Can this tire be repaired?
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Can this tire be repaired?
It's a Continental Spike Claw on my winter beater bike.
I bought it in the winter of 2015 from my LBS for about 90 CAD each. He has since closed his shop. Today I looked online for other studded winter tires at 26in x2.1 inches and could not find any at that size in Canada. Some of the stores that had carried it no longer has it available. The only other source is Amazon.ca for 214CAD each from France. I might be prepared to call other bike shops to see if I can ask for a special order and see what they can come up with.
It's a beater bike so I really don't want to spend a lot of money on it. I do have a fat bike with studded tires but it's very difficult to put in long distances so I use it only when the snow is deep and for going to the gym which is only 3.5km away. So my beater bike is for going on long rides, like 3 hours over 35km.
So if the tire can be fixed, great. But if not, the front tire is studded so I'll just look for an unstudded winter rear tire.
Thanks in advance.
I bought it in the winter of 2015 from my LBS for about 90 CAD each. He has since closed his shop. Today I looked online for other studded winter tires at 26in x2.1 inches and could not find any at that size in Canada. Some of the stores that had carried it no longer has it available. The only other source is Amazon.ca for 214CAD each from France. I might be prepared to call other bike shops to see if I can ask for a special order and see what they can come up with.
It's a beater bike so I really don't want to spend a lot of money on it. I do have a fat bike with studded tires but it's very difficult to put in long distances so I use it only when the snow is deep and for going to the gym which is only 3.5km away. So my beater bike is for going on long rides, like 3 hours over 35km.
So if the tire can be fixed, great. But if not, the front tire is studded so I'll just look for an unstudded winter rear tire.
Thanks in advance.
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Mich
Posts: 7,380
Bikes: RSO E-tire dropper fixie brifter
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Liked 2,966 Times
in
1,915 Posts
i would not repair it.
__________________
-Oh Hey!
-Oh Hey!
Likes For Troul:
#3
Guest
Join Date: Sep 2020
Posts: 2,888
Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1346 Post(s)
Liked 3,270 Times
in
1,439 Posts
Nope.
Likes For Rolla:
#4
working on my sandal tan
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: CID
Posts: 22,629
Bikes: 1991 Bianchi Eros, 1964 Armstrong, 1988 Diamondback Ascent, 1988 Bianchi Premio, 1987 Bianchi Sport SX, 1980s Raleigh mixte (hers), All-City Space Horse (hers)
Mentioned: 98 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3871 Post(s)
Liked 2,568 Times
in
1,579 Posts
Since the casing on these tires is really tough (kite string and thick layers of rubber), I'm tempted to think a Frankenstein job of stitches and a tire boot inside would probably hold at the pressures generally used for these tires. But winter is also when I don't want the reliability of my tires to be questionable, at all...
Have you looked for studded tires in other sizes than 2.1"? It doesn't have to be an exact match for what you had. amazon.ca shows a few Schwalbe offerings in 26"x2.0" and 26"x1.75".
Have you looked for studded tires in other sizes than 2.1"? It doesn't have to be an exact match for what you had. amazon.ca shows a few Schwalbe offerings in 26"x2.0" and 26"x1.75".
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 3,668
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 836 Post(s)
Liked 1,061 Times
in
745 Posts
For long rides I'd say a definite no. If it were for short, slow rides I would say sew the cut with some heavy thread and put a large boot in the tire along with a couple wraps of duct tape around the tube inflated slightly in that spot to prevent it from expanding at the cut. That is my emergency fix for when you can't get a replacement and don't put too much stress on the tire but anything else, nope. Just too large of a cut.
#6
Senior Member
Thread Starter
What are the normal tolerances when selecting tire sizes? I thought that if it weren't exact, there'd be a risk of it coming off the rim.
#7
working on my sandal tan
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: CID
Posts: 22,629
Bikes: 1991 Bianchi Eros, 1964 Armstrong, 1988 Diamondback Ascent, 1988 Bianchi Premio, 1987 Bianchi Sport SX, 1980s Raleigh mixte (hers), All-City Space Horse (hers)
Mentioned: 98 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3871 Post(s)
Liked 2,568 Times
in
1,579 Posts
For BSD, you have to get it correct, but minor difference in width should be no problem.
Likes For ThermionicScott:
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 1,606
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 581 Post(s)
Liked 921 Times
in
518 Posts
As ThermionicScott says, the bead seat diameter (BSD, diameter of the rim) needs to be the same - in your case, 559mm, which is the standard mountain bike 26" size common for most of the post-1980 mountain bike era. A tire labelled 26 x a.bc (26 x any decimal number) is almost always 559 BSD and will fit. The second number, 2.1 or 2.00 or 1.75, etc, is the nominal width of the tire and a wide range of widths can fit on the same rim if the BSD is correct.
In other words, just about any 26" tire will fit.
The only exceptions are tires labelled with fractional dimensions - 26 x 1 1/2 or 26 x 1 3/8 - these won't fit, but any in the 26 x A.BC format will work.
In other words, just about any 26" tire will fit.
The only exceptions are tires labelled with fractional dimensions - 26 x 1 1/2 or 26 x 1 3/8 - these won't fit, but any in the 26 x A.BC format will work.
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,549
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5224 Post(s)
Liked 3,581 Times
in
2,342 Posts
wow that would be a fun roadside disaster to make a temp repair on, but if you're home, chuck it, for sure. excellent job wrecking a tire! well done!
#12
Full Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Palm Springs, California
Posts: 462
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 206 Post(s)
Liked 460 Times
in
176 Posts
In a pinch, you can fold up a dollar bill and stick it against the sidewall to get you home. I had to do it numerous times back in my bike messenger days. We would often have to stretch the lifespan of many consumable parts until payday. There's nothing quite like working with bald tires, worn brake pads, and a toasted drivetrain.
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Southern California
Posts: 2,191
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 114 Post(s)
Liked 119 Times
in
92 Posts
See this great resource - all you wanted to know about tire sizing. About 7/8 down the page, Sheldon presents a chart of rim width vs allowable tire width.
https://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html
Likes For MudPie:
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Eastern Iowa
Posts: 631
Bikes: 2014 Trek Allant drop bar conversion, modified Schwinn MTN commuter, 2015 Trek 520, Soma ES, Salsa Journeyman, 1980 Trek 414
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 178 Post(s)
Liked 355 Times
in
166 Posts
Almost anything CAN be repaired.
However, I would not waste my time repairing that tire for any use other than to limp home.
However, I would not waste my time repairing that tire for any use other than to limp home.