Hi all! I was given a used bike and am trying to teach myself about upkeep/repair. The tires have some wear on them and have some divets/splits/cracks (see pictures), none of which seem to go all the way through the tire to the tube. I am wondering if they should be repaired, can be ignored, or if I should just get brand new tires. If they should be repaired, what would I use? Thanks!
by TuberDrupe
4 Comments
No repair possible. Replace
I wouldn’t worry about those. Unless the rubber is just crumbling off like coffee cake, there’s plenty of material there to protect the wire mesh/cloth/casing under it.
If the hole goes all the way through, you can put a boot in to protect the tube.
Tires get lots of little punctures and lacerations that are inconsequential.
As long as you’re not seeing threads exposed, you’ll be fine.
If it’s deep enough to penetrate the carcass you _may_ need a tire boot if it’s big enough for the tube to protrude through. Usually not a problem for a small puncture, but lacerations up to a few mm can be easily taken care of with a boot.
You can definitely can continue riding this tire, however due to its age, the rubber is going to be less rubbery, which intern makes the tire more prone to glass and other objects getting stuck in it also when the tire starts cracking it is less grippy and will slide easier when cornering and braking… also, if you want to patch the two holes on your tire, you can use a tube patch however you don’t really need to
Best of luck