Coker tire sidewall cracking

Hi Dan, I've had three tires w/sidewall cracks. I was worried about it,
but the tread wore out before I had any problems w/ the cracks. I would
deflate the tire some between rides, don't know if that helped or not.
Besides that info, I don't know of any products that you are looking
for, although I did use Armour Alls "Tire Foam" on my motorhome tires
and they look much better now. When will the snow end this year? Cheers.

--
aspenmike - unicycling albino
------------------------------------------------------------------------
aspenmike's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/3768
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40294

"I think armor all is bad for tires but there are products to protect
tires sold at auto part stores and I was wondering if anybody has had
success with any."

Armor All won't hurt a tire and can keep rubber and vinyl pliable, but
get it on the tread and you've got one slippery machine to control.
I've, also had some tires crack. Mainly stock, narrow tire due to low
air pressure. The sidewalls take most of the weight of the uni. Sitting
on a uni puts all the downward stress, or weight, on a 2"-3" section of
the sidewall that is in contact with the ground. With correct tire
pressure this stress is minimal, but with low air pressure the sidewalls
have so much stress that they start to give - thus the cracks (this is
especially true with thin-walled tires). Once these cracks form, they
don't go away, and can even be amplified by the correct tire pressure
(since the sidewalls are now weak), sun and heat also add to this
deterioration. Hard surface riding (concrete, etc.) has no give and only
exacerbates this issue.
The solution: check your tires often for the right air pressure.
🙂

--
roadkill - Crash Test Dummy

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." -
Albert Einstein
------------------------------------------------------------------------
roadkill's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/9784
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40294

Unofficially, I have cracks in the sidewalls of one of mine and I think
they are just due to the rubber being too hard. After a while it just
gives way. It has been pressurized at about 50-60 psi for a couple of
years though, and 99% in the shade. In no way would Coker Tire be
responsible, though, because of the over-pressure.

At the bike shop I worked at, the word was that there is no good
treatment for tires. I don't know that by experience, though.

--
U-Turn - As long as my feet keep movin'...

Weep in the dojo... laugh on the battlefield.
'LiveWire Unicycles' (http://www.livewireunicycles.com)
'Strongest Coker Wheel in the World'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albup39)
'29er Tire Study' (http://u-turn.unicyclist.com/29erTireStudy/)
'New York Unicycle Club' (http://www.newyorkunicycle.com)
-- Dave Stockton
------------------------------------------------------------------------
U-Turn's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/691
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40294

-"Unofficially, I have cracks in the sidewalls of one of mine and I
think they are just due to the rubber being too hard. After a while it
just gives wayUnofficially, I have cracks in the sidewalls of one of
mine and I think they are just due to the rubber being too hard. After a
while it just gives way "-

You may be right about the hard rubber. Tom Miller (the unicycle facory)
told me today that tire hardness is due to the amount of carbon the
manufacturer puts into it.

--
roadkill - Crash Test Dummy

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." -
Albert Einstein
------------------------------------------------------------------------
roadkill's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/9784
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40294

It's a coker tire thing and I believe it has to do with the rubber
compound they use, Coker Tire's main buisnes is making tires for vintage
cars and trucks and I guess they use an old type of rubber. I allways
store my coker out of the sun and keep the presure up, I believe low
pressure is worse than high pressure because when the tire is low the
sidewalls flex more. I guess I will give something a try but I think it
probably won't help but I will see. I have never had a tire fail because
of the cracks so I guess it's no big deal. I wonder what the tire is
like that comes on the new qu-ax 36er is like and if it will be
available sometime in the near future. It would be nice if it's lighter.

--
Tellurider - Dan Wilson

There's a fine line between "Hobby" and "Mental Illness".
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tellurider's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/4972
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40294

'this thread' (http://tinyurl.com/bwhrh) carries some discussion about
the two tyres

--
GILD - Waffle-[censored], Time-bider and JCTK

if you can't say anything good about someone, sit right here by me.--
'alice' (http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/custom.html?) 'roosevelt'
(http://tinyurl.com/963jr) 'longworth'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=310449&highlight=db#post310449)

I feel like a fugitive from the law of averages.-- William H.
Mauldin
...using nietzsche's metaphysics to escape from
christianity...-'metro_tramp on the value of metaphysics'
(http://tinyurl.com/4sjw6)-
it's hard to be sure, and good to be paranoid...john childs on life on
the internet
'NAMASTE!' (http://tinyurl.com/4qcxw)
'Dave' (http://tinyurl.com/ywxgb)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GILD's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/657
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40294

Low pressure may well speed sidewall cracking.

Makes me wonder about TUBELESS COKERS & SIDEWALLS. I'd be very
interested to read about tubeless effects on sidewall cracking and air
retention, etc.

How are you tubeless converts doing? Anyone know?

--
trailguy - uni is great
------------------------------------------------------------------------
trailguy's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/8788
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40294

I think high pressure does the sidewall thing more.

At least that's my experience.

I ride with 50-60psi in my coker nowadays. It definately does the
sidewall thing more than before I got a track pump. It may be because
extra pressure makes the tyre go into a slightly different shape from
the one it's meant to be in. It definately changes the wear on the tread
of the tyre to be a bit more along the centre line.

The sidewall thing doesn't seem to do anything, I've not had any
sidewall problems yet.

qu-ax tyre is heavier by the way.

Joe

--
joemarshall - dumb blonde

my pics http://gallery.unicyclist.com/album483
------------------------------------------------------------------------
joemarshall's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1545
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40294

joemarshall said:

*I think high pressure does the sidewall thing more.

*

Joe-

What does "the sidewall thing" mean? Is it cracks in the sidewall?

Dan-

I would agree that riding with LOW pressure would flex the sidewall more
and make it more likely to crack. I haven't done that experiment with a
Coker tire. I always have it well over the 32 psig MAX rating. I have
seen no sidewall problems and I've worn the tread off of two tires,
nicely down the center as Joe said.

Dave-

How many tires have you gone through? Are you talking about tires you
ship out? I would doubt that because they're new when you ship them.

--
harper - TANKED at GASWORKS

-Greg Harper

B L U E S H I F T

"My world view has come crashing down like a drunk clown on a giraffe,
riding through a cactus patch..." -evil-nick on "Entry of the
Gladiators"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
harper's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/426
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40294

harper said:

*Joe-

What does "the sidewall thing" mean? Is it cracks in the sidewall?

Dan-

I would agree that riding with LOW pressure would flex the sidewall
more and make it more likely to crack. I haven't done that experiment
with a Coker tire. I always have it well over the 32 psig MAX rating.
I have seen no sidewall problems and I've worn the tread off of two
tires, nicely down the center as Joe said.

Dave-

How many tires have you gone through? Are you talking about tires you
ship out? I would doubt that because they're new when you ship them. *

Yes these are sidewall cracks that appear after the tires have been
mounted for a while, not new ones. I have put a bunch of tires on
wheels that I have shipped out, but personally I have put more wear on
freestyle and 29er tires. That should change this summer, but who
knows. My body seems to like the 29er (Big Apple is actually a 30"😉.
So I haven't replaced a personal Coker tire yet due to wear. I have
replaced several freestyle.

I'm not sure that the cracks are due to flex as much as stretch.
However, perhaps only a tire engineer would be able to tell for sure.
Both of the tires I have had here for a long time (i.e., for over two
years) have been about the same pressure (say, 50 psi or so) so I can't
contrast them.

--
U-Turn - As long as my feet keep movin'...

Weep in the dojo... laugh on the battlefield.
'LiveWire Unicycles' (http://www.livewireunicycles.com)
'Strongest Coker Wheel in the World'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/gallery/albup39)
'29er Tire Study' (http://u-turn.unicyclist.com/29erTireStudy/)
'New York Unicycle Club' (http://www.newyorkunicycle.com)
-- Dave Stockton
------------------------------------------------------------------------
U-Turn's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/691
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/40294