"Here's a plug for the new Toga shop and Dave who works there. I was up in Nyack this morning, before 8 am and my tire blew. No way of getting home on it - sidewall was totaled (this seems to happen to me a lot with my 650 tires after 1000 miles, but that's another story). Anyway, Dave, at the Spoon for coffee, offered to take my wheel to the closed shop, put on a tire and bring it back. Saved me from waiting until noon for the local shop to open. Told me to call when I got home to pay for the tire. Very nice. Dave also says Toga has a barbecue on Sundays with free food. Sounds good to me.
Also, just to brighten your day, two more ""nice people"" bike stories. My son left his helmet on the side of the road on 9W last Sunday. Last night I got a call from a women in NJ whose husband found the helmet. She's dropping it in the mail to us.
Last one...I lost money and my metro north pass on Seven Lakes Drive. The next week I got the card and a check made out for the amount of cash I'd lost in the mail from another cylist who found it (not an NYCC person).
So, here's to all the considerate, kind, go-out-of-their- way-to-be-helpful people in the world.
"
Dave from Toga in Nyack
Those are very nice stories! But about your tires...
I've found the Micelin Pro Race tires in 650C (23 mm wide) to be nice-riding and pretty durable. They are expensive though - around $45-50. I hope these aren't the tires that have been blowing up on you!
I've used the Terry Tellus tires in 650C as well, but they're a little heavier and wider (26-27 mm) than the Michelins. I think they're tougher though.
"Continental Grand Prix 3000 on sale at BikeTiresDirect.com (gray tread, black side). Also Vredestein Fortezzas."
Sadly, it was the Michelin Pro Race. I was hoping to have better luck with them after exploding sidewalls on Hutchinson Fusion Comp and then Conti 4000's. Strange thing is that in two cases, the tire blew after I had pulled to a stop and was off my bike--this morning at the bike rack in Nyack. Weird. Is this just bad luck or could something else be causing my sidewall failure? Or do I need to change tires every 1000 miles? The toga guy said that if there is just a small tear in the wall it spreads quickly on 650 tires. True? Why would that be so for 650 tires? For the record, given my past experience, I do check my tires pretty regularly for wear and tear. Apparently, not often enough. Still, I don't want to be changing tires every thousand miles at $50 bucks a tire.
Check your brakes as they maybe causing the sidewall failure. Look at the brake pads, closely, their front and rear, when you squeeze the brakes. The brake pads should only be touching the rim.
Peter's advice is good. Your tires shouldn't be failing so quickly and so regularly, and with the same type of failure across several brands.
There's nothing special about 650C tires, as opposed to 700C, 650B, 29-inch, 27-inch, 26-inch, 20-inch - you get the picture - that makes sidewall tears spread more quickly. It's all about the tire construction, not the tire diameter.
Thanks, Peter and Tony. There doesn't seem to be any contact with the tire, but one of the pads is certainly closer than it needs to be. Hope an adjustment solves the problem.
"Under hard braking, what seems close in the repair stand may actually make contact.
The other constant across the various brands would be the user/maintainer. Do you pump to the recommended inflation before every ride? Under inflation can cause tube punctures that resemble a snakebite, caused by the rim flanges cutting through the tube. The tire casing may get damages as well and fail, especially light weight tires.
When you get a normal flat, do you ""ride the rim"" to try to get to a better spot to make the repair or do you stop where you are and fix it there? Riding on a flat or semi-flat tire can cut the sidewall."
really great comments above - i have been using the pro-race tires for several years, and i'm getting great life and flat resistance out of them (+/- 4-5k mi/1 or 2 flats), and haven't had a sidewall failure yet. something's not right.
For the record, I don't ride on my rims and always keep the tire pressure up. So, something is not right. I will adjust the brake pads and hopefully that will make a difference. As I mentioned, one of them is definitely pretty close to the tire and, as Bill suggests, maybe making contact when I'm riding and braking.
