New to me-tire failure
05-02-05, 07:00 PM
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New to me-tire failure
I do all the work on our police-bike "fleet". One of the guys told me he had a flat on the rear of his bike. Usually, I gently point out that they were supposed to learn about fixing flats at the Police Cyclist course, but I knew this guy was not particularly "mechanical"
I checked the tire carefully in my usual manner before dismounting it-no nails, glass, or other crud visible. Popped the tube out, and found a 1/2" diameter blown-out hole on the inside area of the tube. Too big to patch... Thought it must be a spoke protruding. Not so. The spokes and the rim strip were fine.
Impact failure? The guys are not too good about tire pressures. So, in with a new tube. Pump it up to 50 psi (these are MTB "road" tires) and prepare to re-install. POW! Tire blows as I'm holding it. Gotta be a spoke.... Dismount, re-check, nothing. I start going over the tire carefully. There is a 1/2" area where the bead is separated from the casing of the tire. Evidently the tube was expanding into this failed area, and pinching off. Tossed the tire and installed one from an unused bike, and it was fine.
For the record, these are cheap Kenda MTB tires with the flat center and knobs around the edges. I've had a set of Continentals on my bike for far too long with no problems.
I checked the tire carefully in my usual manner before dismounting it-no nails, glass, or other crud visible. Popped the tube out, and found a 1/2" diameter blown-out hole on the inside area of the tube. Too big to patch... Thought it must be a spoke protruding. Not so. The spokes and the rim strip were fine.
Impact failure? The guys are not too good about tire pressures. So, in with a new tube. Pump it up to 50 psi (these are MTB "road" tires) and prepare to re-install. POW! Tire blows as I'm holding it. Gotta be a spoke.... Dismount, re-check, nothing. I start going over the tire carefully. There is a 1/2" area where the bead is separated from the casing of the tire. Evidently the tube was expanding into this failed area, and pinching off. Tossed the tire and installed one from an unused bike, and it was fine.
For the record, these are cheap Kenda MTB tires with the flat center and knobs around the edges. I've had a set of Continentals on my bike for far too long with no problems.
05-03-05, 07:34 AM
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Originally Posted by Bikewer
I do all the work on our police-bike "fleet". One of the guys told me he had a flat on the rear of his bike. Usually, I gently point out that they were supposed to learn about fixing flats at the Police Cyclist course, but I knew this guy was not particularly "mechanical"
I checked the tire carefully in my usual manner before dismounting it-no nails, glass, or other crud visible. Popped the tube out, and found a 1/2" diameter blown-out hole on the inside area of the tube. Too big to patch... Thought it must be a spoke protruding. Not so. The spokes and the rim strip were fine.
Impact failure? The guys are not too good about tire pressures. So, in with a new tube. Pump it up to 50 psi (these are MTB "road" tires) and prepare to re-install. POW! Tire blows as I'm holding it. Gotta be a spoke.... Dismount, re-check, nothing. I start going over the tire carefully. There is a 1/2" area where the bead is separated from the casing of the tire. Evidently the tube was expanding into this failed area, and pinching off. Tossed the tire and installed one from an unused bike, and it was fine.
For the record, these are cheap Kenda MTB tires with the flat center and knobs around the edges. I've had a set of Continentals on my bike for far too long with no problems.
I checked the tire carefully in my usual manner before dismounting it-no nails, glass, or other crud visible. Popped the tube out, and found a 1/2" diameter blown-out hole on the inside area of the tube. Too big to patch... Thought it must be a spoke protruding. Not so. The spokes and the rim strip were fine.
Impact failure? The guys are not too good about tire pressures. So, in with a new tube. Pump it up to 50 psi (these are MTB "road" tires) and prepare to re-install. POW! Tire blows as I'm holding it. Gotta be a spoke.... Dismount, re-check, nothing. I start going over the tire carefully. There is a 1/2" area where the bead is separated from the casing of the tire. Evidently the tube was expanding into this failed area, and pinching off. Tossed the tire and installed one from an unused bike, and it was fine.
For the record, these are cheap Kenda MTB tires with the flat center and knobs around the edges. I've had a set of Continentals on my bike for far too long with no problems.
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
05-03-05, 09:48 AM
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In Austin where I used to work, we did a lot of repairs on police bikes. Problem was, the PD always put the fat cops on the bikes, everything (esp. tires and rims) was always getting hammered. Tire failures like this weren't uncommon for the exact reason cyccommute mentioned: brake rubbing. Still, I have seen plenty of cheap tires fail at the bead. My theory is that riding with low tire pressure puts lots of stress on the tire right at the rim edge, which weakens the casing where it surrounds the bead.
We eventually switched to Continental tires and gave the riders a lesson on tire inflation. Problem was, the bikes had old Matrix rims. Anyone who's ever tried to mount a Continental tire on a Matrix rim will know how much I hated that.
We eventually switched to Continental tires and gave the riders a lesson on tire inflation. Problem was, the bikes had old Matrix rims. Anyone who's ever tried to mount a Continental tire on a Matrix rim will know how much I hated that.
05-03-05, 12:30 PM
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I have a Hutchinson Rock N' Road with about 4" of bead separated from the rubber. This is due to a flat repair in below-freezing weather. As far as I can figure the temperature was the problem, anyway. Tire lever peeled the rubber right off the bead as I tried to get the tire loose. No issues with flatting due to the separated bead...not that I'm riding on it.
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"you taught us to fish while so many others were handing out tuna sandwiches" - Ziggurat
Last edited by Karldar; 05-04-05 at 08:31 AM.
05-03-05, 07:40 PM
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In addition to bike officers being ah...somewhat larger than the average rider, we carry a lot of junk. My belt gear adds about 12 pounds. Then we have lights, battery, luggage holder, etc.
We bought three new Smith & Wesson patrol bikes because of the attractive price. This was done by our other bike officer; I shoulda looked over the specs better. They are really cheesy. We have experienced pedal failures, broken spokes, bent DR hangers, and other problems.
In their defense, they do have a nicer model available.
We have had virtually no trouble with the Trek police service model which is comprises the rest of our bikes. (total of about 16)
We bought three new Smith & Wesson patrol bikes because of the attractive price. This was done by our other bike officer; I shoulda looked over the specs better. They are really cheesy. We have experienced pedal failures, broken spokes, bent DR hangers, and other problems.
In their defense, they do have a nicer model available.
We have had virtually no trouble with the Trek police service model which is comprises the rest of our bikes. (total of about 16)
