Speaking of shredded tires . . .

[Greenbelt]

I may have used the term sloppily, but on our ride last Sunday, we had a rider who ran over a sharp piece of metal or something. Put a half-inch slash completely through her rear tire and tube, and put some gashes and smaller holes in her front tire, although the tube didn’t puncture (at first). We replaced the rear tube and covered the slash with a folded up piece of paper (a dollar bill actually). Eventually sand and stuff worked into the front tire and eventually that went flat too (twice). But we had plenty of tubes along and she finished the ride! She’s buying some stronger tires, though. Discount road tires maybe not such a great idea!

[jabberwocky]

Usually people just mean the tire is getting cut up. Running through a debris field (broken glass, chunks of metal, etc) will put lots of cuts and gashes in most tires. I don’t think its very common for the tire to outright explode when that happens. Usually it just deflates quickly.

The explosion thing is usually caused by the tire slipping off the bead. This is almost always caused by improper installation on a road bike (the bead never seated on the rim properly). Road tires are usually aired to 110-120 psi, so when the tire slips off and the tube explodes, its loud.

[DaveK]

I’ve had a tire simply explode while I was just riding along from too much wear… the cords were showing before it happened though. That was just stupidity on my part for not checking my tires regularly.

[RESTONTODC]

This occurs to me recently. My dear friend gave me a pair of new tires. I got many flats but I couldn’t find the cause of flats. When I changed tube on the road, the portable pump didn’t pump enough air for the cuts and gashes to show up. When I pump to 130 psi with a floor pump at home, I noticed the tire got a lot cuts and gashes. The cut was wide and small rocks got in that caused the flats. The labels on the tire are also peeling off. For my safety, I replaced them with a good commute tires. My theory is that my friend stores his tires in his wet and damp basement for 2 years. The environment caused the tire deterioration.

[brendan]

At Saturday’s Bike House clinic I was helping a client install interrupter/cross brakes on her bike. While adjusting the front brakes I thought I noticed the wheel was out of true then very quickly determined that instead, the tire itself had a bit of an S-curve in it. Looked at the front sidewall and it had a bit of a bulge on the non-drive side, some rubber was missing due to wear and you could see cross-stitch sticking out. Advised her it was time to replace that tire, probably both, before any riding at speed or in traffic.

About the same time, another volunteer was helping a client air-up his tire and BOOM. Bonus: blue-green slime *everywhere* through the 6-inch cut in the tube that burst out from the rim/tire interface. Almost like a dye-pack during a heist. The tube/tire were probably not re-seated correctly after the client rode up to the clinic with nearly entirely flat tires…

Brendan

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