Aramis

What's the rule of thumb on when it's time to replace tires? I want to get as much life out of mine before I get new ones but don't want to compromise safety/handling just because money is tight right now.

8541Hawk

For me it's about ever 3k miles or so, if I'm lucky......

nath981

if your not sure, it's probably not time, unless you have plenty of money. Shallow tread tires are not a problem in terms of traction on smooth dry roads other than they are more likely to pick up a nail/other. If you know your tires you're gonna know when to slow/avoid debris and wet conditions. The other thing to monitor is the shape or arc of the tread, e.g., front may start cupping, or rear may be worn more in the middle causing an abrupt transition during lean in. If you monitor you're tires carefully, and should be one with them, you can work around these issues by not pushing their weaknesses. Of course, if you note unusual handling problems, don't hesitate or you may find out the hard way.

hurdsmyth

I believe that you need minimum of 3/32" tread depth to pass inspection,(rule of thumb is the distance to Lincoln's head on a penny), so you can probably safely get it a bit lower assuming that it is not scalloping or wearing with a flat spot. I get about 8000 miles out of a set, but do mostly high speed commuting.

comedo

+1 to Nath981
The change in profile caused by wear can have a significant effect on handling. Waiting for the tread to be worn down to the wear bars can be false economy.

finepooch

fock you guys are a bunch of wussies! ride the rear down to the cords!!! that's what i do and it's never let me down.

jay956

VTRsurfer

Bottom line is...if you think your tires are worn, get a new set. It'll feel like you're riding a new bike.

I go to the wear bars on the rear. I've tried to stretch the front to last for 2 rears. But since I'm riding mostly in the twisties now, the wear pattern on the front affects handling (and confidence) to the point where I'm going with replacing both at the same time from now on.

mboe794

My rears tend to look kinda similar Jay's posted above. This is what my fronts look like. These Bridgstones have never offered me any uneasy feelings even at advanced stages of wear. And I ride twisties exclusivley aside from slabbing to and from the twisties or to a local community college that lets us use their track.

I went through five tires last season. So I try to get all the life I can.

I have been getting about 1.7 fornt tires to one rear.

nath981

start using Freddie/Nick trail braking methods and you'll be using up your tires together,but you'll have much improved control in the twisties.

nath981

sounds like you may be using freddie/nick style trailbraking.

VTRsurfer

Actually, I like to power out of corners, then let engine braking bleed off speed for the next corner on the road that I usually ride. I'm not racing against a clock or anyone else, so if I brake at all, I'm usually not braking hard. I just like the feeling of carving through corners. Keeping it over 5000 rpm in the corners, I usually get all the engine braking I need.

nath981

the reason i suggested that is that you're the first rider including myself to change both tires together. Common to street riders is 2 rear to 1 front. This has all changed for me since I learned to use my controls like a rheostat ala the Freddie/Nick mehtod of trail braking. Now the front and rear are wearing equally and will be changed together.

I'm not racing either, albeit there is some expectations relative to my own skills, so maybe racing against myself to some extent.

I hope more riders will master fred/nicks style because there so much better control for dealing with hazards that pop up during spirited rides on the street. The only downside I've discovered is that is easier to go faster in curves and this translates into generally higher speeds in blind curves. To slow down requires discipline that I didn't need as much previously when i was tentative about being on the brakes at lean.

Given that downside, I'm trying to address that issue, but would in no way choose to revert to turning without using the brakes throughout the turn.

finepooch

jay, that is what i'm talking about. when the rear is beyond the wear indicators, i keep an eye on it. after each ride i check, and as soon as cord shows it's time for new ones.

i really hate fast wearing tires. i have used michelins since 1998. first macadams, then macadam 100s, then pilot roads and now pilot road 2s. i have not worn out a set of road 2s yet, but the others all wore close enough to 1:1 that i would replace front and rear together. they last a long time too.

VTRsurfer

I've always gotten 2 to 1 on my tires as well, but since I retired about a year ago I'm no longer commuting 75 miles a day. Since I'm riding leaned over a larger percentage of the time, my front is wearing flats on the sides when stretched to a 2nd rear. But my rear tire isn't squaring off as noticeably. It's all about fun for the buck at this point, and I have a lot more fun when both tires are performing equally.

I've been running Qualifiers for the last 5 rears, but I'm going to try Bridgestone BT016's next time.

nath981

wow! that's exactly what happened to my previous set(pre-trail braking) of BTO-16s. I've been doing what your doing now for years(riding predominantly curves keeping the rear rounded-fun huh) and never noticed flat sides on the front till that last set. Weird, wonder if it's a different manner of tire construction, possibly a conspiracy of tire manufacturers to sell more tires-nah......that couldn't be. hahahaha.

We'll see what differences occur shortly on the present set of Q2s i have on as I'm gonna work hard to wear them out so i can get a set of those 2lb lighter(i can't believe it) Michelin Pures. Combining that with the Carrozzeria wheels is gonna be exciting because I am in so love with light spinning unsprung weight that it's almost scary.

speaking of which, I bought a set of Mefos(German tires) for my XR a while back because i liked the rounded profiles. I hate those bastards cause their so freakin heavy and they're hard to wear out, which in this case is a bad thing, and they suck in the rain(like someone rubbed vasoline on them). I will be weight checking tires before future purchases because I have been duly punished with these hard heavy slippery noisy bumpy tank tires. and you can bet your *** on that for sure.