Preventing Flats
How to prevent punctures
A few habits go a long way toward avoiding flats. In order of greatest impact, here are common ways of avoiding flats: Choose a tire with good puncture protection. A quality tire with a puncture protection belt under the tread is your single best defense. Flatless Schwalbe Tires provide the best protection from tube punctures Keep the pressure correct. Riding underinflated substantially increasesFew readersPuncture protection levels explained
Schwalbe tires use several different puncture protection technologies, each suited to a different balance of weight, cost, and protection. In general, more protection means more weight and a bit more rolling resistance, so the right choice depends on whether you're prioritizing speed or peace of mind. Here's what's under the tread on different tire lines: Schwalbe Puncture Protection Ratings City and Tour Tires *Only tires with SMARTGUARD® and SMART DUALGUARDPopularTire sealants: how they work and when to use them
There are two basic types of puncture-sealing liquid for tubes and tires: Fiber/particle-based sealants work purely mechanically — small fibers or particles in the liquid physically plug a hole. They can stay effective in the tube indefinitely, but the plug isn't a permanent repair; it can work its way loose later, for example the next time the tire is inflated. Latex-based sealants cure inside the puncture to form a lasting repair. The tradeoff is that latex sealant only stays liquidFew readers
Tire Wear & Replacement
When is a tire worn out?
When the puncture protection belt or the carcass threads can be seen through the tread the tire has reached its wear limit and must be replaced. As puncture resistance also depends on the thickness of the tread layer, it may be useful to replace the tire sooner. The sidewalls of tires often fail before the tread is worn out. In most cases, this premature wear is due to prolonged use of the tire with insufficient pressure. Checking and re-pumping the inflation pressure at least once a month withPopularWhy are the tires on my 3 wheeled trike wearing out so fast?
Recumbent cyclists and Trike users have three wheels contacting the ground. Unlike a bicycle with two wheels, the presence of a third contact point largely restricts any tilting during riding, and as such, wear can be concentrated on the top of the tire. The two most common causes of expedited tire wear on three wheeled mobiles is misalignment or over-inflation. Correct alignment of a trike should be completed by a experienced mechanic. Brand new trikes often require alignment before ridinFew readersHow long should tires last?
It's hard to give a precise number, since mileage depends heavily on factors such as tire pressure, load on tires, road surface, temperature, and riding style. A tire ridden hard, loaded heavily, and used on rough pavement in hot weather will wear out much faster than the same tire ridden gently. As a rough guide: Standard Schwalbe touring tires: roughly 1,200-3,100 miles (2,000-5,000 km) Marathon-family touring tires: roughly 3,700-7,500 miles (6,000-12,000 km) Lighter Marathon Racer / MFew readersSidewall cracks: pressure vs. aging
Sidewalls often fail before the tread wears out, and the cause usually falls into one of two categories that can look similar but come from different problems. Fatigue cracks come from riding at too low a pressure for too long. You'll typically see a few larger cracks concentrated in the upper part of the sidewall. Underinflated tires have to flex more to support the same load, and that repeated flexing eventually tears the rubber. Other telltale signs of chronic underinflation include abnoFew readersHow long can tires be stored?
Schwalbe tires can generally be stored for up to 5 years without issue. Store them somewhere cool, dry, and — importantly — dark, since UV light accelerates rubber aging. Under good storage conditions, tires can often last even longer than that. If a tire is mounted on a wheel and the bike itself is being stored, keep the tire inflated, or hang the bike up so the tires aren't bearing weight. A bike left standing on flat or nearly flat tires for an extended period can damage the sidewalls,Few readers