As documented in my post on Jan 27th, I added a full wack of sealant to my front 25mm Conti GP5k TLs, which was only ~ 600 miles ago, as I now have a dog, and have spent early mornings out walking her instead of riding, but still, these tires were put on almost 18 months ago, so they have a LOT of miles on them.
I was out riding when I noticed a bubble in my sidewall, which seriously pissed me off because I didn't realize how old the tires were. When I was taking this pic with my phone I thought to check the wear dimples. GONE! Still, it's worth mentioning here that this is the death I expect from any Conti tire, as sidewalls are Conti's perpetual weakness. Not sure why. They seem to have an institutional blind-spot about the importance, or perhaps, the performance of their sidewalls.
That said, after all the glass and thorns and goat-heads, it was nice to FINALLY wear out a front tire. (I wore out a back 28mm in 2019. I never did a thing to it except air it up before rides. I just rode it and rode it and rode it until it had a fat chicken-strip down the middle and the wear dimples were gone. Sweet!) I did cut my ride short by 5mi just to be on the safe side, and I am surprised the sidewall seems to have a separate rubber liner that almost looks like an inner-tube here.
This is the front wheel with a big ding in the brake-track I got from hitting a rock in the far edge of a pothole and therefore, didn't want to put a new tire on it. The thing is, I just HATE radially laced wheels now, or maybe it's just that custom, hand-built wheels are so much better, but after trying to ride the OEM wheels on my Pinarello I shrugged and went back to my Chris King R45 + Easton + DT Swiss Aerolite with 2X cross spoking as the effect on braking was minimal except at very low speeds, when it pulses a bit.
I've put another Conti GP5k TL 25mm on the wheel and am looking forward to riding again in the mornings now that temps are not melting the asphalt mid-day anymore. Anyone want to walk my dog for me? She's a real sweetheart and fast as a blur when off-leash!
Here's a pic showing the sidewall failure
