How can you tell when slick tires are past their prime?

[Roberta]

Leah and I both have Gravel King Slicks on a bike and question came up:  If the tires are naturally slick, how can you tell that the life is wearing away, hopefully before they ooze out sealant or go flat on a ride?

Just in case it matters, my GK Slicks are run tubeless and hers are tubed, but it's part of a bigger question, since they cannot be the only tire without aggressive tread, and they might not get replaced with the same tire brand or model.

Roberta

[Garth]

Hi Roberta !  Most of the slick tires I've had will start to show some white threads when the rubber is gone. Some it comes quicker than others, and some only in spots while other may be long streaks. It may look like skid marks. Another way on some tires is a flat groove is worn in the center to the point it looks concave. If the tires have some kind of puncture resistance built in you may not even notice . I've worn some tires down so far they began to look like they were white striped , but never got a flat !

If you're very unfamiliar with a tire and you have a new one on hand take a good look at it in your hand formed like it's inflated, and compare it to the one on the bike. A very worn one will be notably different looking in the middle. It's really about getting to know the character of that particular tire.

Now I have some Schwalbe Marathon Racer and Big Ben tires that just seem to last and last and have yet to get to the white streak point.I've had Vittoria Hyper slicks that wore to the white so fast I thought I was seeing a mirage ! Ooops, guess not !

[Chris Fly]

Morning!

Usually on a tubed tire, you'll start getting more and more flats from things that didn't give you flats before. As was said above, you'll eventually start to see the threads of the tire as well. This actually happened to my Father-in-law yesterday as we were preparing to go for a group ride.. his tire had about a dime-size patch where the black had started to come off and, even though he pumped them up the night before, it was very soft. These tires are tubeless as well. 

I have usually replaced my tubed tires well before any threads were shown based on increased punctures. 

Chris

Sonoma County, CA

[Peter White]

Deflate the tire. Put your forefinger on one side of the tire and your thumb on the other side. Squeeze the tire and roll it between your thumb and finger. You'll be able to feel any difference in thickness between the center and the sides. A brand new tire will normally be a bit thicker in the center. As the tire wears the center becomes thinner and thinner, but the sides remain the same as new. You be the judge of when to replace a tire. Rears wear out faster than fronts. So I replace a worn rear tire with the front tire and put a new tire up front. Rear tire flats aren't usually dangerous, while a flat up front can cause you to crash.

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Peter White

[Roberta]

Thank you all. I’ll start checking my tires and noting flats. I’ve been riding many more miles since I’ve gotten Rivs than pre-Riv days. 

BTW , this came up because Leah had small Orange pinpricks all over her rear tire and sealant oozed out. We both want to catch it before this total failure stage. 

Roberta

[Christine Rose]

Hi Roberta, I also have Gravel Kings on my road bike. Easy way to tell on those tyres, they have a tiny wear indicator dot just off centre. Once that dot isn't visible anymore, they say to change them out. On my pink version you can see it's little sunken dimple plain as day. 

Christine, formerly in Denver now in Florida