okey dokey let's talk tires...

[Wintersdark]

21 hours ago, kilo3 said:

Bahhh don't tell me these things, ignorance is bliss. Still sticking with 5's because I'm mildly cheap.

I mean, if you've got em you've got em, and the road 5 front isn't a bad tire, it's just that the road 6 front is significantly improved over it.  

 

There are two "problems" with the Road 5 front.  Keep in mind, these are "problems" on a tire that was considered one of the best in the industry, so keep in mind this is nit picking. 

The first is that it tends to wear weirdly, ending up with a /-\ sort of shape that develops cupping early.  The result of this is you'll tend to swap out a road 5 front at the same time you do the rear despite there being tread left.  Of course, if you get them cheap, less mileage isn't really a problem.

The second problem (and again, it's minor) is that the front has softer sidewalks than the 6, so it doesn't communicate as well and tends to require a bit more input mid corner to hold lines (particularly as it wears). It's easier to mount/dismount though, if you're doing it yourself.

While the 6 has a much stiffer sidewall resulting in better feedback and tighter line holding, 10% better wet grip, and wears much more evenly.  

But again, it sounds terrible but we're still talking about tires that are generally viewed as the best sport touring tires period. 

[Wintersdark]

15 hours ago, Brentinpdx said:

 

Flat repair. This one can be overlooked easily.

Michelin allows you to patch a tire from the inside as long as it is within the first 3 inches of the center line using their recommended patch type.

Many other manufacturers won't allow you to patch a tire and a replacement is mandatory

Wat?  Mandatory?  The tire manufacturer doesn't have any control over whether you patch your tires or not.  

[PhotoAl]

If you do it yourself you can do whatever you feel is OK.  A shop will not knowingly go against a manufactures recommendation as it exposes them to liability.  A tire problem can have catastrophic results and most places will not take that risk on knowingly.  Even if one manufacture allows but others do not most shops will say no to all.

I know others do but I would only patch a tire as an emergency measure.  I would consider if near the centerline since I run Michelins but only on a new tire.  

Edited June 4, 2023 by PhotoAl

[larolco]

On 6/1/2023 at 1:37 PM, 1moreroad said:

I liked my Roadsmart 4s, but I do a lot of commuting. I get almost 9k miles put of Roadsmart 3s compared to just over 6k miles out of the rear 4 I rode. Thinking about Mutants for the maybe 5%-10% gravel my fun rides always seem to include but they probably won't get the mileage of the 3s. 

I don't know that the Mutants would be any better on gravel than Roadsmarts. They're not a "knobby" profile in any way. I bought them for rain and occasional slush/snow I encounter commuting in the winter and, for that, they are very good. The only gravel I've really been on with them is my driveway. It wouldn't be a deciding factor between tires for me.

Here's a pic of the rear as of today, now with 6835 kms (4250 miles) on it. It's started to square off a bit but has lots of life left. That's all been relatively cool weather riding since I mounted them in January. I was going to take them off for the summer, but I think I'll just leave them on and see how they wear. 

[Wintersdark]

4 hours ago, PhotoAl said:

If you do it yourself you can do whatever you feel is OK.  A shop will not knowingly go against a manufactures recommendation as it exposes them to liability.  A tire problem can have catastrophic results and most places will not take that risk on knowingly.  Even if one manufacture allows but others do not most shops will say no to all.

I know others do but I would only patch a tire as an emergency measure.  I would consider if near the centerline since I run Michelins but only on a new tire.  

Yeah, my experience has been most shops won't patch tires at all, and those few that do don't really care about the tire manufacturer. Liability is something pretty easy to get past with a waiver, but frankly shops have zero incentive to patch - they'd rather sell you a new tire. 

I get it's a contentious issue, and from my perspective, whatever floats your boat. I'll never fault someone for being super choosy about what they do with tires.  I've patched tires in the past, and I've taken off tires that are only 25% used and never used them again, so... Eh.  If I were severely financially limited or the tire was really new I'd patch (but honestly I'd do it myself, it's an easy enough thing to do) and mechanically speaking a plug+patch combo with a vulcanizing kit will end up absolutely safe. In my 30+ years, I've NEVER heard of a (proper) plug and patch failing - definitely not catastrophically - not even once.  Not everyone will feel confident in that, though, and that's fine.  Younger me was much more inclined to patch, because younger me was dirt poor.  While I'm definitely not anyone's definition of wealthy, I *can* afford new tires, so now it's MUCH more likely to be a quick repair then used as an excuse to buy a new tire.  Not because it can't be done well and safely - I know it can - but because new tires are awesome.

My only point there was that whether your going to patch or not is really not related to the manufacturer of the tire at all (or at least shouldn't be) because a patched Michelin is no more or less likely to fail than a patched Dunlop or Continental; and of course manufacturers will tell you not to patch.  

[larolco]

I've rope-plugged a whole bunch of tires in my lifetime. I'm cheap and will see a tire through its lifespan. Always rear tires. Front tires I would replace, but the punctures are almost always the rear anyway. I can't recall ever having a front tire puncture from road riding.

[Ziggy105]

15 hours ago, larolco said:

I've rope-plugged a whole bunch of tires in my lifetime. I'm cheap and will see a tire through its lifespan. Always rear tires. Front tires I would replace, but the punctures are almost always the rear anyway. I can't recall ever having a front tire puncture from road riding.

Same with me and never any issues. 

[2and3cylinders]

About 800 miles on my 3rd straight set of T32

With my suspension setup, I just have to think to change to my desired line. As usual with fresh rubber I initially found myself over-steering on either an inside or outside  line, left or right turn because I kept the last set on well past their prime.

Why I am I always too cheap to put on a new set of doughnuts when I should?!!!

With freshly baked , I relax and just let the bike do its thing as I should all the time, it is just amazing how well balanced and fluid it turns with the minimum of effort. Even with a loaded topcase and packed panniers.

It's like a new machine again.

[1moreroad]

On 6/4/2023 at 11:37 PM, larolco said:

I've rope-plugged a whole bunch of tires in my lifetime. I'm cheap and will see a tire through its lifespan. Always rear tires. Front tires I would replace, but the punctures are almost always the rear anyway. I can't recall ever having a front tire puncture from road riding.

I have never had a hole small enough to be patched by 1 rope plug. I did stuff 3 plugs into 1 hole to ride a bike very, very gently home about 2 miles. My last hole (fortunately the 2nd hole) was so big that I could fit my pinky in it. Very bored and waiting for my son to come pick me up with the truck, I stuffed 3 or 4 plugs into the hole and tried to air it up. Didn't work and most of the plugs just fell out of the tire. 

[larolco]

On 6/7/2023 at 10:44 AM, 1moreroad said:

I have never had a hole small enough to be patched by 1 rope plug. I did stuff 3 plugs into 1 hole to ride a bike very, very gently home about 2 miles. My last hole (fortunately the 2nd hole) was so big that I could fit my pinky in it. Very bored and waiting for my son to come pick me up with the truck, I stuffed 3 or 4 plugs into the hole and tried to air it up. Didn't work and most of the plugs just fell out of the tire. 

What the hell are you puncturing your tires with??? In my experience it's usually a screw or a nail, easily patched with one rope. In fact, I usually have to ream the hole out to make it bigger!

[Grumpy Goat]

5 hours ago, larolco said:

What the hell are you puncturing your tires with??? In my experience it's usually a screw or a nail, easily patched with one rope. In fact, I usually have to ream the hole out to make it bigger!

I wondered the same thing but didn't bother to ask ...

Same here on the one rope sized hole and reaming to make a proper seal.

[OZVFR]

I destroyed two Rosso III's by getting huge holes that were too big to patch running over sticks on dirt roads.

The last one only had 500km on it, that one hurt.

I've now changed to Roadtec 01 SE's, already got a hole on the rear but managed to patch it on the side of the road with a rope, still there and holding for 2000km so far.

[Suzukiguy]

On 5/18/2022 at 6:10 PM, Suzukiguy said:

I just ordered a set of Shinko Verge X2 for my bike to try. I know they will not be comparable to the major brands as far as mileage, but I do my own tire changes, and for $262 for the set I figured why not???

I run Shinkos' on my vintage bike just because I like new, fresh rubber, as I only ride it about 4K miles per year, and the Shinkos' last that long, giving me new tires every season.

I will be doing some aggressive "following" in about 3 weeks in southern Indiana, and we shall see how they perform on a Tracer.

Ok, the Shinko update is in! I got 8,100miles out of this set of Shinko's. Granted I do not "carve canyons", and about 75% of those miles were highway miles, but I think I got my moneys worth.

[Grumpy Goat]

7 hours ago, Suzukiguy said:

Ok, the Shinko update is in! I got 8,100miles out of this set of Shinko's. Granted I do not "carve canyons", and about 75% of those miles were highway miles, but I think I got my moneys worth.

Whether you carve canyons or not, your use case is every bit as valid as those who do, as are your mileage report. 👍

[PhotoAl]

On 6/8/2023 at 11:14 PM, OZVFR said:

I destroyed two Rosso III's by getting huge holes that were too big to patch running over sticks on dirt roads.

The last one only had 500km on it, that one hurt.

I've now changed to Roadtec 01 SE's, already got a hole on the rear but managed to patch it on the side of the road with a rope, still there and holding for 2000km so far.

and I was thinking Rossi IIIs were for pavement.  Learn something every day.  🙂