bikecommuter13

This tire has been running fine. What do you folks think? Should I continue using it or should I replace it due to the cuts?

mpetry912 

I would suggest that tire is a candidate for replacement.

not only cuts but based on general condition.

but what do I know ?

/markp

veganbikes

That doesn't look like a tire I would ride on anymore. If it were an emergency and I had to run it I guess but I would just replace it

genejockey 

Concur.

On the plus side, it's an excellent candidate for indoor trainer use!

zandoval 

I can't afford any kind of tire failure so I would have to replace the tire.

If this had happened on the road and the tire was still holding air, I would simply use a flat fix patch on the outside of the tire to get home. I have found the problem with these type cuts is they keep expanding and the tire becomes deformed eventually loosing its bead or air.

Iride01 

Does the tire in the picture have any air pressure in it?

Usually the tell for me is if the cut puckers out like grandma's lips wanting a smooch. Then I know too many of the cords/threads have been cut and it's unlikely to last very long. Not that it's really unsafe. Just that it might give out soon and leave you with no tire for the new tube in the bike bag.

But yeah, if my tire had cuts that big, then likely they threads were cut too. So it'd be puckering up when inflated and I'd be changing the tire. For roadside emergencies you can boot it by putting something between the tube and the cut. $1 bills work. $100 bills work better. Or cut out the side of a plastic bottle and lay that in there.

But if it's tubeless or tubed, and the picture is with it aired up to your normal riding pressure, then I probably would ride for my normal out and backs it till it gives out completely. Though if my next ride was a long ride or a real important ride, I'd probably change it.

PeteHski

It depends how bothered you are about the risk of it failing. If I get cuts like that then the tyre goes straight in the bin without a second thought. Tyres are the most important component on the whole bike.

Paul Barnard

LarrySellerz would probably trade you a bong hit for them.

79pmooney

I've repaired quality (and expensive) tires with slits like that and larger (cutting the cord) with real sailcloth glued in with contractor grade contact cement (the stuff you bond countertops down with) and run the tires without incident until it was road tired and dead.

Note: real Dacron sailcloth from a sailmaker, not the stuff Joann's Fabrics sells.

datlas 

The rubber/tread is not what gives the tire its integrity, it’s the carcass/cords. So if there is no signs of significant cord cuts, you are likely ok to keep riding this.

Your choice.

spelger

Why do we seem to get some really crappy out of focus pictures and a request to make heads or tails out of it.

can't tell how bad from pic. Ride them on easy rides I suppose.

Chuck M 

As long as the cord are not compromised and you don't mind walking if they are, they won't assplode on you.

ThermionicScott 

If no cords seem to be cut, I'd be tempted to pump it up and dab some Shoe Goo into the cracks to protect the innards. But I wouldn't run it on the front again.

JohnDThompson 

Rip-proof spinnaker cloth, or something heavier?

roadcrankr

That tire looks blitzed to me.
For a boot, the thin envelope material (Tyvex?) from fedex, usps, or ups works better than a dollar bill.
Cut it up into nice little strips and pack it into your patch kit.

cyccommute 

All of the cuts look like they have cut into the tire casing. The tire won’t necessarily blow out but it can develop instabilities that make it look like a snake belly and that can impact the ride and control. Minor cuts to the tread are okay but when they go deeper, the tire should be replaced.

MoAlpha

10 oz. storm sail. Orange.

jfouellette

The only thing between you and the road surface is your tire, that rubber patch touching the road is really small. So, tires and brakes are the most important safety components on the bike. I would replace those tires unless the financial cost is unbearable.

KerryIrons

Yup. As long as the casing is not damaged, then the ride is safe. If there are bulges and distortions in the inflated tire, then at a minimum the tire needs to be booted in order to continue riding it.

bblair

There also looks to be a lot of wear on that tire, which alone would make it a candidate for replacement.

It has served you well for many miles and good times. Time to move on.

Pratt

It looks perfectly fine, I wouldn't worry about it.
But, then, I'm not riding on it.
In general, I believe, where safety is involved, ' If you have to ask...'

rsbob 

Superglue the cuts back together and keep an eye on them. You may need to deflate the tire a bit to do this.

RCMoeur 

My experience has been that slick tires have a somewhat greater tendency to get cuts like the ones depicted - and since I like slick tires, I'm rather well-acquainted with the issue. As noted by others, the rubber isn't the critical structural part of the tire - it's the cords underneath and how they are connected to the beads (which do the really hard work). A risk of such cuts is that sharp debris such as glass can get lodged in them and eventually cut through the cord (and tube).

Suddenly-developing wobbles in the tire cross-section are typically where the cord layers have separated or delaminated from one another, often with some cords breaking. This is generally due to age or use - I've noticed some tires will last 5000+ miles, but others will get cord separations around 2500 miles. Note that in my experience this does not seem to be directly associated with cuts in the rubber.

This cord separation happened in April on one of my bikes. The tire was fine just a few minutes prior. I made it home OK, but replaced the tire before riding that bike again.



After replacing the tire, I inspected the inside casing where the separation occurred. Not a pretty sight:

cyccommute 

Delamination has less to do with mileage and more to do with the construction of the tire. Low thread count tires (aka “cheap” tires) are far more prone to this kind of failure than high thread count tires are. High thread count tires have less strain on the thinner threads used in the tire. It one of those threads breaks, the rest of the tire can deal with it. With a low thread count tire, a single thread carries a lot of strain and the rest of the threads can’t carry the extra strain of a broken thread as well Here’s an example that is even more gory than yours. This tire actually had several thread breaks on the same tire





Oddly, this tire didn’t blow out. The tire split and the threads started pushing out but the tube didn’t.




These examples are a bit more extreme than others I’ve seen. This if from my daughter’s bike in Tucson so the tread probably split due to the heat as well as the breaks in the casing threads. I have had this happen in cooler Colorado, although without the splitting of the tread.

himespau 

Since I'm cheap, I'd probably relegate that tire to trainer duty (assuming I still used a wheel on trainer). Doubt I'd take it out on the road anymore. More for the fact that I detest getting stuck than that I'd be worried about a blowout that led to a crash.