Glass puncture through the tire

[TMaster]

I have a small 1/4" long cut in my rear CST cyclops pro tire. It is all the way through to the tube, but it didn't puncture the tube. I get up to speeds of 40+mph. Should I be worried? Should I try and clean it out and put in some rubber tire repair cement in the crack? I just would hate to have to take the tire off and replace it. It's not the cost of the tire, its the time it will take because of torque arms, wires, etc. :x Just looking for everyones two cents on this.

 

[biohazardman]

You should be able to pull the tire off the rim with the wheel still on your bike. Clean out any debris rough up the area and then use a good quality glue on patch on the inside of the tire. I have done this a few times and the repair has held up fine, for the life of the tire, although I don't normally travel at 40 mph for long. Good luck.

 

[amberwolf]

With cuts in sidewalls and such, I've simply patched the tire itself from the inside with a big piece of an old thick innertube, after sewing up the cut itself first to be sure it doenst' widen and herniate. Sometimes the sidewall is too torn up to do this.

I've done it to cuts in the tread, too, but I don't usually have to sew up the tire first as the thread is so thick the patch will hold fine without it, usually.


I don't ride that fast, but I put a lot of stress on tires with the weight I carry with cargo and such.

 

[Toclofane]

A 1/4" cut should be fine to ride on if it didn't penetrate.

 

[TMaster]

Thanks guys, I cleaned it out and filled it with rubber cement. I will check it after every ride. They are steel bead tires, so They should hold up better then a folding tire. If get gets worse I will just use this as an excuse to upgrade my rear disc rotor to 203mm instead of the 185 I have on there.

 

[dogman dan]

I wouldn't trust a cut tire at 40 mph. You laid anything down at that speed yet? You better be able to. 20mph or so, patch it would be fine of course.

 

[Sword_of_Khaless]

I wouldn't trust a cut tire at 40 mph. You laid anything down at that speed yet? You better be able to. 20mph or so, patch it would be fine of course.

What he said. A blowout at 40 mph would be disastrous. Ask yourself this, is an hour or so fiddling with your bike worth more than any amount of time seriously injured? Most bicycle tires aren't made with those speeds in mind so it is prudent to make sure that they are in good repair.

 

[hydro-one]

always plan for that eventual blowout , plan your path at every moment you are riding. slow down when your "wipeout" will kill you ( if you will carry on the path, hitting x, at too high of a speed). untill it wont kill you. then your wont be killed while riding.

ps love that glass in tire, patch with lotsa glue from inside, amberwolf had a terrific suggestion with the sewing. i will try sewing it next time. untill then RIDE ON

 

[JennyB]

You can get away with a lot more at normal bicycle speeds. Once I made the mistake of going out for a long ride on a hot day with a well-worn front tyre. While honking up a hill through melting tar I heard an intermittent puffing sound. The tyre had worn clean through in several places, and now the inner was wearing enough for air to start escaping. Fortunately I had a spare tube, but there was nowhere I could get a new tyre. I begged some insulating tape, ran a couple of layers round the inside of the tyre, and rode thirty miles home.

Naturally, that tyre went straight after in the bin afterwards! :lol:

 

[Chalo]

I have a small 1/4" long cut in my rear CST cyclops pro tire. It is all the way through to the tube, but it didn't puncture the tube. I get up to speeds of 40+mph. Should I be worried? Should I try and clean it out and put in some rubber tire repair cement in the crack? I just would hate to have to take the tire off and replace it.

Sorry I missed this one when it was fresh.

If the tire is cut all the way through the casing (a coarse fabric whose threads are easy to see when cut), then you should repair it with a tire boot. A boot is a piece of fabric, for instance one that is cut from the sidewall of a trashed tire, or perhaps an X of strong fabric rim tape. A folded-up dollar bill is a traditional emergency tire boot to get you home.

For a permanent repair, tape or glue a tire boot to the inside of the tire, centered over the cut.

Any casing cut of 1/8" or more will eventually nibble its way through the tube, or just let the tube bubble out through the hole and pop.

If the casing of the tire isn't cut through, then the cut in the tread rubber is not of any particular concern.

 

[TMaster]

Thanks for everyones 2 cents I actually deflated the tube and poked in the crack and it wasn't cut through all the way to the tube. But It is close; I'm guessing its cut all the way to the beads. I'm going to ride it here soon and see how it goes. I will be very carefull. If it starts to grow I will replace the tire. I will check once durring and after every time I ride. I will report back if it gets bigger... lol

Word of the wise, if you see glass in the road, even if it looks like its been run over and is in tiny pieces; don't drive over it anyway! Next time I will break and swerve!

My front tire is in great condition, even with 600 miles on the tread still is almost new. The glass didnt even bother it. The rear takes all the punishment on my bike, even though I have my controller and batteries mounted in the triangle.

 

[rjoe]

If you ride anywhere there might be glass, you should check your tires visually every so often because glass can get stuck there and eventually work its way in over time, just as you described. A little prophylaxis can go a long way on glass.

 

[Chalo]

Broken glass tends to lie more or less flat. The front tire often kicks it up so that it isn't lying flat when the rear tire comes along.

 

[dogman dan]

I still wouldn't ride a repaired tire any faster than you'd be willing to lay it down and crash. How many times have you practiced a 40 mph crash? I don't know if you have ridden motorcycles a lot, but if not, you're in for an educational experience when that tire blows at 40 mph.

Tires wear fast on a hot ebike, the motor wheel is putting much much more twisting force on that tire than anybody can do by pedaling. And it's not designed for it.

Get your christmas cash, and go buy a new tire if you will be riding 40 mph.

 

[JennyB]

If you ride anywhere there might be glass, you should check your tires visually every so often because glass can get stuck there and eventually work its way in over time, just as you described. A little prophylaxis can go a long way on glass.

And in particular check the tyre both inside and out when you do get a puncture. There may be another bit of glass or a thorn just waiting for a chance at your only spare tube. :?

 

[Ykick]

I've experienced 7 rear tire/tyre flats at highway speed on motorcycles. 2 were sudden loss blowouts. One from a large chunk of metal that gashed a 2" chunk and another was when a gust of wind blew a leather saddlebag into 16" chopper wheel with side valve stem - which promptly ripped out and deflated.

The rest were slower leaks but didn't notice until that squirrely feeling started up.

Don't panic, for rear blowout shift your weight slightly forward, don't use rear brake and be prepared for the swaying back/forth that get's worse as you slow down. The last few MPH is the worst and feels as if you might not get it hauled down to stop. Don't panic, ride it out....

I've never had the misfortune of a front tire/tyre flat at speed yet. 'hope I never do.

I only ride patched rubber at moderate speed under emergency conditions and promptly replace at first opportunity.

Good Tires/Tyres and tubes are your friend - there's very little room for error with only two wheels.

 

[miro13car]

TMaster
you defnitely should be worried if you reach 40mph speeds
Replace tire do not even think about repairing it!!!
just imagine blow up inner tube at 40mph