This tire safe? Bought new, has crack in sidewall.
 

Just wondering if this is normal or not. You can see the crack at top of bead on left side of pic vs. no crack in same area on the right side of pic. Inside of tire looks perfect.
Sorry if this is a dumb question. But I just wanted to be safe. Never used "skinwall" type tires before and was wondering. New tire. Couple areas along bead like this all around. Bought a couple weeks ago online from reputable seller. Haven't mounted it yet. Thanks for your time.

http://i398.photobucket.com/albums/p...m/cc4999fc.jpg

That's a line from the molding process. Nothing to worry about.

another for clarity. there is no belt or anything, just a split in the rubber.
http://i398.photobucket.com/albums/p...m/DSCN2674.jpg

Return and get a replacement. That crack is not normal nor acceptable for a new tire.

It looks like a crack in just the rubber. Since that part of the tire should never see pavement I don't think that it will affect function. BUT if it looks like it's deep and could affect structural integrity you might get a replacement.

Doesn't look like a crack to me. It looks like the edge of a ply that was sitting hard against the mold, leaving no rubber in front of it.

Absolutely nothing to worry about; the rubber doesn't perform a structural function beyond keeping the plies together.

Isn't that a separation between the sidewall and the extra strip of fabric to protect the bead? My 26x1.75" Paselas have that separation in places, and they're coming up on 1000 trouble-free miles.

My vote is for "Not Defective."

Again, not a crack.

Take it back to the dealer and get a replacement.

What I see is a casing mold seam line and nothing more. However I suspect that this will bother you so take the tire back. If the others are just like it then I think you are safe.

Chances are good that the replacement will show one of these "cracks" when the sidewall is flexed during installation. It's benign.

I wouldn't worry about that in the least. You should see some of the gumwall tires that I ride on and I'm a big clyde. Probably 10-20 year old tires with more cracks in the gumwall than some broken china dishes.

The gumwalls crack and flake off but that doesn't affect the structural integrity of the carcass.

I've got a pair of Contis I scraped all the old gum off.

Super aero without the raised lettering ;)

That makes me LOL every time.

What crack?