Tyre life - what's wrong with this photo? ....

[2manyoranges]

When I worked for a large tyre manufacturer in the motorcycle department we would get through hundreds per week.
Most of the businesses we worked with had to pay to have theirs removed but we found a company who would take them for free and recycle them into that rubber floor stuff you get at children's playgrounds and parks. They would also do this with car tyres.

I never worked with bicycle tyres.

'user was banned for this post' - intriguing ....

 

[Totoro]

'user was banned for this post' - intriguing ....

I do need to change that signature

 

[bikeworkshop]

....nice insights and facts.

Yep quality has increased massively - I remember the early Schwalbe Marathons which threw you on the ground in the wet - it seemed enough for tyres to be black and round - now they indeed grip and protect. I am getting good mileage and use with care, and run my rear tyres off road until they look VERY SAD.

Thanks - some of those "facts" are plucked straight from the air though)
Soft, grippy, flexible rubber is likely to wear faster than that hard shiny stuff.

There's been something weird going on with tyres for quite a while.

In the far far distant mtb past (around 1992) I used to look at a rear Ground Control and see that a number of knobs were missing and the rest were worn to almost nothing, and the remainder were cracked and broken. Time for a replacement; after all, that one had done thousands of miles on the South Downs.

Fast forward to 2024 and the Grom has had a soft compound Schwalbe on the rear of his DH bike for two weeks. And there are maybe 20 missing knobs, many with significant wear, and lots of damage. OOOh says he... '...time for a new one, I can feel the wear on it as I ride....'. That's 30gbp a week. And a VERY big pile of tyres at the end of a season.

....SHRALP!! go the youngsters in the berms. RIIIIP go the cornering knobs on the tyres.

But 2many's experience of the knobs breaking off seems odd.
We don't sell that many knobblies, mostly schwalbe or conti for the deliveroo crowd,, but I don't see the knob failure happening.

I'm wondering if poor commercial storage or fakery might up the chances?

 

[LondonClassic]

Cinelli cork bar tape, still £12

And they invented it.

I think tyre quality has increased massively since we used to think a Michelin world tour was a good tyre
And the demand for light weight can mean that 1000 miles is beyond usable range!

I know. I'm moaning more about the rise of the GCN approved £40 bar tape mentality. And as I typed that I checked and the £50 bar tape barrier has been broken.

And I still think a Michelin World Tour is a good tyre BTW

 

[bikeworkshop]

I know. I'm moaning more about the rise of the GCN approved £40 bar tape mentatlity. And as I typed that I checked and the £50 bar tape barrier has been broken.

And I still think a Michelin World Tour is a good tyre BTW

Fifty pound???

Let us hark back to the cheapskate bartape of using an old innertube

Ideally with a couple of orange patches in the weave.

Cheap bar tape and tube recycling covered in one easy move

 

[LondonClassic]

Always thought this was a good way to.

 

[bikeworkshop]

View attachment 984114
Always thought this was a good way to.

We get the odd hippy wanting Tubes to knit a basket, belt or slightly irritating jewellery, and the occasional horticulturist wanting to support fruit tree saplings,
but given we produce 10kg of tubes a week, it's barely a scratch.

Atm schwalbe offer free tube recycling, as long as we pack and deliver to a collection point.
They add recycled content to many of their tyres.

 

[grantoury]

I called the lbs a week ago about the Schwalbe recycling plan, but according to them it only involved inner tubes. He also mentioned Schwalbe didn't seem very involved in it.

 

[bikeworkshop]

Schwalbe say they will do tyre recycling, but atm it's all done by Velorim in the uk.
Costs about £100 for 4 bags you can perhaps get 25 tyres in each of they aren't too huge.


Tube recycling you have to make an 18kg box and get a free label to drop off with UPS.

No Slime!

 

[grantoury]

Schwalbe say they will do tyre recycling, but atm it's all done by Velorim in the uk.
Costs about £100 for 4 bags you can perhaps get 25 tyres in each of they aren't too huge.


Tube recycling you have to make an 18kg box and get a free label to drop off with UPS.

No Slime!

Maybe it varies per country