As the road biking season winds down for many of us in the Northern Hemisphere, hopefully you’ve put more than a few miles on your bike this year. Now is a great time to check the condition of your tires, before you start riding over slick leaves or frost-covered pavement. Don’t wait until the beginning of next season, when you’ll be eager to get out on the road as quickly as possible.
As a tire wears, a few things happen. The nice round profile of the tire starts to flatten out. This is normal, but you want to change out that tire before it gets too thin. The thickness of the rubber is one of the properties that will help protect against flat tires. If it’s too thin, very small pieces of glass will puncture the tire.
Another thing to check out is the condition of the fabric. Yes, there is fabric in your tires. A lot of it, actually. Manufactures use different thickness cord for different quality tires. These cords can sometimes fail, resulting in a bulge or wobble in the tread. You will want to check the entire diameter of the tire for any wobbles and pull the tire from use if you find one.
Choosing a new tire can be a tedious process. If you want my recommendation, I love the Bontrager AW3 Hard Case 700X25c tire. It’s a fantastic tire with low rolling resistance and great puncture protection. It’s on all of our Trek Travel road bikes as well!
