Bicycle Mechanics - What completely chewed up the sidewall?

My girlfriend got a flat while she was riding around and didn't realize it until after she rode back to my house. She was probably going about 3 miles on a completely flat rear tire.
I took the tire off and there's 1 pinhole leak in the middle of the tube but the entire sidewall of the tire is chewed up to the point where I can see the steel strands. It's along the entire right side circumference of the tire and appears every 2-3 inches as a spot with massive abrasion or something or another in a spot that's about 1/8" wide along the sidewall.

The tire's probably dead right? And anyone know what might've caused this?

Hmmm lets see.
1. Tire's dead kaput finito end of story.

2. You don't think that riding for 3 miles on a completly flat tire will hurt anything do you? (chances are extremely good) I'll bet that the way the tire rolled under the rim caused the wear pattern as there is no way that the tire is going to stay centered on the rim when it's flat given balancing adjustments and turning etc.

And anyone know what might've caused this?Yes, riding with a flat tire for 3 miles.

George

I would think it would tear up the whole side wall but it was just on one side and only once every few inches in even increments, spaced similarly to the way the spokes are spaced.

And yeah, we're getting a set of armadillo's this week.

Three miles on a flat? Better check the rim carefully for damage.

I patched it up for her but I'll check tonight to see if the wheel itself's damaged. It's a new bike and I didn't tension the spokes for her yet either.
I'm still amazed she didn't notice during the ride...

i'm curious... was it the right side (drive side) of the the tire that got chewed up?

Yep, right side... does that make a difference?

this could happen on either side, but maybe if the brake is rubbing the tire when you brake, that might cause the intermittent rubbing...

Almost definately caused by the tire sidewall meeting the road. Sidewalls are not the strongest part of the tire. Everytime she turned, the road acted like sandpaper, or better yet, a grinding wheel and wore away the sidewall. Add this multiple times over 3 miles, and you get the idea. One more thing, how the hell could she not tell she was flat? The one clue-in could be that the rear end gets all squirelly, the other could be the flapping noise!! Damn!!

My girlfriend got a flat while she was riding around and didn't realize it until after she rode back to my house.

How it the world is that humanly possible? I hope she's pretty...........or rich..............or both.

Normally, I'd say your comments are mean but in my case, I'm just about as baffled as you are...
I can notice a few pounds difference in my tires, how she didn't notice 80 psi lost, I have no clue...

The weird thing is even when it was flat it didn't make a flapping noise, she has some kind of kevlar belt on her tire that makes it really stiff.

Anyway, her wheel is still true (+- 1mm), are there any other signs of damage I should check for?
I bought her a specialized infinity armadillo, LBS said they're stiff enough that if it goes flat, it can still be babied back home and "good luck putting them on."

I would make sure that the wheel didn't get all burred from striking the ground...this would cause problems in the future

If the QR was too loose or the wheel started off uncentered, the side of the tire may have rubbed against the chainstay, which will make the kind of wear pattern you describe... but it also makes a HECK of a noise, so it seems like she would have noticed! Of course, sounds like she might not have the absolute highest level of equipment-awareness imaginable... ;)

-chris

Sorry if I sounded mean. I was just having a laugh. It may not have come across that way. I have seen several people that are very "equipment unaware". I am very sensative to equipment issues, so I just can't grasp that someone could have a flat (on bike or car) and not know it.

Don't worry about it, I got a good laugh out of it too, so did she :)

Just to be fair, she just recently started riding so she's not all that aware of the differences that changes make on a bike. Plus she was half asleep cause she's having a cold, which I unfortunately gave her.

My neighbor recently pulled out of his drive way with a flat rear tire and didn't know it till I yelled at him to stop. Likewise, a friend of mine popped a hole in his oil pan and drove w/o oil, destroying the engine.