Tire sidewall separation - normal or dangerous?

Question

It appears the sidewall on one of my tires is starting to separate. It's a Bontrager Race Lite 700x23c with only 1000 miles on it (original equipment on my Trek Pilot 5.0). I've kept it at 100 psi as indicated on the sidewall.

Please see the photo here: http://drop.io/tirewall

Is my tire kaput, or is this nothing to worry about?

Answer 1

Kaput - had a similar issue, resulted in a blowout on a hot day (thankfully wasn't going too fast).  Not worth risking you or the bike. Sorry :-(

Answer 2

if your tire is starting to separate at 1000 miles it is best to replace both tires with better tires so it does not happen with the new tire try a more expensive tire  

Answer 3

The tire is toast.  Time for a new one.  Looks like a blow out waiting to happen.  Personally, I wouldn't ride the bike until I replaced the tire.  A blowout is never fun especially when heading into a turn at the end of a long downhill.

BTW - 1000 miles on a tire is not too bad.  The picture looks like you hit something that cut the tire.  Not too much you can do about that.

Hope this helps.