PanaRacer TServ Protex
Well, my spate of flat tires continues. I think what’s going on is that I’ve been riding in a lot of rain the past month or so, and my anecdotal research indicates you’re more prone to flats when the roads are wet. This one was feeling soft as I pulled into the office the other day, so I just left it and changed it after work.
What was different about this one is that it ruined the tire. Actually…let me qualify that. The tire decided to give up the ghost after flatting with about 5,700 miles on it. I pulled out the rock, put in a new tube, inflated the tire and headed home. Unfortunately, my entire ride home was punctuated with the “thump thump” of a tire with a lump in it. That’s what the last four tires I’ve had on the Surly have done.
The last two sets of tires (four tires) on the Surly have all been Panaracer TServ Protex tires. I like them quite a lot. They’re pretty puncture resistant, wear well, and give me miles of worry free commuting. All four tires have lasted between 4,000 and 5,700 miles. All four have ended their life by getting a lump or bump that I presume is the belts separating after flatting when they get a lot of miles on them. I’ve thrown all of them away with decent looking tread, but unusable because of the lumps. My theory is that the kevlar belt is beginning to separate, but the pressure of the tube holds it in place until that air pressure goes away.
For now I’ve got a decent 700 x 25c Michelin from my garage on the front and a Panaracer with about 1,000 miles on the back. I’m thinking I might just leave it that way until I get more miles on the back and replace them both at once.
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Tags: bicycle, Bike Commute, bike maintenance, Cycling, Fitness
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February 23, 2013 at 9:45 am
I have two Continentals that went the same way – a flat at more than 4K miles followed by a bulge/lump. Another went that way after the flat at 6K miles.