Decisions, decisions

First off, a big hug goes out to Carole. Last week I was lucky enough to post the 20,000th comment on her blog! And she's going to be sending me a special package! Can I get a WOO and a HOO?!?

Well, after an excessive number many hours of online research, shop visits, and phone calls, I've finally picked my tires--the Goodyear Assurance TripleTreds! I haven't really had to make a tire purchase choice since the 80s, and amazes me how the Internet lets you bypass salespeople and let's you do your own research. Of course, this same power can turn you into a crazy purchase. I went from reading Consumer Reports to general Google searches to discussion boards and customer comments. Lots of good detailed info out there, but some of the negative comments on certain tires--they just scared the hell out of me. Here's just a few samples...

Not sure where to begin. I hydroplane go 40mph. Cant get any traction at a red light if has a little water on the ground. When its dry Im very confident with them. Cant wait to get rid of them.

After 14,000 miles, I actually had the tread of my rear-passenger wheel fly off. I was riding on the inner layer of rubber and belts along with the edges of the sidewalls.

When new these tires were excellent! However, after 20k-30k performance decreased significantly in wet and snow condition. I have also had two failures... the first at around 20k when one of th 4 tires developed a "bump" on the side wall (replaced free by the Mfg) and now at 50k one of the tires has a shifted steel belt.

Pretty unsettling, aren't they? Well, I think my Blue Bean will be just fine with these puppies.

And after lots of mathematical calculations, I've chosen a near the house to get this done. A big thanks to Elizabeth for recommending TireRack.com, but after doing all the math they weren't going to save me any money on these. However, in the future I'll probably be turning to them first. Especially when I'm living in Vermont and don't have a tire shop every mile or so down the road. Now to pick a morning to get them done...

my Blue Bean, with the old tires still on her

And then on to the next agonizing purchase--eyeglasses!