Shall I be worried and change the tyre

I went out for a quick ride and while waiting at the traffic light I noticed this:

Shall I be concerned and change the tyres? The guy at the shop said it's not critical but I'm not sure I want to trust him straight away. What's your thought?

The tyre should be replaced simply because white tyres are pure anti.

Hehehe, come on, go an look at my bicycle... it's ALL white :D

Add some gold bits, like @Velocio

Hehehe, I was actually thinking to either red or blue, but I can slowly starting adding just black... black and white it's good.
So on a serious note, shall I change them or not?

tyre boot patch on the inside, you'll get another 2k miles out of it

just don't sue me when it fails unexpectedly and consigns your fate the the rear wheels of a tipper truck

crimes against taste must always be punished at some point, karmic balance

Can you patch it from the inside? Since it's a hole/crack you can likely get things go into the hole/crack and puncture the inner tube.

If you want to chance it, how about filling the gap with some kinda elastic glue (gorilla glue? or just epoxy/superglue? whatever) so that it stays shut...and use some puncture repair patches on the inside to hold it closed for good measure, adding a layer of resistance to anything that still goes through.

Rive_Gauche beat me to it... but fair point too - put it on the back, if it's currently a front tyre. You're maybe less likely to lose teeth when it fails.

Yes it's the front tyre. I wonder how did that happen considering my commute is almost all on a cycling superhighway. I don't mind replace them with something better though. Those are still the stock tyres which are Vittoria Zafiro Bianca 700x23 and since I was looking at the Gatorskin GP4 or Hardshell maybe it's a good time to swap. What do you think? It's more a matter of safety rather than money.

stick it on the back, all that will happen is the tyre will go flat and youre maybe a bit stranded and have to walk home.

i personally use gatorskins and slime tubes on my hack bike, as i ride on an undercliff a lot and theres flint everywhere. no flats yet. also use continental ultra sport tyres on another bike for the same run probably many hundreds of miles now and never got a flat yet with them either.

i would change the tyre but not because of that little split

Super glue it closed. It will be fine as long as it hasn't gone all the way through

@sumo I don't think it's gone all the way through to be honest so I might just go with super glue.

@Dogtemple I didn't know about slime if I knew it would have bought those the other day :( but thanks for the shout. When you say gatorskin are you referring to the hardshell or the 4 seasons? I heard the latter are way better. Why would you change the tyre then? Because the Vittoria are not good?

dunno what model they are to be honest i just grabbed a pair and slung them on. its not worth thinking too much about. they stop punctures and grip well enough. i hammer the shit out of mine and theyve proven to be good all round tyres.

i would change the tyre because of the reason already stated... theyre white//

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTMrlHHVx8A

Ok ok you guys convinced me, I'll stick on a good pair of black tyres :P

But they will look terrible on this

Black crankset already. Get black bar tape, coordinate

I wonder how did that happen considering my commute is almost all on a cycling superhighway.

Riggght.

If you ride exclusively on the blue paint, then that's why you get those shit from riding too close to the kerb.

Stay away from the kerb, even if that mean going outside the blue paint.

@pdlouche I'll get there don't worry :)

@edscoble yes pretty much all blue paint at least all the way from Canary Wharf to Tower of London, road after that. I always ride in the middle to be honest, the only kerbs I touch are the one at the crossing but it can be indeed just that. I will go with superglue for the time being and then get some Continental 4 seasons I suppose. Is that a good call or do you recommend something else in term of durability and comfort?

If it's just commuting, cheap Gatorskin should sufficient.

I was thinking about the four seasons because for £10 more than the hardshell seem to have a better ride and pretty much the same durability. I read here on the forum that hardshell are quite stiff

Better ride, yes but doesn't last as long, normal gator can sufficient.

Get the biggest you can go, 28mm even.

I've been riding this set of 28mm Gatorskins for bloody ages. Keep the pressure low and they're not that bad.

@edscoble @Pifko do you guys mean those

http://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticycle/ti%20ultra%20gatorskin.shtml

These

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Conti 4 seasons are great tyres, only get Hardshell's if you're skidding around on them