Cracked tire - what could be the cause?

[Ugo51]

Hi,

I noticed the front tire (Panaracer Pasela with barely 300miles) has cracked.
What could cause a tire to crack so extensively?

 

[Bobmac892]

Looks to me like someone's taken a slash at your tyre in the passing and just hasn't hit it hard enough to burst it. Parked your bike anywhere public before noticing it?

 

[Ian Raleigh]

Have you taken the tyre off and looked inside to see if the casing is fractured ?

 

[Ugo51]

Have you taken the tyre off and looked inside to see if the casing is fractured ?

I haven't yet.
I bought a new tire, and I will inspect the cracked one once I have the new one to install.

 

[Ian Raleigh]

I bought a new tire, and I will inspect the cracked one once I have the new one to install.

Possibly causes: Tyre inflated to high. Pothole/kerb edge bash. Manufacturing fault.

 

[Ugo51]

Re:

I normally inflate the tire at 6bar.
But I am using the pump of the local bike shop, which might not be the most accurate.
I would have thought that a tire can withstand pressures much higher than that, but you have a point, it might have been too hard.

 

[Ian Raleigh]

I inflate my HP's to 100psi on most of my bikes, one Michelin Dynamic gave up and split on the sidewall, bike shop tried to pull the wool over my eyes saying I'd over inflated the tyre, but told them I'd not and they gave me a replacement, the old tyre was checked and was found the casing was at fault.

There's also been reports of Vittoria Rubino tyres failing, tread being ripped apart, again it was faulty casing.

 

[Spear45]

I agree with earlier post, stanley knife across the tire. Some one does not like cyclists in your area.

 

[Ian Raleigh]

I agree with earlier post, stanley knife across the tire. Some one does not like cyclists in your area.

If you are able to zoom in on the picture you'll see there's zig zaging of the crack, towards the middle ?

If anyone had used a sharp knife they'd have cut clean into it with a dead straight line, but I suppose some shit could have tried to knife it but I doubt it.

 

[Ugo51]

I agree.
It doens't look like a knife cut. It really looks like the tire has craked, as if it was brittle, for lack of a better word.

It might just be a manufacturing fault. I'm new to road biking and I've only had one set of tires before this one, and they also were Panaracer Pasela. Now I chose a different tire to replace the craked one, which will offer some perspective on how different tires feel (and last).