somewhere you don't want to be and/or teh first time you don't wipe out and injure yourself due to an avoidable flat.

If you have any thought at all to riding on a trainer, set the tire aside to use for a trainer tire.

dsbrantjr

I suspect that the stresses of riding on the small rollers of a trainer will be the last nail in the tire's coffin.

bbbean 

I have put hundreds of trainer miles on tires that looked worse than that. Why not get every bit of possible use out of a tire?

WizardOfBoz

To recap, the tire looks kaput. I'm a pretty big guy, too, and we have more energy when we hit the pavement.

The fraying is wear, likely from the frame. On other bikes, maladjusted rim brakes can rum like that, but it appears you don't have rim brakes.

So, you'll need to replace the tire. But before you do, check to make sure that the wheel runs true. Put the bike upside down, hold an index card or a credit card against the frame and spin the wheel. The wheel shouldn't be moving side to side more than, say, an eight inch (other chime in on this threshold). Also, to your crash theory, check to see if the rim runs round. You'll be able to see if the rim is dented (as in someone ran it into a curb). Check to ensure that all the spokes are about the same tightness. Squeeze em with your built-in tensionmeters (your fingers). If none are noticably loose, pluck em to see if they have the same pitch.

If your wheel runs straight and true, and round, and the spokes are all pretty much the same tension, then I'd put a new tire on. If not, get the wheel trued (or if the rim is dented, have the rim replaced).

When you install the wheel in the bick, make sure that its centered in the frame (for the rear wheel, that means centered between the chainstays and the seatstays).