MTB - when to replace a tire ?

[King_Crispy]

It is easy to see the wear-indicator on car tires. And we all know that car tires are ideally replaced when the remaining tread gets to 2mm ....

 

 

Not so easy with MTB tires ....

 

 

When do you replace your tires ??

 

 

The rear tire on my bike is certainly showing lots of wear along the centre blocks.

 

 

Where is that line between throwing away a tire too early, vs risking bad handling on the trails .....

Risking bad handling?

Are you an unsponsored rider competing at the front end?

Are you being serious or just looking for idle chatter before the luxury of off-topic conversations are removed?

[PappaWatTrap]

 

That's also where Iearnt my lesson, saw a nice corner, yeah I'll rail this, instant sprained wrist.

 

When your front looses it completely after you commit to a corner you fall so fast there's nothing can really do to alleviate the impact or save yourself.

 

I also knew I was pushing it with the worn tyre I had on the front at the time but I didn't realise how dangerous it can be.

Yeah even me I knew I was pushing it. It’s something I learnt the hard way as well, you cannot do anything if your front wheel slides out from underneath you around a corner. One moment shredding the burm, next moment face first in the dirt

[ChrisF]

Risking bad handling?

Are you an unsponsored rider competing at the front end?

Are you being serious or just looking for idle chatter before the luxury of off-topic conversations are removed?

Actually a serious question.

 

No, I do not have bad handling, not yet. If I had, I would change the tire immediately.

 

 

But with the centre block at about 1 to 1,5mm I have already bought the new rear tire.

 

 

With the wealth of experience on this forum I was hoping for a measurement .... from the feedback it is clear that tire compound and terrain makes this near impossible ....

 

 

O.well, seems I need to keep going until I feel a change in handling .... OR, just change it and get done with it ..... uhmmm....

[RocknRolla]

When mosquitoes become a danger....

 

basically I change them when the tread is worn down, or doesnt hold air due to too many plugs...or sidewall damage...

[DieselnDust]

I replace my tyres when the grip is gone and that's long before the tread is gone...

 

With triple compounds, that's when the top layer of rubber is worn through

[sirmoun10goat]

I also find I get more punctures as the tyre wears (easier for cr@p to pierce the tyre as there is less rubber). So out of season (ie when I’m not entering races) I’ll ride a more worn tyre. When I am entering races, I prefer a tyre in good condition. Not because I’m competing for podiums, but because I don’t want a race I paid a few hundred zar to be wasted due to frugal expenditure habits

[dasilvarsa]

If there are No Other Problems, when the knobs in the center of the tread are more than halfway worn down.

Edited December 20, 2020 by dasilvarsa

[MrJacques]

If you have old Rockets Rons then you replace them once the sidewalls get frayed and the tire becomes wobbly

 

* the newer ones may be better, but I've had the same issue on the old 26" ones.

Edited December 21, 2020 by MrJacques

[MrJacques]

If there are No Other Problems, when the knobs in the center of the tread are more than halfway worn down.

 

Depends on the terrain you ride and whether they still offer decent amounts of grip.

[MrJacques]

Do any of you rotate tires? The rear usually wears faster, so if you run the same type front and back it may be worth it to swap them around from time to time. I've put my DHR2 on the front now (I prefer the handling), plus the compound seems to be softer than the DHF, so I think it may last longer on the front.

[RocknRolla]

Do any of you rotate tires? The rear usually wears faster, so if you run the same type front and back it may be worth it to swap them around from time to time. I've put my DHR2 on the front now (I prefer the handling), plus the compound seems to be softer than the DHF, so I think it may last longer on the front.

Yes, Front goes to rear, and the new rubber goes up front.

[DR ◣◢]

Do any of you rotate tires? The rear usually wears faster, so if you run the same type front and back it may be worth it to swap them around from time to time. I've put my DHR2 on the front now (I prefer the handling), plus the compound seems to be softer than the DHF, so I think it may last longer on the front.

 

I normally run Hans Dampf and recently Onza Ibex on both the front and rear. 

 

I prefer to keep maximum grip on the front and ill swop the front to the rear and replace the front with a new tire. 

 

I never compromise on grip. More so after roasting my left leg from knee to ankle and have exposed nerves. Never again do I want to be subjected to that pain.

Edited December 21, 2020 by DR ◣◢

[DieselnDust]

If using similar models front and rear then the front goes to the back and new on the front.

 

If front and rear specific then whatever is shot gets replaced

[T_Boss]

Replace tires when punctures become an issue - that in my mind is the ultimate indicator of when I tire is shot.... Apply the same concept to my 4x4 tires as well. when things that were previously benign start causing punctures, its time to change -

 

However, in the past 18 months, on both my car and my bikes, sidewall cuts have seen to it that I have a regular supply of new tires - against my wishes

 

 

What grinds me is when I have clients arrive for a multi day riding trip, with tires that are so old the cracks in the outer casing are easily noticable - and I just know we are going to spend a lot of time next to the trail fixing punctures......and I ask them why they havent replaced the tire - the answer is "but the tread is still good". 

 

Tread wear is not at all a meaningful indication of the state of a mtb tire....

[Gnarly]

When the group I ride with start b itching about the amount of punctures I'm getting and tell me to change. 

[PhilipV]

Maxxis Aggressors and Onza Ibex tyres I replaced when the side knobs started tearing off. But by then they were as loose as the moral compass of a politician with a tender to give away. I like a sliding back wheel, and they wear out faster, so the back wheel gets whatever is in the box. I have a nice dissector that gets put on for enduro races and big trips where I need reliable grip though. Likewise the front needs to be dependable, so there will always be something grippy and in good nick on the front.