replacing tires + tubes

[tonyP]

Hi,

The Vittoria Rubino Pro's that came on my Cervelo 3.5 years ago have about 5000K on them, and have (I think) started to crack along the sidewalls.

They still hold air pressure fine, but I think the time has come.

How often do y'all replace tires?

Replace tubes as well at same time, or wait for the tubes to fail.

Care to recommend middle of the road training tires, and a Canadian source (just north of GTA if that makes a difference)?

Thanks, as always, and while I'm at it - thank you for the detailed comparison of times saved by the various 'go fast' pieces of equipment. That was interesting reading.

Cheers,

Tony

[Sir Crashalot]

Tubes go to failure on my bikes & tires until they are worn out... or I hate them so much, I get rid of them.
As for tires, I run the base Continental Grand Prix's when the need for speed/distance sets in. They are blazing fast as commuters!

[La]

I just bought a new pair of Continentals for my road bike that are really nice. They're $80 each, though.

I've also heard talk that latex tubes last longer than the standard tubes. Only downsides are: a) more expensive, and b) you have to pump up your tires before every ride as they don't hold onto their air as long.

[HCcD]

My bike shop @Euro-sports.ca, offer perhaps the best prices of Michelin Pro 4 Tires at OEM prices @$39.99 (msrp is $69.99) and tubes at $4.99 (60mm valve/stem length), assuming they have any left in stock by now ... They get them straright from OEM distributor, w/o the box, etc., which is why they are cheaper than other retail stores that comes in full packaging, etc ...

As for me, I tend to have a bit of extra equipment, both training and race wheels, so do not need to change my tires too often ... In general, when I just had one set of wheels for both training/racing, I tended to change them at the start of every season, in particularly, if I used it on the indoor trainer during the winter months ... Now, I have dedicated indoor trainer wheel/tire for this purpose ...

Most tires have some sort of indicator on the wear-level these days ...

In general, most tires will leak a bit, and for good maintenance purposes, should always pump up the tires at least once a week, and most will top it off before every ride, to ensure that they have maximum peformance/efficiency for their workout/ride ..

[Pat Menzies]

The rubber on a tire does virtually nothing to hold the tire itself together. The fabric inside the rubber does that job. Modern tires can be ridden for much longer than people generally use them.