Gatorskins

[Philhh]

My front tire -a gatorskind of indeterminate age-it came with the second hand bike-seems to be shedding fine rands of rubber from the walls not a lot but one or two every ride- the tire doesn't look warn out according to the "dots" but does it need changing or am I being a bit fussy.would appreciate advise

 

[Tangoup51]

Probably been riding/stored at too low pressures and has had too much exposure to the elements. Cracked sidewalls seldom a problem for my tires but if you're starting to actually shed rubber when you're riding it's probably time for replacement because who knows how well the rest of the rubber is gonna hold up?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vittoria-zaffiro-pro-road-bike-tyre/rp-prod109595
^ Recommended fix.

 

[Philhh]

Thanks -I keep my tires at 100p.s. i so I guess it's age-I'll, get anew set for the autumn

 

[bruce1530]

I get quite a few “threads” round the edge of my gator skins, just where they meet the rims.

 

[gbb]

I get quite a few “threads” round the edge of my gator skins, just where they meet the rims.

Me too...if the threads are what I believe to be reinforcing thread in the brown sidewall. Seen it on several pairs...never caused a problem.

 

[Salty seadog]

I've asked about the same problem before. the answers were that it is an idiosyncrasy of the brand and not a cause for concern.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Inflation pressure has buggerall to do with it. There's a lot of latex in Continental tyre sidewalls and will will shred and crumble with time. The biggest culprit is ozone. If you store your bike near something like a photocopy machine (unlikely) or near some of the weird domestic appliances mentioned here https://www.arb.ca.gov/research/indoor/ozoneproductsfactsheet.pdf then the aging is accelerated.
Continental tyre sidewalls are the worst in the industry. If they don't shed rubber, they shed strings.

 

[Ajax Bay]

This is reputed to be a normal issue with many types of Continental tyre (and I experienced this with serial pairs of GP 4 Seasons). I found that I wore the tyres out before the loss of a few threads on the sidewalls became of any concern.

I keep my tires at 100p.s. i

Depending on your weight and width of tyre, 100psi may be too high (off topic). You can consult the attached seminal BQ article and the graph it contains.