Budget tyres any to avoid?

[M'coli]

I think what you're meant to do when the fronts wear out is to stick the new ones on the back, and the back ones on the front.

[CreepingJesus]

^That would make sense. Given that the Michelins on the back of the Meg are worrying me, due to how old they look, maybe I should do so. Anybody rotate their tyres? I remember being taught about this as a yoof, by some old giffer.

Anyone mentioned Gislaved yet? It occurred to me earlier that I haven't seen them in a while.

[Des]

What's the deal with bicycle tyres sizewise, I need to get 3 for a trike and the existing ones are marked 20 X 1.75, the wheel rim is marked 16, tape measure across the rim and I get 16'', outside diameter of the tyre is 20'', so are bike tyres measured differently from car tyres? I'm going to have to go to a bike shop (if I can fuggin find one these days) looking like some twat with a wheel under my arm.

In return for an answer to my predicament I offer my guide to changing tyres.

In the past I always repaired my own punctures, if the cars got inner tubes it's easy, skinny valve stem poking out a hole = tube, fat valve flanged at base because it fits the hole like a grommet = tubeless. First mark the tyre where the valve is, it's good to replace in original position for balance, unscrew the valve core, now, the tyre bead inner bit is a really tight fit on the rim and needs 'breaking' (pushing / forcing inward toward rim centre) I've always managed this by putting the wheel under a car, (Landrover is GR9 for this) and jacking up the car on tyres sidewall, scissor jacks are good, their bases usually shaped nicely for getting right up close to the rim, sometimes have to go around the tyre a couple of times or so, flip the wheel and repeat, now stand in one spot on the sidewall, we need the bead pushed into the 'well' in the rim centre, (this well is usually offset so the tyre has to come off over outer face of rim) and stick a tyre lever / big screwdriver / kango bit or whatever in and ease that bugger over, it's hardish work and requires care so as not to gouge out lumps of rubber, 2 or 3 levers should do it. As with any enjoyable pastime inducive to breaking a sweat, lubrication is highly beneficial, wd40, spit, piss, even better brake cleaner or sprit wipe, anything that won't harm rubber (or evaporates before it can). Same story with the second bead if the tyre's to be completely removed, flip again and this time lever the rim from the tyre. Refitting is straightforward, if you can get a tyre off you can get one on, but you need to get the beads fully back home on the rim, with tubes you just inflate to buggery until they pop into place, (mind your fingers) tubeless are catch 22ish, need to be airtight to get seated, but not airtight until they're seated. If you have a compressor to hand then a strong blast before the valvecore is replaced will do it. If you employ the industry standard squeaky screeching piece of shit footpump which you daren't allow to fully extend lest it jam and twist sending you arse over tit, then we have to tourniquet the tyre to gain the full benefit of those frantic half pumps. If you're blessed with girth / fat bastard, take off your belt and fasten it tightly around the centre of the tyre thread as if to give it a waist, (you'll have to do this with one hand as hopefully your other hand is now holding up your keks). This entices the beads toward sealing with the rim, a ratchet strap is perfect for this, rope will work, as will 4 pairs of hands all peripherally pushing like some pervy pre-dogging Ouija board session. Again, lubrication helps, tyre joints use a specific soap, don't use washing up liquid as it's minging with salt. Out of interest, I've replaced a buckled rim and mainained perfect balance by marking the valve and lead weight positions on the tyre, and transferring positions to the new rim. Once you've changed a tyre with your bare hands, you are a man, and fully entitled to berate any sissy boy on a hard shoulder waiting for the arrival of the AA man to fit his spare, those guys should be made to wear frilly pink dresses.

[M'coli]

^^^Yup, they are. Here's a link to the CTC's page about bike wheels and tyres:

http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3802

And also to Wikipedia's page on the ISO standard for bike tyres:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_5775

[chaseracer]

Given that the Blingo's FWD, I'd rather have the new tyres on the end that does the work, leaving the older pair to keep the back bumper from scraping the deck.

[CIH]

What's the deal with bicycle tyres sizewise, I need to get 3 for a trike and the existing ones are marked 20 X 1.75, the wheel rim is marked 16, tape measure across the rim and I get 16'', outside diameter of the tyre is 20'', so are bike tyres measured differently from car tyres? I'm going to have to go to a bike shop (if I can fuggin find one these days) looking like some twat with a wheel under my arm.

 

20x .1.75 is all you need to know, and yeah they're measured differently.

 

Given that the Blingo's FWD, I'd rather have the new tyres on the end that does the work, leaving the older pair to keep the back bumper from scraping the deck.

 

Doesn't make much of a diference either way. We actually avoid rotating tyres on speedy stuff as it can upset the car

[Des]

Thanks, now I know what to order, I was convinced the existing tyres were wrongly marked, rim says 16'', tape measure says 16'', that's two against one. Tyres aren't the only thing done pervy on a pushbike, they like to mix the screw threads around, a bit like BL used to. There's lots of regular metric nuts and bolts, I need to replace a missing front wheelnut, it looks very like UNF but it's not. I try a fine metric, no dice. I rummage through boxes and tins of all manner of stuff, Whitworth, BSF, pipe threads, crap going back a century nothing. Bike shop for me.

[CIH]

...........I was convinced the existing tyres were wrongly marked, rim says 16'', tape measure says 16'', that's two against one. Tyres aren't the only thing done pervy on a pushbike.....

 

That adn't occured to me TBH but I doubt they'd manage it.

[boobydoo]

I just had to fork out for four new tyres on the Chrysler 2-Litre. The OSF was punctured anyway and they all had cracking on the sidewalls as they were the originals from 30 years ago.

 

I plumped for Marshal KR11's at £200 the set, fitted at 'Just Tyres'..they have to order them in cos they dont stock them normally. Don't know if they're any good..never heard of the brand before.

 

The old giffer on the till was a bit of a character really...effin' this , effin' that...effin' computers...kept calling my car a Velox. Spoke to some customer on the phone, then called her a 'silly cow' cos she didn't know their location.

 

All this in front of the 4ft high 'Just Tyres Customer Satisfaction Charter'. Made me smile.

[Richard]

Marshalls used to have exactly the same tread pattern as Stomils, and another brand I can't remember. I always assumed they were the same tyres but they might not have been.

[worldofceri]

Bump for a real thread.

 

Been meaning to post these pictures for a while. This is the remains of my osr tyre after it blew out at, erm, 'high speed' on the M40 a few weeks ago. Luckily it was the middle of the night, and dry, so the slight fishtail it induced - though pant wettingly scary - didn't cause a pile-up.

 

The brand is 'Kenda' and although they were getting low on tread, they were perfectly legal. The tread wear was even and there was no damage to the sidewall that I could see. They were correctly inflated too.

 

 

 

 

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

bloody hell! Why not give Trading Standards a call?

[worldofceri]

They were on the car when I bought it so I don't know where they came from. And they were pretty well worn. I can't imagine Trading Standards would be very interested unless they were newish tyres.

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

maybe just a case of having been standing for too long, then...

[barefoot]

Isn't there a date on tyres now?

 

so you could perhaps see how old it is

[worldofceri]

I think I checked the date code and they were only 3 or 4 years old. They're long gone now so I can't have another look.

[gtd2000]

Any tyre could look like this after a high speed blow out.

 

The rim of the wheel has simply destroyed the tyre....no?

[forddeliveryboy]

All of 'em. Your life in their hands. Michelin's cheaper brand is BFGoodridge I think, they're not bad.

[barefoot]

BF stands for Benjamin Franklin...

 

if you care

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

I'm pretty sure BF Goodrich mostly make tyres for 4x4s- I know that's about 60% of post-2005 cars, but not really relevant to most shiteists.

 

Admiral, however, despite the ridiculous name (let's make your car handle like a boat!), is the "alternative" and possibly cheaper nameplate of Hankook, which is a first-rate tyremaker nowadays.

[Lankytim]

I recon that blowout could have been caused by some foreign object damage*, the rest of the damage being caused by the deflated tyre running on the rim. You'll just never know!

 

*Baguette, Ikea furniture e.t.c.

[andrew e]

BFG's have flame moulded into the rubber, but they come pretty much all sizes - there my tyre fitters prefered brand.

[Tayne]

.

[BillyBedford]

I once fitted a pair of Firestones to my 2CV in the 125 width flavour. They wore out in months! I even moved them to the back in a desperate attempt to get more life out of them (Michelines tend to last a good 80,000 miles and often fall apart before wearing out on the rear) and still don't think I got a year out of them. I do drive the 2CV in a ridiculous manner, but that was still quite poor. Mind you, the Toyos that are on it now are only a couple of years old and the edges are getting low. Maybe I should corner more slowly...

 

You should have upgraded to 135x15 Firestones....even better grip......even quicker wear.

I agree michelins do last forever but also enable you to get a 4 wheel drift in a 2cv.......on a damp road of course.

Does anyone drive 2cv's normally..

Can you still buy Conway remoulds Had a set of 205/50/15's on the Penta alloys on a W123 230E many moons ago. Grip was optional in the wet

[gtd2000]

The Sunfils that I had on my old Coupe were great tyres:

 

 

Wheels & Tyres (brand new) from eBay cost 310 quid with postage - including the extra tenner for nice new shiny wheel nuts!

[worldofceri]

The rim of the wheel has simply destroyed the tyre....no?

I recon that blowout could have been caused by some foreign object damage*, the rest of the damage being caused by the deflated tyre running on the rim.

Yep. The rim chopped the tyre completely in two.

[Angrydicky]

I've just had the ancient Colway remold on the back of my Landcrab replaced with a brand new FALCON, alas they didn't have any Stomils. I now have three Falcons and a Firestone.

[Parky]

Probably mentioned before but Wanli's are utter shite. Brother in law bought a three year old Audi A3 super mega turbo 4wd OMG for serious coin. The previous caring owner who "spared no expense" had replaced the original tyres with Wanli. Thank christ for the 4wd as that thing slid a lot. (couldnt think of better metaphor, tired. Something about a greased teflon Pig on ice? I dunno)

 

Mrs P's Mini had three decent looking Goodyears and a Wanli on it. Got rid of that pronto, then realised the rears were cracking very badly. Changed them too which was a good idea as the sidewalls collapsed inside the tread when being removed. Date of manufacture? September 2001, totally perished. Bridgestones up front and Dunlops at the back now

 

Generally dont muck about with tyres and brakes (wife and kids worth the extra coin) but if I was running a shiter (which I'm sadly not at present) I'd be happy with Barum or Ceat, the budget brands from Continental and Pirelli. Remember too that mid range cars 15 years ago had much smaller wheels so if you have 165's or 175's on 13 or 14 inch rimz, there are some decent online bargains out there.

 

And the idea of getting unused spares from scrappies quoted earlier is an excellent one, but check the tyre manufacture date!

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

On the subject of unused spares, I'm pleased to report that, despite its age, the Accord's spare behaves just like a bona fide new tyre.