After how many miles should you replace your tyres?

[Deleted member 1258]

It's not just a question of how worn the tread looks. You are entrusting your life to that small patch of rubber especially when blasting down a hill at 40 mph so you should be inspecting tyres carefully every month or more often for cuts that have damaged the carcass (look for a bulge), sidewall abrasions, carcass damage from hitting potholes and any other kind of fault. I throw away any tyre that's less than perfect even if it has tread left. There is very little difference between spending £25 this month or spending it in three months but there's a huge difference between being alive and well and being disabled by a brain or spine injury.

I check mine about once a week, I'm using Schwalbe Durano's and usually get 5-6000 miles from them unless they get damaged. I usually put the new tyre on the front and the old front tyre on the back, the back tyre wears quicker than the front so when I need a new back there's still life in the front.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

i don't go on mileage or even track it for tyres. I just replace when the frequency of punctures begins to exceed my tolerance or I no longer have faith that the tyres are safe.

 

[PaulSB]

My current set of Kenda Kriteriums are starting to rack up some serious mileage, they've done over 1500 miles now. I was checking them yesterday and I can't see any visible signs of wear but I was wondering is there a point at which you should replace your tyres even if they don't appear worn?

I don't feel there is a rule. Quite often I spot a bald or thin looking area - then it's time to change. I'd expect at least 5000 miles from a quality tyre.

 

[HLaB]

Since this thread has been resurrected I'll give my 2p. I've had tyres only last 200 miles but I've also had tyre last over 6000 miles, there's just too many factors, tyre type/ width/ use, conditions, front or rear, rider weight/ style, luck etc. For 25mm road tyres I generally get 3-4000miles but similar to @YukonBoy I go on frequency of p'tures (generally one off is luck but one every 2nd ride isn't) and confidence in them (I had one tyre that never p'tured and lasted 6,000+ miles or more before I binned it. It was so hard wearing it became skittish and I lost confidence in it).

 

[Mike_P]

Amusing aside to changing the tyres on my ebiked hybrid due to the holed state of one and general wear the other week. Had Joes No Flats inner tubes in them and that on the holed tyre had plainly worked as intended as it was firmly welded itself to the inside of the tyre Had the foresight to purchase another pair of those inner tubes just in case

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Since this thread has been resurrected I'll give my 2p.

S'my fault
I didn't look at the date of the last post

 

[All uphill]

After about 10 miles if they are Marathon+.

I've just gone back to lighter, more flexible tyres on my tourer and remember why I like it so much.

 

[froze]

My current set of Kenda Kriteriums are starting to rack up some serious mileage, they've done over 1500 miles now. I was checking them yesterday and I can't see any visible signs of wear but I was wondering is there a point at which you should replace your tyres even if they don't appear worn?

As crazy as this sounds but I don't replace my tires until one of three things happens, either I start getting too many flats, or I start seeing the cord coming through in small areas, or the tread appears to be showing another black layer under the tread. I run my tires till they're shot. Some people will replace when it appears the tire is squaring off, that's not really necessary unless you're doing some high speed descents with lots of sharp curves; and the reality is if you've been using the correct PSI for your weight that shouldn't happen anyways.

In some rare cases you may have a tire that will deform with age, the only tire I've had that did that was the Hutchinson brand, and one of sets I had the thread was actually coming unglued from the casing after about 500 miles, Hutchinson never returned my emails about getting a warranty adjustment so I will never buy Hutchinson brand ever again. Other rare cases the tire may start to crack from ozone, but if you are riding the bike regularly that shouldn't happen before the tire wears out, even then a cracked tire isn't dangerous unless you're doing high speed descents down twisting curvy roads. I don't ride on cracked tires, but my wife who only rides around the block does and they're fine for that.

 

[Will Spin]

I've used many different types of tyres on my road bike and very rarely have I had any that have lasted much more than 2000 miles. The roads around here (Hampshire and Southdowns) are full of mud and flint shards so I find that the tyres are cut to pieces to the extent that there are bulges in the casing and punctures are more frequent at around this mileage.

 

[VeloMule]

I usually change tyres when I start getting punctures within a week or two of each other which usually occurs after around 1 year of usage - 3500 to 4000 miles.

 

[cyberknight]

As above with regards flats etc and when the trad gets squared off too much , if you can feel the edge when your cornering then its time to replace

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

After about 10 miles if they are Marathon+.
I've just gone back to lighter, more flexible tyres on my tourer and remember why I like it so much.

Can't comment on M+ road feel as I don't use them, but I don't have any complaints about the comfort of appropriately inflated original Marathons - and I'm prepared to suffer the weight penalty of an extra pound or so on a bike if it means enjoying my rides uninterrupted by a visit from the Fairy.

 

[avecReynolds531]

Can't comment on M+ road feel as I don't use them, but I don't have any complaints about the comfort of appropriately inflated original Marathons - and I'm prepared to suffer the weight penalty of an extra pound or so on a bike if it means enjoying my rides uninterrupted by a visit from the Fairy.

Agree with this - especially for commuting. Road feel is relegated when punctuality & reliability become important. If you've had to work shifts at both extremes of early & late, it's lashing freezing rain, & you have to be on time, attending to punctures is a no no.

We've had 35mm Marathon Plus on our commuting/ touring bikes for many years. They last for ever too, in our experience.

Madame avecReynolds531 has had no punctures at all, I've had two in 8 years: a piece of glass that looked like a wolf canine tooth, the other a mutant thorn that seemed tough as steel & chipped a pair of tweezers trying to remove it.

Both times though, the inner tube was barely nicked & only discovered later as very slow punctures.

We've noticed that newer versions of M + roll better too. At around 2.25 (front), and 2.5 - 3 bar (rear), I wouldn't describe them as uncomfortable but definitely not a Veloflex...

A great tyre imho, that transformed commuting, and you will get fit training on these through the winter.

 

[Pale Rider]

The last Marathon Pluses I had were showing hardly any wear at about 3,000 miles when I sold the bike with them on.

Grip seemed fine to me, although I don't corner hard.

Ride might have been a tad harsh, but I did run them with relatively high pressures for a trekking tyre.

They were on an ebike, so the extra weight didn't really matter.