Bizzare Tire Wear - Page 2 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

02-16-2004, 04:11 PM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] says...
> >Try looking down while you ride.
>
> Do NOT do that. It is a basic mistake. In traffic it can get you
> killed.

Talk about paranoid! If you can't hold a decent line for a few seconds
while looking down at your tires, you shouldn't be on the road at all.
Just pick a time where there's no imminent traffic danger.

> Instead try running the bicycle by hand, preferably on a stand, or if
> you don't have that option lift it by the seat tube and work the cranks.

Without weight on it, you might not see anything.

....

--
Dave Kerber
Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

02-16-2004, 04:11 PM

In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] says...
> >Try looking down while you ride.
>
> Do NOT do that. It is a basic mistake. In traffic it can get you
> killed.

Talk about paranoid! If you can't hold a decent line for a few seconds
while looking down at your tires, you shouldn't be on the road at all.
Just pick a time where there's no imminent traffic danger.

> Instead try running the bicycle by hand, preferably on a stand, or if
> you don't have that option lift it by the seat tube and work the cranks.

Without weight on it, you might not see anything.

....

--
Dave Kerber
Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

02-16-2004, 04:39 PM

"David Kerber" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].net...
> In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] says...
> > >Try looking down while you ride.
> >
> > Do NOT do that. It is a basic mistake. In traffic it can get you
> > killed.
>
> Talk about paranoid! If you can't hold a decent line for a few seconds
> while looking down at your tires, you shouldn't be on the road at all.
> Just pick a time where there's no imminent traffic danger.
>

Thank you

02-16-2004, 04:39 PM

"David Kerber" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].net...
> In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] says...
> > >Try looking down while you ride.
> >
> > Do NOT do that. It is a basic mistake. In traffic it can get you
> > killed.
>
> Talk about paranoid! If you can't hold a decent line for a few seconds
> while looking down at your tires, you shouldn't be on the road at all.
> Just pick a time where there's no imminent traffic danger.
>

Thank you

02-16-2004, 04:56 PM

On Mon, 16 Feb 2004 19:11:17 -0500, David Kerber
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] says...
>> >Try looking down while you ride.
>>
>> Do NOT do that. It is a basic mistake. In traffic it can get you
>> killed.
>
>Talk about paranoid! If you can't hold a decent line for a few seconds
>while looking down at your tires, you shouldn't be on the road at all.
>Just pick a time where there's no imminent traffic danger.

....like a weekend empty parking lot.

Eric operates in DC, #2 traffic city in North America, at least at
peak hours. He's right to be paranoid--it keeps him alive.

his "don't look down" advice is sound. Hell, it helped me learn to
clip into my pedals those many moons ago.

-Luigi
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
photos, rants, raves

>
>
>> Instead try running the bicycle by hand, preferably on a stand, or if
>> you don't have that option lift it by the seat tube and work the cranks.
>
>Without weight on it, you might not see anything.
>
>...

02-16-2004, 04:56 PM

On Mon, 16 Feb 2004 19:11:17 -0500, David Kerber
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>In article <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] says...
>> >Try looking down while you ride.
>>
>> Do NOT do that. It is a basic mistake. In traffic it can get you
>> killed.
>
>Talk about paranoid! If you can't hold a decent line for a few seconds
>while looking down at your tires, you shouldn't be on the road at all.
>Just pick a time where there's no imminent traffic danger.

....like a weekend empty parking lot.

Eric operates in DC, #2 traffic city in North America, at least at
peak hours. He's right to be paranoid--it keeps him alive.

his "don't look down" advice is sound. Hell, it helped me learn to
clip into my pedals those many moons ago.

-Luigi
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
photos, rants, raves

>
>
>> Instead try running the bicycle by hand, preferably on a stand, or if
>> you don't have that option lift it by the seat tube and work the cranks.
>
>Without weight on it, you might not see anything.
>
>...

02-16-2004, 05:17 PM

Tony wrote:

> Hello, have a question that is puzzling me and I hope someone can
> help.
>
> I have a 99 Specialized StumpJumper Comp. I commute to work in
> Michigan, about 2.75 miles each way. It is cold out but the sidewalks
> are usually clear, maybe ride a little ice and packed snow at
> intersections.
>
> My question is my rear tires are getting these weird diagonal lines on
> the sidewalls where the tire just seems to be thinning out. This
> first happened on a Hutchinson Alligator. I only noticed it when a
> few of these wearing out bands got so bad that the tube was actually
> bulging out. So, I switched it out for a Specialized Dirt Master comp
> which is on a different rim. Now I am noticing the same wear pattern
> on this second tire.
>
> It is multiple diagonal lines that run almost the entire sidewall.
> They are spaced less than an inch apart and it just looks like it is
> wearing out. I thought at first it must be rubbing but I can't see
> anywhere that the tire doesn't clear the frame and the brake pads
> aren't far enough out to cause it. It is not abrasion from rocks or
> whatever because I am riding only on the sidewalks and roads, and only
> very occasionaly these aren't cleared of snow. Is it the cold?
> Haven't had any problems with the front tire though, still has the
> Hutchinson on it and no problems.

That is a fairly common failure mode for a modern nylon
casing bias tire. With use, notably with wide tires at low
pressures, the fabric simply comes apart. Notice how your
tire bulges out at the bottom? A wide tire without enough
pressure does that to a much greater degree. Casing flex,
taken to an extreme, pulls the layers of nylon thread from
each other and more quickly when the latex has dried and
flaked from the sidewalls.

As always, replace when the casing first gets lumpy, that
is, before the fabric actually rends. And you'll get much
better cornering and control with higher (normal, as written
on the sidewall) pressures anyway, on any hard surface such
as a street.

It's true that you get a wider footprint in loose material,
sometimes to very good effect in snow or wet mud, but we'd
consider that a temporary condition for most bikes.

--
Andrew Muzi
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

02-16-2004, 05:17 PM

Tony wrote:

> Hello, have a question that is puzzling me and I hope someone can
> help.
>
> I have a 99 Specialized StumpJumper Comp. I commute to work in
> Michigan, about 2.75 miles each way. It is cold out but the sidewalks
> are usually clear, maybe ride a little ice and packed snow at
> intersections.
>
> My question is my rear tires are getting these weird diagonal lines on
> the sidewalls where the tire just seems to be thinning out. This
> first happened on a Hutchinson Alligator. I only noticed it when a
> few of these wearing out bands got so bad that the tube was actually
> bulging out. So, I switched it out for a Specialized Dirt Master comp
> which is on a different rim. Now I am noticing the same wear pattern
> on this second tire.
>
> It is multiple diagonal lines that run almost the entire sidewall.
> They are spaced less than an inch apart and it just looks like it is
> wearing out. I thought at first it must be rubbing but I can't see
> anywhere that the tire doesn't clear the frame and the brake pads
> aren't far enough out to cause it. It is not abrasion from rocks or
> whatever because I am riding only on the sidewalks and roads, and only
> very occasionaly these aren't cleared of snow. Is it the cold?
> Haven't had any problems with the front tire though, still has the
> Hutchinson on it and no problems.

That is a fairly common failure mode for a modern nylon
casing bias tire. With use, notably with wide tires at low
pressures, the fabric simply comes apart. Notice how your
tire bulges out at the bottom? A wide tire without enough
pressure does that to a much greater degree. Casing flex,
taken to an extreme, pulls the layers of nylon thread from
each other and more quickly when the latex has dried and
flaked from the sidewalls.

As always, replace when the casing first gets lumpy, that
is, before the fabric actually rends. And you'll get much
better cornering and control with higher (normal, as written
on the sidewall) pressures anyway, on any hard surface such
as a street.

It's true that you get a wider footprint in loose material,
sometimes to very good effect in snow or wet mud, but we'd
consider that a temporary condition for most bikes.

--
Andrew Muzi
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

02-16-2004, 05:52 PM

On 16 Feb 2004 04:31:42 -0800, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (Tony) may have
said:

>Hello, have a question that is puzzling me and I hope someone can
>help.
>
>I have a 99 Specialized StumpJumper Comp. I commute to work in
>Michigan, about 2.75 miles each way. It is cold out but the sidewalks
>are usually clear, maybe ride a little ice and packed snow at
>intersections.
>
>My question is my rear tires are getting these weird diagonal lines on
>the sidewalls where the tire just seems to be thinning out. This
>first happened on a Hutchinson Alligator. I only noticed it when a
>few of these wearing out bands got so bad that the tube was actually
>bulging out. So, I switched it out for a Specialized Dirt Master comp
>which is on a different rim. Now I am noticing the same wear pattern
>on this second tire.
>
>It is multiple diagonal lines that run almost the entire sidewall.
>They are spaced less than an inch apart and it just looks like it is
>wearing out. I thought at first it must be rubbing but I can't see
>anywhere that the tire doesn't clear the frame and the brake pads
>aren't far enough out to cause it. It is not abrasion from rocks or
>whatever because I am riding only on the sidewalks and roads, and only
>very occasionaly these aren't cleared of snow. Is it the cold?
>Haven't had any problems with the front tire though, still has the
>Hutchinson on it and no problems.
>
>Any Ideas?

If you ride on the big rear cog or small front cog a lot, I'd look at
the possibility of lateral chain slap, possibly due to a stiff pivot
on the rear der. This is just a guess, but that's where I'd start.
Also, look for a front der cable end that might be rubbing on the
tire. beyond that, you've got a real puzzler...and I wouldn't give
better than one in 20 odds of my suggestions being the cause.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

02-16-2004, 05:52 PM

On 16 Feb 2004 04:31:42 -0800, [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (Tony) may have
said:

>Hello, have a question that is puzzling me and I hope someone can
>help.
>
>I have a 99 Specialized StumpJumper Comp. I commute to work in
>Michigan, about 2.75 miles each way. It is cold out but the sidewalks
>are usually clear, maybe ride a little ice and packed snow at
>intersections.
>
>My question is my rear tires are getting these weird diagonal lines on
>the sidewalls where the tire just seems to be thinning out. This
>first happened on a Hutchinson Alligator. I only noticed it when a
>few of these wearing out bands got so bad that the tube was actually
>bulging out. So, I switched it out for a Specialized Dirt Master comp
>which is on a different rim. Now I am noticing the same wear pattern
>on this second tire.
>
>It is multiple diagonal lines that run almost the entire sidewall.
>They are spaced less than an inch apart and it just looks like it is
>wearing out. I thought at first it must be rubbing but I can't see
>anywhere that the tire doesn't clear the frame and the brake pads
>aren't far enough out to cause it. It is not abrasion from rocks or
>whatever because I am riding only on the sidewalks and roads, and only
>very occasionaly these aren't cleared of snow. Is it the cold?
>Haven't had any problems with the front tire though, still has the
>Hutchinson on it and no problems.
>
>Any Ideas?

If you ride on the big rear cog or small front cog a lot, I'd look at
the possibility of lateral chain slap, possibly due to a stiff pivot
on the rear der. This is just a guess, but that's where I'd start.
Also, look for a front der cable end that might be rubbing on the
tire. beyond that, you've got a real puzzler...and I wouldn't give
better than one in 20 odds of my suggestions being the cause.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.