I noticed this hole when I got to work in the morning. It lets out enough air that I can hear it when I try to inflate the tire. What are my options here, aside from buying and mounting a new tire? Is this fixable with liquid sealant? A rubber rope kit?
I’m not taking this bike past 90mph, so any fix doesn’t need to be capable of withstanding incredibly high stress. But I don’t want to be unsafe, either. Thanks for the help.
My general rule with my bike… Any sign of a hole is not worth the risk. Is it fixable? Maybe? Is the risk worth the cost of replacement, for myself and my family… Absolutely not.
That said, take it to a shop and get the word from an expert. Don’t trust your life to the opinions of the Internet based off of a picture of your tire.
As someone who works in the tire industry, I’d say that tire is dead, unfortunately. I’d recommend replacing as soon as possible and not to attempt driving on it much, as you can cause unseen damage to the inside and compromise the integrity further.
Bummer. I can see why a plug wouldn’t be reliable for a gash like this, but why wouldn’t you trust a patch here?
water can get into the slice and into the layers of the tire and then start to corrode the metal cords weakening the whole thing. also hard to tell how much of the cords are damaged with a slice like that. I wonder what caused it.
I’ve been wondering about that. We have a good bit of broken glass in the alley my garage is on. That’s my best guess, but I can’t imagine what scenario could actually lead to a bit of glass gouging through that much rubber. And then for it to not be noticeable until after a 20 minute ride, and for the glass to fall out of the hole? Seems a bit implausible.
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Looks like more of a gash/tear rather then a hole. So no, that’s not fixable.
You have good answers in the thread and probably have decided on your solution. Let’s talk about the future, too.
I’ve been using mushroom style plugs for well over a decade and surely have tens of thousands of miles on plugged tires. Maybe some would consider my attitude on the subject ummm, cavalier. Every tire I’ve “repaired” in this way was a clearly screw/nail/round puncture. Yours looks scary to me. Find the budget and get a new tire.
Also get a plug kit for future just-in-case. They work, even if you don’t care to use a holed tire until the end of it’s life, a plug can get you back to a place where the tire can be replaced, just treat it like a doughnut spare for a car and go gently.
