So my bike just passed 5k miles on its odometer - still wearing the OEM tires. The rear was showing significant wear and I was doubtful that it would pass the inspection that it was due for. The front (for the most part) looked like it probably had several hundred miles left on it.
The (for the most part) of the front tire is the subject of this post. The bike for the past several hundred miles had developed a "shimmy" on the front end that was most pronounced during deceleration during lower speeds - but present all the time just increasing in frequency with the increase in speed.
I pretty much figured it was the front tire and kind of casually glanced at it. I noted some cupping, and despite the fact that it appeared to otherwise have a few miles left on it, I decided to replace the tires as a set.
So after replacing the tires this weekend, I took a closer look at the front and was quite shocked at what I saw:
It wasn't just cupping, it was a strange cupping combined with a flat spot at one point on the tire. Keep in mind it wasn't "hopping" like it was out of balance...
The really scary part of all this was this:
There was actually a tear in the tire that had not (yet) gone all of the way through. I think about the fact that if I had ignored this much longer that I could have had a high speed blowout.... the resulting imagined picture is not too pretty.
So the moral: if you think you have problem with your tire, check it *carefully* lest you end up road pizza for no good reason.
by the by... anyone have any idea what could cause this kind of thing while apparently not being out of balance?
-Rick
The (for the most part) of the front tire is the subject of this post. The bike for the past several hundred miles had developed a "shimmy" on the front end that was most pronounced during deceleration during lower speeds - but present all the time just increasing in frequency with the increase in speed.
I pretty much figured it was the front tire and kind of casually glanced at it. I noted some cupping, and despite the fact that it appeared to otherwise have a few miles left on it, I decided to replace the tires as a set.
So after replacing the tires this weekend, I took a closer look at the front and was quite shocked at what I saw:
It wasn't just cupping, it was a strange cupping combined with a flat spot at one point on the tire. Keep in mind it wasn't "hopping" like it was out of balance...
The really scary part of all this was this:
There was actually a tear in the tire that had not (yet) gone all of the way through. I think about the fact that if I had ignored this much longer that I could have had a high speed blowout.... the resulting imagined picture is not too pretty.
So the moral: if you think you have problem with your tire, check it *carefully* lest you end up road pizza for no good reason.
by the by... anyone have any idea what could cause this kind of thing while apparently not being out of balance?
-Rick
