The other day when coming home from a ride I unfortunately rode through a large pile of very fine glass shards. I cringed and cursed as it happened, wondering why I didn't see it in advance.

As I was very close to home I kept going and inspected my tyres upon my arrival at home.

There are about three very small nicks in the rubber on each tyre.

I went for a short ride this morning and no flats but I'm still really worried and wondering if the small nicks might contribute to a flat in the future?

I have a triathlon next Sunday and am wondering if I should replace the tyres before then.

I have heard mixed things when it comes to nicks in the tyres, so I'm not sure what I should do.

If you want to feel a little safer, you might want to at least check the inside surface of the tyre. Partly remove the tyre as if you were changing a flat, then carefully check the surface of the tyre itself. Feel it with your fingers for anything sharp or any other imperfections that might impact on the tube. The tube is really sensitive when it's pumped up over 100psi so the slightest imperfection in the tyre's inner surface can be a cause for abrasion and/or a puncture. If you do find something, check the tube itself right under than spot and see how it's travelling.

One easy remedy (rather than replacing a tyre) is to put a powerbar wrapper between the tyre and tube - alternatively, a folded $5 note is an old cyclist's trick and is another reason (apart from coffee) to take money with you on a ride.

having said that, most tyres usually have a few little nicks in them and provided they're just superficial they can still have a few thousand kms left in them.

If you're really worried about it, put some new tyres on for the race, then take them back off and keep riding your nicked ones normally. I've got about 7 quite large nicks in my tyres and they tend to pick up small bits of gravel and glass, so I have to clean them out after bad weather (when glass is prevalent), but I have not had a major run of punctures. (Let's hope I didn't just incur the wrath of the puncture deities.) Nicks are generally nothing to worry about unless the fibres on the inside of the tyre are cut and showing.

I suggest getting a set of race only tyres. All that training will just be wasted if you get a flat. Something like the michelin pro race 2 is the goods. For training tyres, the best by far that I have found are Continental Four Seasons. I have 7000kms on my now rear (was front but cut rear on some metal) and it looks like new. Conti Gator Skins are also good but wear faster than the Four Seasons. Probikekit has them for a nice price.

Throwing beer bottles from car windows seems to be a national pass time.

In the past for piece of mind I have:

1. let the pressure down, and squeeze each tire going around and checking that the nicks don't have any shards left in them to peirce the casing (the tightly woven lining between the rubber and tube) if any shards are there get them out gently with tweezers or something. This is good to do after every ride as sometimes it can be stuck in there and wear into the casing to eventually cause a puncture.

2. get some 'singles glue' rubber glue from your local bike shop, and squeeze a bit of this into each nick with tire pressure still down.

3. let it dry then you're right!

The Powerbar wrapper (or a money note) is a great emergency fix while out on the road if you get a slash that peirces the casing and could let the tube bulge out or cause pinch-flats.