Thread unravelling on the side wall of my tyre.

[night cycler]

As I was cleaning the bike, I noticed a length of cotton type thread about 40cm long dangling from the side of my tyre. I took hold of the thread and it began to unravel further.

I snipped the thread off with a sharp craft knife, and decided it would be best to put some glue over the area to halt the unravelling. I then noticed 2 or 3 more areas around the side of the tyre where the unravelling was also happening. I put some rubber glue on each area hoping to "stop" and prevent any more unravelling.

The tyre is the original from when the bike was new 19 months ago, and it has done 2300 miles.

I have never experienced this before on a tyre, but maybe I've been fortunate. Or, is it something that others on here have experienced ?

 

[fossyant]

It does happen. Unless it gets real bad just do what you've been doing. Depends on tyre construction. I found Continentals did this.

 

[Ian H]

Probably nothing to worry about, but do check that your brake blocks (if you have rim brakes) are not set too high, catching the sidewall (with some brakes the blocks effectively move up the rim as they wear).

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Let me guess. It is a Continental tyre?

 

[night cycler]

Yes, I can confirm that they are Continental tyres on the bike.

 

[robjh]

I've had this on gatorskins, which are made by.......

Continental.

It's never indicated a real problem so far. I retire the tyres for general wear and tear long before the occasional loose thread can get out of hand. Just snip the end off and carry on as normal.

 

[night cycler]

The point made by Ian H is also worth noting.

What Ian describes relates to the tapered shape of some brake blocks. The surface of the block that contacts the rim is narrower than the back of the block. As the block wears, the surface that contacts the rim becomes naturally wider.

This is also the shape of my Salmon Koolstop blocks. I may have neglected my inspections recently. I will lower mine a tad, as they do seem to have become a bit tool close to the tyre when the brakes are applied.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

OK, that makes sense. It is a feature, not a defect. It is there to floss the brake shoes. As Rob says above just pull it off and ride.

 

[Salty seadog]

It does happen. Unless it gets real bad just do what you've been doing. Depends on tyre construction. I found Continentals did this.

@night cycler I get this on the front tyre on the disc braked Montpellier. Front and rear are both gatorskins. It has never worried me, I just pull it off and carry on. If it was a major issue or dangerous I'm sure it would be dealt with.

 

[Sea of vapours]

I get this to a small extent - 1 to 3 strands or thereabouts - on my Hutchinson tyres, typically after about 4-5,000km. I just trim it close with scissors and the tyres are fine to 8-10,000km. On mine, it's nothing to do with brake pads as they're disc brakes.