HuffNPuff wrote:
I always buy brand new tires for a destination "A" race, but there is a huge difference in supergluing a small nick in a brand new tire that you sadly picked up when breaking them in the first 50 miles versus supergluing tires that have 2,000 or more miles on them for that same race. When I did IM Norway last year, there was an American complaining about the lack of tech support on the course because he blew a tire on a section of road that was being regraded and was unable to finish. I asked about the age of his tires and I think I recall he said about 18 months or so. New tires are a very small form of insurance when you are spending so much money just to get to a race. So I agree with what you are saying in general, but if the tire is new, supergluing a single nick is not a big deal. If the tire has nicks all over it, that's a sign that it's ready for training use only.
Jesus, I hope these folks are in my age group... I've seen the same, someone bemoaning the lack of tech support after starting the race on bald tires (like howie mandel bald...)... Shit happens in race, no matter how prepared you are, but the least you can do is to at least control what you can control to minimize the chances of shit happening... case and point, the one and only time I didn't bring a spare pair of running shoes with me to a race was the time that someone "borrowed" my shoes for the run from transition and I was left running off the bike barefoot... it's a mistake that I've never made again...
When I was wrenching at worlds, there were folks considering racing tires that were worn through the tread down to the core of the tire... (clearly that have ridden the tires for a season or two, including at least one winter on a trainer looking at the ware pattern...). Fair point though about superglue on a nick in a new tire, with the caveat that the race would be dry, since I've seen pile-ups in crits caused by someone racing on a superglued tire where it slid out because of the wet... It's crappy when you damage brand new tires (years back, I had new rubber installed to start the season and literally picked up my bike from the shop and was riding from there to the Crit I was racing that evening (the colors even matched my frame and everything), I flatted about mid-way between, with a 2" screw that went right through my tire... needless to say I didn't race that night, and was buying a new, new tire the next day...