[b_young]

I was on my way home from work today and had an unusual event. Sometimes my tire will pick up a little tar from the road on a hot day. It sticks to the tire and picks up a little bit of small rocks, so I stop and pull it off and go on. I thought that was what was going on today. But when I stopped I had a big bubble forming on my tire. I thought well great, not quite half way home. I decided to ride it until it popped and call "Budget and Finance" to pick me up. It finally popped a half mile later. To my surprise the tire was still inflated and did not feel even low. I finished the additional 6 miles, and rode another 10 tonight with no problems. I guess an outer layer of the tire formed a bubble and popped. I have never seen or heard of anything like this happening. I haven't inspected closely but I really can't see where it was.
Has anyone had this happen or know what caused it?

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[Tom Stormcrowe]

Sounds like you just got a thin layer of tar that formed a false tire bubble and IT popped.

[BeckyW]

Don't ya love asphalt in summertime? Especially where it gets rutted from too many cars sitting on it in 100 degree heat?

[(51)]

Maybe it was bubble gum http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/7231/dirolwt5.gif

[b_young]

Maybe it was bubble gum http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/7231/dirolwt5.gif

EEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Road tar flavored?

Tom, I guess that is what it was. I posted on the commuter forum as well and someone suggested it may be a thin layer of the outer part of the tire. It was very odd and disturbing. But it is gone and everything looks normal. I may have just encountered the TWILIGHT ZONE.

[Winter76]

Do you ever ride your bike on a trainer? Trainers can cause tire layer seperation.

[b_young]

No. I do not own a trainer and have never been on one. The tires are in need of replacement. They are the original tires that came with the bike. 1400+ miles on them. I have a lot of weight on them. I carry a trunk/pannier setup with about 40 lbs. They are kind of flat on the top and I actually rotated them to try and get a little more miles from them. I thought, when this happened, that it was the last ride of them. But they are still going. I think Toms explanation seemed the best.

[East Hill]

Don't ya love asphalt in summertime? Especially where it gets rutted from too many cars sitting on it in 100 degree heat?

I had a Seattle native assure me that asphalt could not become hot enough to melt just from the heat of the sun.

Then he went to California for a trip to Disneyland and returned a believer.

East Hill