Tyres numbers in (brackets)?

[Far Canal]

Been looking at getting a new front tyre for my 79SF and it seems that its considerably cheaper to buy one online than from bikeshop.
Front tyre size for my bike is 100/90/19, however when you look at tyres that are for sale they all have another number in brackets following the tyre size, for example (57V), (57T) or (57H) etc.
Does anyone know what these numbers mean or which is the best on for this model bike?

[bikerphil]

The number is the weight code and the letter is the speed rating.

[crazy steve]

The number denotes the load-carrying rating, and the letter the speed rating. T is 112 mph I think, H is 137 (OEM rating), and V is 156 mph (I might be off a bit, but that's close). Generally speaking, the higher speed-rated tires will wear quicker but offer better traction. You don't need a V-rated tire for these....

[fredintoon]

Been looking at getting a new front tyre for my 79SF and it seems that its considerably cheaper to buy one online than from bikeshop.
Front tyre size for my bike is 100/90/19, however when you look at tyres that are for sale they all have another number in brackets following the tyre size, for example (57V), (57T) or (57H) etc.
Does anyone know what these numbers mean or which is the best on for this model bike?

Hi Brad and welcome,
now that the speed rating thing is sorted the next thing to watch for is the tyre's age because some unscrupulous sellers will try to unload unsold tyres that were made years ago and have gone all hard in storage.
There's (in North American tires anyway) an oval mark with 4 numbers in it,
first 2 are the week, second 2 are the year of manufacture so a tire marked 0412 was made in January last year and that's fine while a tire marked 0402 is 11 years old and you don't want it.

[trbig]

Good info.. but the whole time, I was simply wanting to say something about "Tyres".. lol.

[jetmechmarty]

What's a tyre?

[GLoweVA]

What's a tyre?

Marty, that's Austrailian for "Tire".
Kinda like "Fosters" is Austrailian for "Beer"

[jetmechmarty]

Marty, that's Austrailian for "Tire".
Kinda like "Fosters" is Austrailian for "Beer"

It's my day to be a smartass! Speaking of Fosters, time to get pissed?

[jayel]

It's my day to be a smartass! Speaking of Fosters, time to get pissed?

youu shouuld alsuo puut extrua U's intuo wourds

[MaximPhil]

youu shouuld alsuo puut extrua U's intuo wourds

Hi Jayel,

Phil

[fredintoon]

What's a tyre?

Hi Marty,
a posh word for clothing?

[Far Canal]

Hi Brad and welcome,
now that the speed rating thing is sorted the next thing to watch for is the tyre's age because some unscrupulous sellers will try to unload unsold tyres that were made years ago and have gone all hard in storage.
There's (in North American tires anyway) an oval mark with 4 numbers in it,
first 2 are the week, second 2 are the year of manufacture so a tire marked 0412 was made in January last year and that's fine while a tire marked 0402 is 11 years old and you don't want it.

Went and had a look at my rear tyre/tire the four numbers were 3705.
So that would indicate 2005 or close enough to 8 years old.
This begs the question "how old is too old"? The tire has pretty well full tread depth and shows no sign of cracking.

[3Phase]

Far Canal,

You're basically asking a question that can't be answered because the answer depends on what the manufacturer of the tyre/tire and any local regulations say is too old.

Based on your description I could tell you, "She'll be right, mate!"

Then you put that tyre/tire on your XS and lock the rear wheel at an intersection right in front of a live 24hr cable news crew, skid into a bus stop and mow down a group of nuns, small children, and an assortment of adorable fluffy pet animals with cute faces and large sad eyes.

.

[trbig]

As a general consensus, if I'm not mistaken, I have always heard that the tires (Tyres) have degraded considerably enough by the 5 year point that it's time to start thinking of replacement. I had a blowout one time on a perfectly good LOOKING tire.. and didn't know how old it was until after the fact. Oxygen degrades the rubber as well as UV rays.

So, just my 2 cents... I suggest you start looking for some replacement rubber, and in the mean time, don't go seeing which curves you can scrape the pegs on. Older tires get hard and don't stop, turn, flex well.

[natemoen]

A buddy of mine does a lot of car restoration and he had a 67 Galaxy that he was getting close to being done with, just the interior was left and the new rims and tires. He just had a cheap set of steel rims and whatever tires were on it. Car had never been driven on these wheels just rolled around by hand and had been sitting on a lift for months.

One morning he come into his shop and there was black crap all over the floor and when he looked at the car the right front fender was all busted up and the tire was in shreds.

Obviously it is a little extreme, but if it can happen to a "unused" tire just sitting it is even more likely to happen to a tire being used at speeds.

As with oil, When in doubt change it out! A tire is cheaper than hospital bills or your life.