I am wondering weather or not to change out my tires this winter when I am not using my bike (I live in canada so it is harmful to the bike if you ride it since the roads ore heavily salted). In terms of terrain, I live in quebec near Ottawa so for locals who are heavy bikers, I am all ears.
If youâre running Rekons every 4-6 weeks, joking (sort of). but Iâm not sure I understand the question, change tires as needed.
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I change mine if theyâre worn out and tread is too worn down, or if thereâs a hole in them, or if I just want to try something new.
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Iâm a bit unsure what you are asking: are you concerned your tires will be damaged in storage? Or are they worn (which doesnât have anything to do with winter)?
I learnt this the hard way last winter when I lived in Austria: the salt rusted the clutch of my XTR rear derailleur in place. I had to âdowngradeâ to XT #firstworldproblems
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Sorry, what i was trying to say was:
In my region we get a lot of snow, so the roads are heavily salted. Because of this i canât ride my bike since the salt will rist the metal and the cold outdoors and warm garage will cause warping.
In other words, my bike will be stored i our basement all winter and i am wondering if i should take that oportunity to swich out the tires for spring. I am asking what to do since i donât want to spend money where i donât need to. the description of my tires condition is in my first post.
Can you elaborate on this? Iâve never heard of this concern before. Iâve lived and ridden year-round in some snowy and salt-heavy environs and have definitely seen some salt-related surface corrosion, but never experienced nor heard of temperature-related warping.
If moisture gets between components and freezes, there is a slim chance it could deform the metal (same proscess that causes potholes). It may not be common, but i have hear of a few counts of this happening on some friends fat-bikes.
Ah, I thought you were simply referring to warping caused by temperature changes, not the inclusion of water.
I donât see itâŚ
I donât think this question is specific to winter storage. Do you need new tires? Are they worn? After the last season of riding was there something tire related that youâd like to change for next season? If yes for any then consider swapping your tires. Itâs a good time if only because lots of places run sales over the winter (off season, black friday, christmas, etc).
The only tire related service you need to worry about over the winter is making sure your sealant is topped up after months of not riding.
Scealent top up, noted.
Youâre right in that it isnât a winter storage specific question, i was simply adding context.
I beleive my rear tire is a super ground racing ralph from Shwalbe and my front a super race racing ray also from Shwalbe. My front tire looks in great condition, but my rear looks very worn to me. I am no expert in the matter and can post images of my tires tonight.
I didnât feel any issues tire related, but on another bike of ours the tires definetly need to be replaced.
I am wondering if i should swich my tires at the same time.
The mater of the other bike is settled so i didnât mention it previously.
Yeah itâs not uncommon (itâs actually expected) that the rear tire needs to be replaced before the front. You can usually go through 2-3 rear tires for every front.
Different tires have different methods for measuring wear and sometimes you donât realize just how worn it is until you look at a new tire and realize how big the center knobs used to be.
As for switching at the same time, it really doesnât matter. But sometimes itâs nice to just get it all out of the way at the same time. At minimum, buying multiple tires might save you on some shipping costs. But the winter when youâre not riding your bike is always a good time to go through it and replace worn out parts and tune it up nice so that you can start in the spring on the fresh bike.
If you havenât, some other things to check might be your cables and housings, hydraulic brake fluid, brake pads, rotors, suspension service, new grips, etc.
My racing ralph is more worn than that and its only 3 months old. The marks on the knobs are not visible at all. No plans to change it until the carcass makes contact with the road.
Also, I wouldnât change tires on a bike that will be in storage in cold weather. If you find a deal (season is coming) get the tire you are looking for and install when you are ready to ride.
But there is plenty of life on that tire IMO. That or I am too cheap.
@Nathan09
All of your tires with the exception of the Racing Ray are toast. You could re-use the Racing Ray for a bit, the picture was from the top so I donât know how long the knobs are. But Iâd order a replacement for that, too.
I donât get that: your tires are the most important thing out on the trails and in such a deteriorated state you have substantially less grip. This isnât just a fun issue either, it is a safety issue. Note that the compound also changes as knobs wear, so it isnât just the lack of knobs that gives you less traction, it is the less grippy compound that is in contact, too.
IMHO you are âsaving moneyâ in the wrong place (a case of âPenny wise, pound foolish.â).
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Thank you, I will swich out the tires.
In the case of the Racing Rays, there is a top photo and a side photo underneath. they are labled as âMy frontâ.
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We tend to store our bikes inside our furnace room. In other words, they are in a temperature controled environement all winter.
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I agree with others. Replace all of them (except that racing ray) but maybe wait a bit to find good sales and thereâs no reason to replace them if youâre not going to ride them for several months. Maybe wait till a couple weeks before you intend to ride in the spring.
I bet youâre gonna be shocked when you get the new tires in hand just how big the knobs are compared to your worn ones.
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Thank you all for helping me figure out what to do.
If any of you have tips to make the tire changing process easier, I would love to hear them since this will be my first time changing my own tires.
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Are they tubeless?
The biggest tip is, if itâs hard to get the tire on or off, make sure that the whole bead is in the center channel of the wheel. This gives you more âslackâ to work with.
Tires with tubes are easier than tubeless to DIY change.
yes they are tubeless.
good to know, thanks.