When to bin a tyre..?

+1 on Shoe Goo. I also ride the flinty slopes of N Hampshire (W Berks, east Wiltshire, south Oxfordshire...) and at one time last year (after the rains) thought a single puncture day was a good day.

I think it depends as well on how you ride. If you are hitting high speeds on downhills, would you be happy with a sudden failure? But if you are more recreational, and take things slowly, what's the risk?

Hi Simon

Riding in what I believe to be the worst-possible bit of the UK for sharp crap on the roads, I don't think cost or toughness really comes into it. I've had £50 Vredesteins and £12.50 Contis cut up the same, likewise my friend's Marathon Plus above, reputedly the toughest tyre around. Basically flint will go through *anything*, I guess that's why it was the Caveman's Choice™ of kitchen impliments

I like E6000 because it can repair what would otherwise become fatal damage. Not letting water or more crap into a cut is a good thing. Water will wick along any exposed thread and swell, probably causing all sorts of bad things.

I agree 115 is way too high for most - I'm running 80 in my rear 28c with no flats for 300k and a very comfy bum.

Fascinating post by KiwiMike.

You could:
- repair it
- buy cheaper tyres
- buy tougher tyres
- replace your damaged tyre with another one of the same type.

It's your call, but I'd change tyres. And 115 psi seems a bit high for general riding, I usually run mine at 70-80 psi.

I fitted a park tools tyre boot after damaging a tyre on some raised road works. It was meant to get me home but I thought I'd risk it and left it in there for another 2000k's until the tread wore out.
I've also cut up sections of old tyres and used to patch large splits/holes in tyres.
Probably not recommended but hey ho.

Sorry @Sevenhills, but Superglue isn't a great idea as it sets hard. Tyres are supposed to be supple, so it will inevitably fail.

I started out using Superglue but then discovered an industrial adhesive called E6000. Costs about £5 for a tube on eBay, usually clear but can be black. Also branded as ShooGoo, but it's the same stuff. It is the glue du jour for hobbyists who stick diamantes to stuff.

The key thing here is that it cures flexible after 24hrs. This winter here in flint-strewn North Hampshire I check and repair my tyres after every ride. Clean out the hole, dry, heat up next to a radiator to make nice and pliable. Fill hole using a toothpick or similar, working it in to remove air bubbles. Practice. It's amazing stuff - I've repaired major cuts that have been fine 300km later. Yet to have a repair fail. Here's a piccy of a Marathon Plus cut by a shark-tooth of flint, repaired basically indistinguishable from new.

If the cut has gone through the casing severing threads, that's bad. The rubber does nothing structurally for the tyre, so using E6000 simply fills in the hole with more rubber. But if he casing is damaged you have compromised the tyre. Bin it, and buy a £12 Conti Ultra Sport. Excellent tyre, very hardwearing, at same time as being grippy.

Not really recommended but you can always deflate peel the cut section back fill with superglue and then pump the tyre back up to push the cut back together whilst the glue hardens. It might make the tyre last a bit longer if there is no other damage. Whether you want to continue descending at 70 kph on a repaired tyre is up to you though.