Don't like the looks of this
Mar. 31st, 2009 10:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
johnridleyThe Top Touring 2000 tire that I put on the front, which has somewhere around 3000 miles on it, doesn't look so good. The tread is OK but the sidewalls are quite checked and I can see threads and cracks. I noticed that for the first time when I put it back on last night, swapping the studded tire back out again.
I am going to throw it away tonight, I can't take the chance of a front tire blowout. I have a Pacella Panaracer 700cX32 that I bought as a spare a couple of years ago, I'll put that on.
I ordered a pair of Schwalbe Marathons last night after noticing the TT2K problem. There's been a Schwalbe factory rep answering questions quite honestly up on BikeForums, and I gotta respect that. The Marathons also are said to last in the 8000+ mile range on the back, and as much as 16-18 thousand miles on the front, so paying $26 each for them is probably cheaper than paying $15 for cheap tires that last 3000 miles.
At this point I don't know whether to keep the older tires on the bike and try to wear them out before they rot, or to put the new tires on and keep the old ones in the basement for spares. The Race Lite on the rear already has 6500+ miles on it, so I'm curious to see what it does, but OTOH it'd be nice to get a good even start for the Marathons, so that in 2+ years I'll know how long they last, at least on the back (when it wears out, the front will go to the back and the front will get a new tire).
One factor is that the Schwalbes are probably safer tires all around, they are unlikely to blow out, and they have reflective sidewalls which I really like. So the new tires will probably go on the bike this weekend after they arrive.
I am going to throw it away tonight, I can't take the chance of a front tire blowout. I have a Pacella Panaracer 700cX32 that I bought as a spare a couple of years ago, I'll put that on.
I ordered a pair of Schwalbe Marathons last night after noticing the TT2K problem. There's been a Schwalbe factory rep answering questions quite honestly up on BikeForums, and I gotta respect that. The Marathons also are said to last in the 8000+ mile range on the back, and as much as 16-18 thousand miles on the front, so paying $26 each for them is probably cheaper than paying $15 for cheap tires that last 3000 miles.
At this point I don't know whether to keep the older tires on the bike and try to wear them out before they rot, or to put the new tires on and keep the old ones in the basement for spares. The Race Lite on the rear already has 6500+ miles on it, so I'm curious to see what it does, but OTOH it'd be nice to get a good even start for the Marathons, so that in 2+ years I'll know how long they last, at least on the back (when it wears out, the front will go to the back and the front will get a new tire).
One factor is that the Schwalbes are probably safer tires all around, they are unlikely to blow out, and they have reflective sidewalls which I really like. So the new tires will probably go on the bike this weekend after they arrive.
