Tire are expensive and even good tires fail. I am a big fan of Conti 4000s and now the sII even though people seem to have problems with the sidewalls tearing. I have put thousands of miles on both the s and sII, in many different conditions and surface types and have had very few issues. That being said, I recently got a flat with a nice sidewall gash, likely from a sharp stone or glass. I originally tried to fix it using a tube patch but after a few hundred miles, the tube was still trying to push through the hole at 90 PSI. So I could fix it more better or trash the tire. Considering this tread probably has 1500 miles left,trashing it is not an option. I could use a tire boot, which has worked fine in the past, but given the size of this gash and it being on the tire wall, I may be able to feel the tire boot under the tire whilst riding, which would be annoying. In any case, time for a longer term solution by stitching it.
Stitched using heavy duty thread with knot on the outside as to not cause an issue with the tube on the inside
Tire patch on on side just to help hold everything together and protect the tibe from the stitches
Mounted at 90 PSI. Very small bit of bulging in the area but much better than the tube sticking through. 1500 more miles pls. The rip started to go into the tread, so we will see what happens.
Stitched using heavy duty thread with knot on the outside as to not cause an issue with the tube on the inside
Tire patch on on side just to help hold everything together and protect the tibe from the stitches
Mounted at 90 PSI. Very small bit of bulging in the area but much better than the tube sticking through. 1500 more miles pls. The rip started to go into the tread, so we will see what happens.
