Male-Pattern Baldness

So after 1220 miles, the rear tire on The Stig was starting to look a little thin on top.

The rear tires on bikes tend to burn through much quicker than the fronts, thanks to all the pedalling forces going through them.

Though the knobs down the middle no longer exist, you might well note that there's still some tread rubber left, and point out that I've simply created a semi-slick tire here. This is true, and I probably could have squeezed a few hundred more miles out of it, but rear tires also tend to suffer from a lot more punctures than their front-end brethren.

This one, for example, was actively seeping sealant, as was the one pictured below, along with perhaps another half dozen or so around the tire.

The sealant does do a pretty good job of keeping the air in, but the two issues taken together: the worn of knobs and the pinhole leaks, were enough for me to send this tire to the trash bin.

Here's its replacement, for comparison.

It looks quite a bit fresher.

Also, the front tire, with the same 1220 miles on it.

Now to be fair, the front tire has a different tread pattern with larger, taller knobs, so it would likely wear slower even if it were on the rear, but it certainly wouldn't look this fresh if it was riding on the back all this time.

In fact, on my road bikes where I run the same tire front and rear, I'll usually move the front tire to the rear when the rear wears out, so that I can actually wear it out before it succumbs to too many cuts and pinholes. Just a little life hack.