Originally Posted by danfoz .
For me at least....
That's the key statement about tire wear. Statements about how many miles a person can get out of a racing tire or a training tire cannot be made with any accuracy, other than to say that a person should get more miles out of a training tire than out of a race tire. What mileage a person does get out of a tire is entirely dependent on that person's weight, their power output, the condition of the roads, the climate, and other factors.
Arizona and Arizona roads are unkind to tires. Between the cracked, potholed roads littered with sharp rocks and trash that can slice through a tire carcass and the blistering heat, tires have a rough and comparatively short life. The most durable and puncture resistant tire I've used yet is the Maxxis Re-fuse. It has a passable ride and plenty of grip, no matter whether the roads are dry or wet. I've got 3000+ miles on the Re-fuse skins. My rear Schwalbe Ultremo DD, however, died after only 1700 miles. By died, I mean that threads in the carcass started to show.
As for when I retire, uhm, a tire, that happens when any of the following happen:
- carcass threads start showing
- carcass gets cut
- chunks of rubber come off (qualitative call)
- I get sick of a high puncture rate
- sidewall gets cut
I've not found puncture to increase with tread wear. Also, it's unlikely that cuts increase the likelihood of puncturing unless you've got hundreds of cuts, including large cuts. Cuts take up a very small percentage of the tread (in general), and as such the likelihood of a puncture happening at a cut is going to be on the order of the percentage of the tread area that cut takes up. Note I said it will be "on the order of." It'll be a conditional probability also dependent on the likelihood of a puncture happening if detritus enters that cut.
I was impressed by Michelin Krylions. IMHO, they're a terrific all around tire with great grip, excellent wear, and very good puncture resistance. The only downside to them is the refusal of Michelin to make them in an all black flavor.
I've not been terribly impressed with Conti tires, although I am interested in giving Conti GP 4 Seasons a try. A friend in NZed uses them with success. He's about my size, and he claims that roads there are also **** and covered with kack. GP4000s skins were a huge disappointment: flat city and mere thoughts could cut their sidewalls. Conti Sprinter Gatorskins (tubies) were ok, but I expected more out of a Gatorskin tire. Vittorias tubies (EVO Corsa CX and KX) had a nice ride, but it wasn't possible to even pretend they had puncture resistance.
Then there are Tufo tubies. I'll just say this about those tires: friends don't let friends ride Tufo. You'd be better off gluing frozen garden hose to your rims.
Another tire consideration is the actual width of the tire versus the stated width. I've found Michelin tires to be pretty accurate. There 25mm tires have been at least that wide. Schwalbe's tire width claims are a joke, unless you think that 23mm is close enough to be called a 25mm tire. Of course the measured width is going to vary with the rim width. On a 23mm wide rim (Velocity A23), the Schwalbe 25mm Ultremo DD was still short of 25mm wide. I've found Maxxis tires to be pretty accurate in width, perhaps coming a hair more narrow at times. Conti's have been pretty accurate. Actual tire width is something I think everyone should check. If you put a 25mm tire on and its actual width is less than 25mm, inflating it as if it is 25mm wide will result in an inflation pressure that is less than ideal. That'll increase tire wear.
Such is what I've found.
