Hey everyone,
I got a flat today after running over what felt like a hundred pieces of glass. I was descending at quite a fast speed and didn’t have a chance to avoid them safely. I've attached a couple of images showing where one of the shards went through the tyre and punctured the tube.
The tyre is quite new — only a few weeks old with around 700 km on it (28' Pirelli P7 Sport).
Now I’m wondering:
Is it safe to just replace the inner tube and keep using the same outer tyre? Or should I replace both to be safe?
Appreciate any advice, especially if you’ve had a similar experience!
by DeepDiveIntoJupiter
3 Comments
A tire with a gash like this is not going to be as safe as one without one. No way around it. How much less safe, we have no way of knowing and can only speculate. It could be fine for remainder of service life or it could fail catastrophically at a bad time and kill or cripple you. If safety is your primary concern and you have the means, I would replace it and move on.
Would you do a bike ride if your knee was in pain? No obviously not, so why even think about risking life and limbs for a new tire/tube combo, around 30-50 euro/$. When a tire wall breaks, all air goes out immediately and the tube and tire will crumble and likely send you flying off the bike. Happened to me, 2 cracked ribs and 5 days at the hospital.
I would definitely replace that tire. That’s a big cut.