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Dark side question

894 views 8 replies 8 participants last post by  wren 
#1 ·
Before going "darkside" I read where folks were getting 30,000+ miles on their General Altimax tires. I have 15,000 miles on mine and they are down to the wear bars in the middle of the tire with lots of tread left on the outsides. I'm running between 42 and 45 PSI per recommendations from forum members and am looking for any ideas you guys might have. Maybe I should try the Michelins next?
 
#5 ·
Answered your PM. Yeah- too much air. 38# here, maybe less for some. Different road surfaces, rough limestone asphalt as opposed to smoother concrete?
 
#6 ·
I run 38 psi (cold) in mine. I have bags and often ride 2-up. I've got over 19K on my Altimax now, and it's still got plenty of life left.
Another factor could be balance. I have Dynabeads (actually I used 3oz of the plastic Air-Soft BB's).
I have the FOBO Bike tire pressure monitors installed. On hot summer days, pressure increases between 4-5 psi when cruising anything over 10 miles.
Now that it's cooler, and the roads aren't as hot, the pressure increases 3-4 psi.
 
#7 ·
I've got a couple thousand miles now on a Michelin Defender. I picked this one after having bad experiences with an Altimax RT43 (205/70-15). Since you have a 16" rear wheel, you have some excellent choices with a shorter sidewall giving you more stability. But yeah, you had too much air and the wear pattern indicated it.
I'm running a 205/65-15 on my 1300. I set it up at 39 psi cold. Seems happy at that point, wear is even so far, cornering is like a normal m/c tire (or so close to it I don't feel much of a difference at this point).
I did better research this time around and found many folks liked the Michelin Defender quite a bit. One was "Wayne" out west, a longtime Darkside tester. His info is based on practical experience.
Ray offers up some good points. No 2 tires will ever be exactly the same construction so it stands to reason you have to test out different pressures to get at the one that fits you.
:patriot:
 
#9 ·
When I lived in flatland I'd get 30k or so out of a CT. Now that I live in the land of hills and curves I get about 20k. By comparison flat land I'd get 15-17k out of a MC tire and down here I'd get 8-9k so I guess the wear I get from a CT now is probably realistic.

Now, I do wear the center tread harder but I keep higher pressures due to the aggressive curving I do.

Wren
 
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