How long do your tyres last?

[Vladimir]

Ok people, so I am in the market for some certain tyres, but I have decided that first I will ride my current tyres till they die, to avoid wasting them.

So my question is - is there a way for me to predict when my tyres will wear out to the point that they need replacement?

At the moment I own the following tyres:

Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour 26x2.0
Schwalbe Marathon 26x2.0
Schwalbe Kojak 26x2.0

In particular, how do you guys tell when your kojaks have reached the end of their useful life? Excess punctures?

I welcome all replies, be it anecdotal evidence or otherwise!

[meic]

For me.

On the front they wear very slowly and collect cuts. On the rear I normally get 4,000 miles.
I tend to put used front tyres on the rear where I then get almost another 4,000 miles.
So it is about 7,000 miles per tyre but only 4,000 on the back.
New tyres generally having a turn on the front before going on the back.

I ride Kojaks until canvas is showing or they suffer catastrophic damage.

[[XAP]Bob]

About a year (5k miles ish) - I ride like a hooligan quite often...

But that's on a 'bent trike...

Last replacement I was treating myself to new boots for an audax when I noticed that I was down to the canvas in several places

[Vladimir]

thanks, 4000 miles is 400 days for me. So that's good news, I've got another year to go, at least!

I'm running the marathon plus tour on the back; because all other tyres that I ran on there get Ps. Even the marathons.

So now I have a kojak (which I currently have on there) and 2 marathons that will need to have their turn.

They will not end up on my back wheel until I move house and not have to ride through the industrial estate (strewn with screws) anymore; which is not looking likely anytime soon...

or maybe I could change my route? *no, no, stop talking crazy!*

[meic]

I believe that Marathon Plus last substantially longer than most other tyres, possibly twice as long.

I call it the CX500 syndrome. The CX500 was a particularly robust, reliable but boring motorcycle that you would not mind breaking down so that you could replace it with something nicer. So they just went on forever.

[gentlegreen]

Maybe 12 months / 3,000 miles from a rear one and significantly more from a front.

I like my 26x1.75 Conti "Country Plus" tyres - they always feel sure-footed and seem to deal with everything they encounter on the potholed and muddy roads and lanes I use for commuting all year and for fun for most of it too.
My 18 stone weight, plus shopping, tents etc helping to explain why I like to ride an MTB in the first place.

These tyres seem to me to be like their "City Contact" tyres I used to buy, plus an extra, narrower, treaded rubber ridge that I fancy gives me an advantage on clean tarmac, and I'm afraid I ditch them when that extra rubber has gone and there's still plenty of life left - far more rubber than any 23mm road tyre has from new, but at £20 or less, I can afford to do it and I can go for years at a time without ever reaching for the spare tube.

I was looking at my stack of old tyres this morning and wondering if I could give them to someone who usually uses knobblies ...

[Brucey]

slick tyres are worn out when the tread rubber (it is sometimes a slightly different colour) has gone and/or the canvas shows. Normally you can gauge how close you are to this by looking at the cuts in the tread, and/or 'feeling' how thick the top of the tyre feels when it is deflated by squeezing it between finger and thumb.

Mileage varies enormously with tyre type and useage.

cheers

[Vladimir]

Maybe 12 months / 3,000 miles from a rear one and significantly more from a front.

I like my 26x1.75 Conti "Country Plus" tyres - they always feel sure-footed and seem to deal with everything they encounter on the potholed and muddy roads and lanes I use for commuting all year and for fun for most of it too.
My 18 stone weight, plus shopping, tents etc helping to explain why I like to ride an MTB in the first place.

These tyres seem to me to be like their "City Contact" tyres I used to buy, plus an extra, narrower, treaded rubber ridge that I fancy gives me an advantage on clean tarmac, and I'm afraid I ditch them when that extra rubber has gone and there's still plenty of life left - far more rubber than any 23mm road tyre has from new, but at £20 or less, I can afford to do it and I can go for years at a time without ever reaching for the spare tube.

I was looking at my stack of old tyres this morning and wondering if I could give them to someone who usually uses knobblies ...

thanks for the heads up; I shall look into those tyres in the future, maybe. I'm not sure I'm ready to make the jump away from Schwalbe, I'm a bit of a Schwalbe groupie!

Anyone got Schwalbe pros/cons?

[almason]

I commute on Schwalbe Marathon Plus 700x25. With tyre rotation I've gotten about 5000miles out of them and still going. Not really much tread left, and definitely battle scarred, but they're still working well.

[Vladimir]

I commute on Schwalbe Marathon Plus 700x25. With tyre rotation I've gotten about 5000miles out of them and still going. Not really much tread left, and definitely battle scarred, but they're still working well.

that sounds nice and encouraging!

the only thing is, I have heard anecdotal evidence about marathon plus tyres handling badly when their tread is worn. Has anyone else experienced this?

Cheers

Vlad

[johnb]

I commute on Schwalbe Marathon Plus 700x25. With tyre rotation I've gotten about 5000miles out of them and still going. Not really much tread left, and definitely battle scarred, but they're still working well.

that sounds nice and encouraging!

the only thing is, I have heard anecdotal evidence about marathon plus tyres handling badly when their tread is worn. Has anyone else experienced this?

Cheers

Vlad

Just change them then, simple.

[vorsprung]

Marathon Plus 28mm do 10,000 miles and then the rear tread is worn off so I swap the front to the back and buy a new front

Schwalbe Ultremo ZX 28mm , 2000km and the side walls are so slashed that I feel nervous riding them. Wonderfully fast and light and comfortable. They were good for PBP. Not suitable for general use though.

Continental GP4 Seasons 28mm, 2500km and then the casing has lots of nicks and they puncture constantly. Not a good "long distance" tyre but nice in other ways.

Continental Ultragator Skins 28mm last a lot longer than GP4 seasons, probably 6000km before they get worn and start puncturing.

Michelin Pro Race, they keep changing the version. The ones from a few years ago "Pro" were good. The "Pro 2" were better. I rode a lot of miles on Pro2 but not enough to wear them out. The "Pro 3" are faster and grippier but I've not gone far enough yet to access the durability

[almason]

I commute on Schwalbe Marathon Plus 700x25. With tyre rotation I've gotten about 5000miles out of them and still going. Not really much tread left, and definitely battle scarred, but they're still working well.

that sounds nice and encouraging!

the only thing is, I have heard anecdotal evidence about marathon plus tyres handling badly when their tread is worn. Has anyone else experienced this?

Cheers

Vlad

I wouldn't say they handle badly, but they're not as good as they were new, that's for sure. I think if you keep rotating front and rear so that you avoid completely knackering one tyre then they carry on alright. I always travel with at least one pannier when I commute as it's got my lock, clothes etc.

Maybe I just haven't noticed, but it seems ok to me. The tyre I have on the front at the moment is reasonably flat in the middle as I probably left it on the rear wheel a bit too long. The bike still turns fine and finds grip, but it is a bit more iffy in the wet especially on that terrible blue paint. With a bit of care when cycling in the wet I've not had any issues.

To be honest, with the number of kilometres I've put on these tyres and the number of punctures I've avoided (apparent based on the scarring of the tyres and the deritus I've removed), I would definitely buy the same again.

[willem jongman]

I hate Marathon Pluses because they are so stiff. That makes them slow, uncomfortable and jittery on rougher roads. I would need to have a very good reason to use them. As for wear, that differs enormously between tyres. A Marathon or a Marathon Plus lasts a long time, and much longer than a Kojak, and at least twice as long on the front as on the rear. If you want to use what you have, I would fit a Plus on the rear and an ordinary Marathon at the front during the winter, and a Kojak on the front during the summer. Tyres have had it when the sidewalls begin to look suspicious (often well before the tread is worn), and when you start to get more punctures.
Willem