Close encounters with curbstones are a part of trucking, especially for fleets that make deliveries in the city. Unfortunately, curbing can be devastating to tires.

Here, we deliberately ran a truck up onto a curb, then down again.

You can see the results. A big chunk has been torn away near the tire’s Defense Groove™ structure. How many times up and down the curb did it take for this to happen?
Just twice.

Of course, the tire is still usable, but its appearance has been harmed and the site of this damage will almost certainly become a “seed” for irregular wear.

How can you prevent damage like this? Better driver training can help, of course, but you can also consider tires designed for urban use, like the R250F and R260F, which have a solid shoulder design.

Both also have heavy sidewall ribs to protect sidewalls against cuts and abrasion.