Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - ...exploding tires...?

so, I was just sitting watching TV, getting comfy and all of a sudden my roommate's tire exploded; at least it sounded like it His bike has been sitting still for 5 hours now. I looked at it and the tire is okay though one of the sides is now outside the rim's walls for a few inches diameter. So, my guess is the innertube exploded (really ****ing loud, scared the **** out of me)...

my question is: why?

This bike is a pipe bomb.

f'reals. my ears were ringin'

weird. i once inflated a tube too much and it blew up a block down the road. i dunno, how long since he'd inflated it?

last night it was inflated, last night it was rode, this morning it was rode, this afternoon it was rode.
it sat until evening when the incident ocurred.
It's just weird is all. Maybe a prophetic sign to me? I mean it was his bike but it blew up to me! hahaha

this happened to me once. i suspected i had overinflated it (doubtful with my hand pump). funny. scary. who knows? probably won't happen again.

questions.....

- is the tire sidewall damaged at all? the tube could have been slowly working its way through a damaged sidewall and subsequently exploded when it was allowed to expand.
- were the tires mounted recently? or inflated from flat? There might have been a bit of tube pinched under one of the beads.
- what rims? He wasn't running high pressure tires on non-hooked 27" rims, was he?

Was the tire leaning against something that could have heated up the tire... causing an increase in air pressure, which couldn't be contained by the tube?

I dunno, that's my theory.

Was the tire leaning against something that could have heated up the tire... causing an increase in air pressure, which couldn't be contained by the tube?

I dunno, that's my theory.

not going to happen

I've had that happen. I'm pretty sure it was a weak spot in the tube. It may have been twisted in the tire when i re-inflated it. This bike had been sitting in my basement over the winter, and the tires were very low when I pulled it out. I figure the rim had been sitting on the same section of tube for quite a while.

had that happen once, but it was with an old set of tubulars and not clinchers

sometimes, if you're not careful when reinstalling the tire, you can pinch a tiny section of the tube between the tire bead and the rim. over time, the tube will work it's way out and explode.

could also be that the tire bead is damaged and can't hold onto the rim anymore.

I suppose the 90psi schraeder tubes were leaking out of the wheel sidewall and wore itself weak enough to ASPLODE! I felt under the unlodged tire to find shredded tube.

Happened to me last week, I filled up one cold night and the next morning, my bike was sitting outside in the sun and the air temp warmed up, and bam, pretty loud, I thought someone set off an M80. Ripped about a 3 inch tear into the tire. Didn't realize it was my tire until I went to leave and ****, I had a flat and no spare tube or tire

Once I pumped up my old mtb and hung the bike in the garage. I noticed that one of the Schraders had become the sized of a grape and hard as a rock. I made a mental note to fix it before I rode the bike again and went in the house. A short while later, I heard a loud bang coming from the garage. It must have been loud, I was more than one room away.

When I went out in the garage, I noticed that the Schrader valve was a mess of metal and shreds of rubber.

i've had this happen,

the reason is that the bead slips off of the rim, and the tube shoots out and explodes because of the rapid expansion - usually a 1-2" tear in the tube is proof, as well as the gunshot noise. this is most likely because the bead/sidewall is weak. it could also be that the rim flange is bent or damaged - barring that - get yourself a new tire. sometimes a bad tire can take hours or even days to do this after being reseated, and you don't want it to happen while you're riding

Word.

I trashpicked a Schwinn Varsity last summer and was amazed when the bike-- covered in cobwebs and 10+ years of dust-- needed only air in the tires to become mobile. I pumped 'er up and headed off for a friends' house when BLAMMM! My ears were ringing, I thought a car had backfired, and soon I was riding on a flat. I ditched the bike and walked.

That was a good decision leaving the varsity