After my ride Saturday, I noticed a very small piece of glass in the tread of my rear tire - about 1/2-way between the thin center strip (the part you ride on when going straight) and the actual sidewall. I removed it, which left a small (~1.5mm long) tear in the rubber - not a chunk missing, just a tear.
However, peeling the “flap” of rubber back, I can see white, which I assume is the tire’s casing.
Since this tire doesn’t have many miles on it and was fairly expensive (Michelin Pro2Race), I’d like to protect the casing in this area and keep riding the tire.
Any suggestions?
I was thinking of just cleaning the area as good as I could, peeling the “flap” back, putting a drop of Super Glue (best choice of what I have laying around the house) in there, and then letting the “flap” return to it’s normal position to set up. Would this hold up?
I’d say put a little duct tape on the inside to distribute the pressure and use it as a rear tire, but basically I think you have a very nice tire for the trainer.
I have a similar issue with my Conti Force rear tire - a 1/2 long slice (completely through the tire) that crosses from the sidewall to the tread area. I’ve been using a folded dollar bill, placed between the innertube & tire, with no problems. The tire doesn’t bulge & the slice hasn’t grown in length, so I’m assuming it’s a viable solution to my problem. If your tire isn’t cut all the way through (yet), that may require a different solution, and I’m not sure how to go about patching the outside of a tire, if there is a way to do that.
After my ride Saturday, I noticed a very small piece of glass in the tread of my rear tire - about 1/2-way between the thin center strip (the part you ride on when going straight) and the actual sidewall. I removed it, which left a small (~1.5mm long) tear in the rubber - not a chunk missing, just a tear.
However, peeling the “flap” of rubber back, I can see white, which I assume is the tire’s casing.
Since this tire doesn’t have many miles on it and was fairly expensive (Michelin Pro2Race), I’d like to protect the casing in this area and keep riding the tire.
Any suggestions?
I was thinking of just cleaning the area as good as I could, peeling the “flap” back, putting a drop of Super Glue (best choice of what I have laying around the house) in there, and then letting the “flap” return to it’s normal position to set up. Would this hold up?
Thanks.
Steve
Are the casing threads cut at all? If not, just superglue the flap back in place. That should hold up for awhile…however, the tire experiences a lot of flexing in that area and superglue isn’t very flexible so it may open up again.
For “cuts” that small, I usually just leave them. No harm, no foul.
The casing threads are not damaged that I can see. (It’s a pretty small cut. I can basically just see a small white “dot” when I fold the flap back.) I just want to keep riding the tire and protect it from further damage.
I’ll give the Super Glue a shot and take it for a ride on the rollers and maybe some turns in the parking lot before taking it on the road.
If the non-flex of the Super Glue turns out to be an issue, maybe I’ll try some Shoe Goo next.
The casing threads are not damaged that I can see. (It’s a pretty small cut. I can basically just see a small white “dot” when I fold the flap back.) I just want to keep riding the tire and protect it from further damage.
I’ll give the Super Glue a shot and take it for a ride on the rollers and maybe some turns in the parking lot before taking it on the road.
If the non-flex of the Super Glue turns out to be an issue, maybe I’ll try some Shoe Goo next.
Steve
From personal experience, there’s no harm in just running the tire as it is. If you can glue the flap down and have it stay, great…if not, no biggie. I don’t find that cuts in the tread rubber that small tend to “grow” over time.
Now…if any of the casing threads were cut, I’d tell you to either throw that puppy away…or constrain it to trainer duty. In the grand scheme of things, the cost of a tire is pretty small compared to the cost of some potential alternatives. For decisions like that, I usually ask myself “How much would I pay to stay OUT of the emergency room?” The answer to that question has led me to throw away some pretty nice tires that had suffered cuts through the casing cords.
Is there potential for failure that’s qualitatively different from a standard tube puncture? I mean, if the only risk is greater potential for another flat in that same area of the tube, why spend $100 in trashing an otherwise useful tire & buying a new one, if the only risk is a flat, which you can safely assume will happen with any tire? It was my understanding that a “boot” patch is standard practice in dealing with tire slices.
Is there potential for failure that’s qualitatively different from a standard tube puncture? I mean, if the only risk is greater potential for another flat in that same area of the tube, why spend $100 in trashing an otherwise useful tire & buying a new one, if the only risk is a flat, which you can safely assume will happen with any tire? It was my understanding that a “boot” patch is standard practice in dealing with tire slices.
A “boot” is a standard TEMPORARY repair. In other words, to get you to where you want to go until you can replace the tire.
A tire casing is basically a fabric. Did you ever notice how easy it is to tear a piece of fabric once you’ve put a small cut in it? IMO, it’s false economy to keep riding on a tire with a significant casing cut. The potential downsides can be big.
Steve,
By your measurement it seems to be a very small tear. I agree with others, if it was large, I would toss it. For these punture things, even if full thickness, I use tube patches on the inside of the tire casing to reinforce it and cover the puncture if it is clean through the tire. It works well.
I quit using patches on tubes a long time ago because they never hold enough air after the patch. Superglue looks good when you put it on, but it doesn’t last. When I’ve had flats with these punctures, it usually is from the tube extruding through the hole in the casing and puncturing - the patch stops that.
Dave
The answer to that question has led me to throw away some pretty nice tires that had suffered cuts through the casing cords.