tire wear

[nvbird]

I am getting ready for a ride from Carson City to Redding Ca. and noticed some finiite crack lines in my front tire side walls ( metzler 330 tires.) Is this something I should be concerned about or am I just nervious. They have about 2800 miles on them so far. What do you think in your infinite wisedom. Thanks Russ :dunno

[lorazepam]

How old are the tires? That would be the critical issue vs milage. If the rubber is degrading, you could have a sidewall failure, and that could lead to really really bad things.

[James.A]

Your tires are your life.

[Bigrider]

Agree with Lorazepam, tire age can be as important as tire milage. If the rubber is hard, may be time to change.

Dave H

[username]

when in doubt, swap em out.

same as when youre not sure if you need fresh underwear or not... :D

[nvbird]

The tires are about 1 1/2 years old.

[Burnszilla]

My front 330 has finite cracks in it too. The 550 rear is down to the wear marks and that's only after 3500 miles. I'm never buying Metzlers again.
I'm gettin Michelin Macadams installed tomorrow.

[lorazepam]

good luck with the Macadams, I found them to be tie biggest POS tires I have ever been on, I would run cheng shins before putting on Macadams.

[dlearl476]

Originally posted by lorazepam
good luck with the Macadams, I found them to be tie biggest POS tires I have ever been on, I would run cheng shins before putting on Macadams.

And I feel the same way about Metzelers. No, a little different. I would rather WALK than ride a bike with 33-330 550-880s on it.:)

[nvbird]

OK, so I am hearing the goods and bads about a few different tires. Can you guys give me some options for what brand and model of tire is good for a 93 r100r? Much appreciated. :idea

[YB in IN]

Originally posted by lorazepam
good luck with the Macadams, I found them to be tie biggest POS tires I have ever been on, I would run cheng shins before putting on Macadams.

Really? I've had some good luck with Mac 50s. What are your complaints?

[lorazepam]

madadam 90's were awful, they wandered everywhere and I felt like I couldnt corner worth a crap. I had them on for 1k to let them scuff in good, and see if they improved at all. They never were very confidence inspiring. I guess 3 year old tires on a brand new bike will do that, or they just didnt fit my riding style.

[Braddog]

As I've posted in other threads, I've got a Metzler ME88 on the rear and a ME880 on the front. They work great on my bike, a '77 R100RS. While I don't consider my riding style "spirited", I do say that I like to take corners and curves as fast as the next guy.

Right now, I've got around 4000 miles on this set, and they're fine. I run around 34-35 lbs. of pressure, and no issues at all.

Another tire that's got a good history is the Dunlop K491 Elite II's, if you can find them. That's what I have on my Honda, and I like them.

Aren't there other Michelin's than Macadam's that work well on airheads? :dunno

[James.A]

FIB has the Dunlop 491's, and my other bike, the dirtycycle, has Metzlers. I have no complaints about either set of tires. The Dunlops have a kazillion miles on them and are holding up nicely. The Metzlers are better in the rain.

[nvbird]

Thanks for the replies, I really like the way the Metzlers made the bike handle, but disappointed in the amount of wear for the short amount of miles. I agree that the cracks are a bad sign and need to be changed out. I surely don't want a tire failure at high speed. :eek