Bell, the worst road-bike tire ever ???
03-31-23, 07:46 AM
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Originally Posted by seypat
The main knock I've heard on Bells is the clapper.
03-31-23, 09:13 AM
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Originally Posted by Lombard
Yup. It seems like riders in groups concentrate more on getting the tube changed as quickly as possible than finding out why the flat happened in the first place. I see people just take one tire bead off and do a very quick superficial finger wipe inside the tire to feel for any objects...........if even that.
Quick and dirty usually ends dirty.
Quick and dirty usually ends dirty.
03-31-23, 09:15 AM
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Originally Posted by seypat
The main knock I've heard on Bells is the clapper.
03-31-23, 09:37 AM
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Originally Posted by beng1
Anyway, if you are looking at new or used tires on a budget,
03-31-23, 10:17 AM
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Originally Posted by smd4
Do people routinely buy used bike tires??
I was considering running the Bell's all season now just to see if I can set a record for number of flats gotten while riding in one year, but stopping to fix a flat interrupts the training routine and affects it's quality, so I will just throw them in storage until I decide what to do with them.
03-31-23, 10:30 AM
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Hey put them up for sale. You may find someone gullible enough to buy used Bell "bike tires." 
03-31-23, 11:15 AM
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Originally Posted by beng1
I was considering running the Bell's all season now just to see if I can set a record for number of flats gotten while riding in one year...................
03-31-23, 12:21 PM
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Originally Posted by base2
03-31-23, 02:26 PM
#34
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Originally Posted by Lombard
I can't tell you how many times I was on a club ride when someone got a flat and swore up and down it was a pinch flat, so didn't check the tire carefully. Less than a half mile down the road, another flat.
Originally Posted by indyfabz
Some boobs in my local club were on a ride when one rider got a flat. Each new tube they put in kept going flat. Lather, rinse, repeat until the group had used up all their tubes. Turned out there was a big slit in the tire that no one had checked for. They had to get “rescued” by a LBS. When I read the story on our club’s email list, I contacted the ride leader and explained how handle such situations in the future.
Two more tubes needed. So good thing it was a large group. Definitely wasn't a Indy car pit stop.
03-31-23, 08:37 PM
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Originally Posted by RH Clark
I bought a bunch of Bell bike tires on closeout at $2 each. They suck but for $2 I figured I might need a set during the zombie apocalypse.
Bell does not make tires, they are a helmet maker and their decent non-wally mart stuff is good. I had one I liked enough for the price.
To the poster who mentioned Serfas...oy vey those were terrible tires, we had people who would buy new tires monthly because they refused to spend money on a good tire and would wear out those crappy things so often. I really disliked selling their products thankfully we got rid of it after our buyer finally realized nobody liked it and we hated selling it.
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03-31-23, 09:58 PM
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Originally Posted by Trakhak
Three flats in a couple of months with one brand of (used) tires versus one flat with another in a year might be too small a sample to be statistically meaningful.
There's a good chance that the Bell tires are relabeled Kendas, by the way.
There's a good chance that the Bell tires are relabeled Kendas, by the way.
04-01-23, 07:19 AM
#37
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I have had really bad luck with Performance branded tubes, and talked to several others with the same experience. They leaked where the valve stem is attached to the tube. Sometimes they didn't even survive initial inflation.
Name brand tubes are only a couple of dollars more expensive, so be wary of on sale stuff.
(The first person who says, "ride tubeless" gets a basket of goat heads thrown on their driveway.)
Name brand tubes are only a couple of dollars more expensive, so be wary of on sale stuff.
(The first person who says, "ride tubeless" gets a basket of goat heads thrown on their driveway.)
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04-01-23, 08:52 AM
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Originally Posted by beng1
Yes. There are all sorts of used tires for sale on ebay, check it out.
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04-03-23, 10:37 AM
#39
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Originally Posted by shelbyfv
Conti Gatorskins have decent puncture protection though the cost of a pair would exceed the value of OP's stable.
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04-03-23, 06:47 PM
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Today I ordered a pair of Panaracer Pasela protite tires. They are supposed to be comparable to the Conti gatorskini in flat protection, and they were $25 each from the seller I ordered them from. So I am all set for tires for this year.
There is a company out of the U.K. selling 27" Conti gatorskin hardshell tires for $11 each, and if you order $75 worth it is free shipping to the USA, but I did not need eight tires, did not know if I would like them, and the fact that they were dumping them at such a low price made me wonder if there was a problem with them that kept them from selling or others liking them. So passed on the deal.
There is a company out of the U.K. selling 27" Conti gatorskin hardshell tires for $11 each, and if you order $75 worth it is free shipping to the USA, but I did not need eight tires, did not know if I would like them, and the fact that they were dumping them at such a low price made me wonder if there was a problem with them that kept them from selling or others liking them. So passed on the deal.
