road bike tyres - how long do they last?

[E38Ross]

I've got a set of vredstein fortezza tricomp tyres on my road bike and am wondering whether they've had it.....i've had about 4-5 punctures to the rear wheel in the last couple of weeks - it's a complete joke. last night i changed the tube AGAIN, took the whole tyre off, turned it inside out and checked for any debris - nothing....same for the inside of the rim - nothing.

today - yep, ANOTHER fking puncture. and it was also in a totally different place to the puncture i got just 2 days prior.

they've done approx 1500 miles at a guess. i also had 1 front puncture but that's not concerning, it's repeated punctures, more so to the rear, in just the last week or 2 which is really pissing me off.

how can you tell whether the tyre has had enough? i've ordered another pair of tyres off wiggle so awaiting those to turn up (as well as 5 inner tubes) but i'm out of inner tubes until then!

Ross.

[Rouleur]

How big are the holes in the tubes, aren't they repairable? Also have you checked to see if there's a spoke poking through further than it should do, the tape could be split?

[E38Ross]

Rouleur said:

How big are the holes in the tubes, aren't they repairable? Also have you checked to see if there's a spoke poking through further than it should do, the tape could be split?

if it was a spoke then wouldn't it puncture in the same place each time? the holes are all pretty small so are repairable, i've got a couple of tubes now to repair but i usually just replace the tube.

any further input really appreciated

[exgtt]

Started getting repeat punctures at about the same mileage, like nearly every ride. Same randomness, front and rear! new tyres cured it.

Edited by exgtt on Tuesday 8th January 20:50

[E38Ross]

exgtt said:

Started getting repeat punctures at about the same mileage, like nearly every ride. Same randomness, front and rear! new tyres cured it.

Edited by exgtt on Tuesday 8th January 20:50

hmmm.

i've done a bit of riding lately and had a few punctures and then did around 40-45 miles last wednesday and thought YAY, no puncture...must be ok. couldn't ride for a few days and then sunday did 70 miles and another puncture. yesterday and 20 miles and no puncture, today had to ride 20 miles in the morning, again no puncture but this evening rode another 5 miles and sure enough, another bloody puncture.

pain in the arse. The new tyres and tubes were shipped monday but regrettably didn't order express delivery. sayd 2-4 working days so tomorrow if i'm lucky.

[exgtt]

Weired isnt it? Its hard to gauge how much tyre is left with no tread to go by. I just use mine on the commute and went for Conti Sport Contacts, very happy with them & pretty cheap!

[mudshark]

My tyres get cut up long before the rubber wears down - I blame Surrey roads! I'm going to try using super glue to seal the cuts.

[okgo]

Put the back tyre on the front and front on the back. Get some more miles out of it. For a race tyre in winter Anytjing more than 2k and you're doing well. It's why they do winter tyres you know

Have a look at the cuts etc its those that are letting things in.

[scubadude]

Are all the puncutres recent? (ie- in all the crappy wet weather)

I get more punctures when its wet, I'm sure the water lubricates road crap so it "slides" through the rubber easier, might be total bks... or perhaps there is more sh*t on the road when its wet?

[okgo]

Stuff sticks to your tyres when its wet, that is why it is more likley you'll flat in the wet.

[ndg]

The lubricating effect of water is also a big thing, there was a bit of a hoo-hah about 15years ago about an American TV ad showing a dusty 4x4 driving over(and breaking) a glass bottle and not puncturing - just about any car tyre will do that in the dry, not necessarily in the wet.....

[shouldbworking]

Got nearly 4000 miles out of my last set, and they werent getting puncture prone, just threadbare.

Luck and pressure are a big factor. My new bike is very unlucky, more punctures in 300 miles than ive ever had on my road bike with about 4500 on, even on the same routes. The size of the thorns ive pulled out of the cx tyres makes me wonder what on earth my road bike did to shrug off the same routes / treatment.

[E38Ross]

hmmm, on the fortezzas i am running around 175psi (max) but that's no different to say, 1000 miles ago when they were absolutely fine.....

is it worth changing the tube one last time and seeing how long i go, then changing the rear tyre and see what's what?

[itsnotarace]

175 PSI? Try 110 rear and 100 front. 175 PSI is really inefficient, the bike will be skipping all over the road surface

[Rouleur]

E38Ross said:

hmmm, on the fortezzas i am running around 175psi (max)

What!?

[duff]

I've got Vredestein Fiammante tyres on both road bikes and have had 2 punctures in the last 2k miles. They're only £13 each from Ribble, a great winter tyre and my last set did about 1200 miles before the rear worn out, there were some small surface splits to the carcass but never caused a problem. My mate was getting punctures all the time on his old tyres, since getting a set of these he's been fine.

I'm 95kgs and run 110-120psi, 175 seems very high?

[bakerstreet]

E38Ross said:

hmmm, on the fortezzas i am running around 175psi (max) but that's no different to say, 1000 miles ago when they were absolutely fine.....

is it worth changing the tube one last time and seeing how long i go, then changing the rear tyre and see what's what?

I thought the max for road tyres was about 140!!

I'm not a small hap and I'm quite happy with 110 on 25mm tyres

[Steve vRS]

How do you get 175psi into a tyre? I struggle to push down on the track pump to get 120psi into mine!

Steve

[Furberger]

itsnotarace said:

175 PSI? Try 110 rear and 100 front. 175 PSI is really inefficient, the bike will be skipping all over the road surface

You're new to road bikes aren't you? The higher the pressure, the faster you go. E38ross, what width tyres are you running? 18 are by far the quickest, unless you can get hold of 15.

[okgo]

Furberger said:

You're new to road bikes aren't you? The higher the pressure, the faster you go. E38ross, what width tyres are you running? 18 are by far the quickest, unless you can get hold of 15.

You're joking I assume?

Higher pressure doesn't equal faster in the slightest.