Cycling UK Forum

The rear tyre on my town bike, a Schwalbe Marathon was heavily worn by the end of 2008,with the puncture prevention strip showing through and by the end of 2009 consisted of two halves of a tyre, joined in the centre by a heavily worn puncture prevention strip.

I'm still not getting any punctures, the bike rarely travels outside of walking distance from home (Max. 25 miles) and seems to grip the road without an issue (It's only ever used at sedate 10-20mph, corners taken slowly). Being extremely tight when it comes to spending money, I haven't the heart to replace it. It'd cost £6.99 to replace it, even with a cheap tyre

Obviously Schwalbe advise the tyre was worn out in the state it was in two years, 0000's of km's ago. Bit like the LBS shop who thought my Giant bike was scrap, despite £600 of brand new components on it (The paint job style, was ever so outdated)

Personally I'm tempted to leave it until thin air shows through. Are there any safety issues with this?

Depends how much money you have got.

On the front, I would consider it dangerous. On the rear I would worry above 30mph (but do it anyway )

I would prefer the worn out Marathon to a brand new cheapo.

I'd be tempted to stick with it until it started to puncture frequently.

Then replace it with a £5.99 Michelin World Tour from CRC to save a pound.

Me too. Leave it alone until it deflates. It's on the back, and you don't go far or fast.

When it eventually dies a death, find something cheap/on offer/bargain. You don't have to put a Rolls Royce on there as you don't need it. Actually, start looking for a replacement now, as you're not sure when you're going to need it!

BUT if you wait too long, ie after you wear through the canvas the tyre could burst and then you would have to buy an inner tube aswell.

I have never gone past the canvas showing (well more than an inch of it and that was on a motorbike in my bad days) myself.

My tyres perish before they wear - I should really do something about that

This post reminded me of a weekend away with a cycling group. One of our group punctured the canvas could be seen quite clearly all the way round.
Which prompted the comment from someone "good grief there is more rubber in a condom than there is on your tyre"

I've never quite understood riding tyres to the wing and a prayer stage,because everyone knows the fairy will appear:- a) when its dark, b) when its raining, c) when you're late for work/appointment/dinner etc,or d) all three.So better not tempt her an a good new Marathon costs £15, a Plus costs £20/25.Either of which should return 7,000mls easily.
Simply not worth the hassle.

PS I'm not loaded.

Make sure, especially on the back, that the sidewall is still OK. I had a second hand bike that had decidedly odd handling.....turned out the sidewalls were totally shot. Change of tyres made all the difference.

gbnz wrote:The rear tyre on my town bike, a Schwalbe Marathon was heavily worn by the end of 2008,with the puncture prevention strip showing through and by the end of 2009 consisted of two halves of a tyre, joined in the centre by a heavily worn puncture prevention strip.

I'm still not getting any punctures, the bike rarely travels outside of walking distance from home (Max. 25 miles) and seems to grip the road without an issue (It's only ever used at sedate 10-20mph, corners taken slowly). Being extremely tight when it comes to spending money, I haven't the heart to replace it. It'd cost £6.99 to replace it, even with a cheap tyre

Obviously Schwalbe advise the tyre was worn out in the state it was in two years, 0000's of km's ago. Bit like the LBS shop who thought my Giant bike was scrap, despite £600 of brand new components on it (The paint job style, was ever so outdated)

Personally I'm tempted to leave it until thin air shows through. Are there any safety issues with this?

How can you possibly be so mean when the issue is not the spending of a few pennies, but the safety of yourself and other road users. You are the same as a car driver who drives with bald tyres.

If you were to skid into me or mine I would be most unimpressed with your penny pinching or your ability to eke out a tyre well beyond reaonableness.

Use your loaf and spend now to save potentially big bills later

mw3230 wrote:You are the same as a car driver who drives with bald tyres.

My bike tyres are completely bald. They are bald when new.

My car tyres have a tread, and I change them before they become bald.

Somehow, I think there is a reason that wide tyres have tread, and narrow ones don't.

Mick F wrote:My bike tyres are completely bald. They are bald when new.

My car tyres have a tread, and I change them before they become bald.

Somehow, I think there is a reason that wide tyres have tread, and narrow ones don't.

You do not wear your tyres down to the canvas!

Do car drivers wear their tyres down to the canvass? Somehow, I doubt it, though there are exceptions I'm sure!

A bike tyre is completely different to a car tyre. Even if it is worn out, it isn't a hazard as grip will not be affected on a normal road. Try a bald car tyre in the wet. Try a bald bike tyre in the wet. Either tyre is BETTER in the dry! Aquaplaning is a function of contact area and speed. In order for a bike tyre to aquaplane, the bike would have to be travelling at a phenomenal rate. Tread on a bike tyre is only there for cutting through mud and soft ground.

As I only ride on tarmac, my tyres are as bald as bald can be.