[qtip]

My wife completely surprised me on Christmas this year. She did her research and ended up ordering me a pair of Rampages. I've been able to put about 13 hours on them so far. Great rubber IMO. The tires have seen front/rear time on my 06 Rig and my Mooto-X. They didn't rub the chainstays at all at first, but last night I noticed that I was getting a bit of rub on my Rig when I was hammering. Maybe the tires have stretched a bit. Anyway, will I rub through the aluminum on my Rig? What about the Ti on my Mooto-X? Or will the rubber just wear down.

 

[sslos]

Depends, but...

Obviously, rubber will wear faster than the aluminium (I always wanted to be British or Aussie,) or ti, but eventually, it'll wear through the aluminium. Not sure about the ti.

Los

 

[PeanutButterBreath]

I would worry a little about the rubber on Ti, but more so about harder materials sticking to the tire or the stays (mud, sand etc.) and acting as a scouring agent.

I'd either shave the tire or run them front only.

 

[GrumpyOne]

Cool wife. I got a sweater from mine.

The problem is the dirt/grit/rocks that stick to the tire. Add those to a rotating tire and it will cut through just about any material. The rubber it self will not wear as fast as your chainstays (Ti or AL). Best bet is to trim the knobs or run a smaller tire.

jw

My wife completely surprised me on Christmas this year. She did her research and ended up ordering me a pair of Rampages. I've been able to put about 13 hours on them so far. Great rubber IMO. The tires have seen front/rear time on my 06 Rig and my Mooto-X. They didn't rub the chainstays at all at first, but last night I noticed that I was getting a bit of rub on my Rig when I was hammering. Maybe the tires have stretched a bit. Anyway, will I rub through the aluminum on my Rig? What about the Ti on my Mooto-X? Or will the rubber just wear down.

 

[GlowBoy]

Yep, the grit that the tire picks up will wear your chainstays badly over time. Best to trim the knobs or find a different rear tire.

 

[el-cid]

Looks like this has been answered, but I have personal experience-I have a buddy that rides an Ibis ti. Mojo that wore 30% or so through one of his chainstays with his tire picking up the abrasive soil from our area. Luckily, he was able to get it repaired by Dean and the frame's good as new now. He's running skinnier tires now too.

 

[shiggy]

The frame will suffer more than the tire. I agree with Glowboy: Trim the side knobs (it will have little affect on the cornering) or change the tire.

 

[CLONG]

For the sake of redundancy, I must say trim the tire. I wore a groove in my old kona's chainstay (7005 series 'aluminium') from a poorly specced rear tire. When the wheel was under load or even slightly out of true (and it was a crappy wheel) the tire rubbed. Eventually the groove became a hairline crack and the frame had to be replaced.