Flat Spot...Does it mean time to change?

cambo

cambo

Avid Rider
Hey gentlemen,

This morning on my ride home from work I noticed the bike felt a bid fidgety on slow maneuvering turns. At highway speeds I didn't seem to notice it as much...but anything less than 30 mph, it was there.

I kept on looking at my front tire whenever I was at a stop light to see if it was flat or something but didn't see anything. Finally, when I got home, I took a closer look and sure enough, I've definitely got a flat spot in the middle of the tire.

I have an S20 front tire, and I now have about 4500 miles on it. The S20 isn't meant to be a commuter tire but I read that it wouldn't wear as fast on the front as it would if I had an S20 on the back.

Anyway, do you know if I can just ride this spot out...at least until the end of the riding season? Will it get so bad that it won't be safe to ride? Will rain performance diminish? or is it just plain time to get a new tire?

Thanks in advance. I know I could google all this but I figured a thread on the topic could be useful to some others in the future too.

If I had to get a new tire...I'd get a commuter tire this time around...probably a Pilot Road 3 to match the rear tire.
 
9

97audia4

Member
Id go ahead and just replace if it effects handling at any speed then its a danger to your safety. The flat spot can ruin confidence if turning and you definitely don't want that.
 
master paper clip

master paper clip

New member
U only have 2 tires... And tires are extremely important on a bike, if your already feeling ill effects from the flat spot its done, by time it wears even the tire will need to be replaced anyway... Plus do u really wanna NOT be able to push your bike when u need/want to without worry? I'm a broke son of a gun and I would just for piece of mind.... All about confidence when riding brother
 
cambo

cambo

Avid Rider
appreciate the responses all...you guys are right. new tire it is. just isn't worth trying to push it for the sake of saving a few bucks.
 
9

97audia4

Member
[QUTE=cambo;43533]appreciate the responses all...you guys are right. new tire it is. just isn't worth trying to push it for the sake of saving a few bucks.[/QUOTE]

FOR SCIENCE:D
 
mikefz8

mikefz8

New member
cambo said:
appreciate the responses all...you guys are right. new tire it is. just isn't worth trying to push it for the sake of saving a few bucks.
Click to expand...

Save a few bucks now or later???? IF you buy it now. when the first of the season hits (whatever that means--I live in a mild climate aka year round season thankfully) next year you wont need a new front tire and can buy a new mod instead :) Be safe Cambo...My last front tire got to the point that I could see the radial band aka the threads. I would not recommend riding on such a tire. It happened more because the air pressure was too low and it also had close to 5K miles on it. Better safe than sorry.
 
Bajaedition

Bajaedition

New member
bikes that get a lot of time doing strait line duty do a lot of wear on the center of the tire.
to complicate this we like to get SS tires so we can hit the twisties a lot, which are soft compound tires.
so you see the decision we need to make, either longer life touring tires or Shorted SS tires we can use the most out of in the curves
Ask your tire dealer about dual compound tires, or how much do you go canyon carve and how much do you need a SS tire?
Most riders will not use press a SS tire to the limit and could use a Sports touring tire.

Lots of choices if you just research what you need.
remember all those ads for tires are just propaganda to get you to buy a tire, actually going to a tire expert is the best idea so he can direct you to a tire you actually need.
 
cambo

cambo

Avid Rider
97audia4 said:
[QUTE=cambo;43533]appreciate the responses all...you guys are right. new tire it is. just isn't worth trying to push it for the sake of saving a few bucks.
Click to expand...

FOR SCIENCE:D[/QUOTE]

lolol...you got me. I need to stick to my theme and just ride it out! haha
 
9

97audia4

Member
change your rear tire too Cambo someone got you on camera;)

 
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