CenturionIM

Bought new tire online and it arrived bent. Is it possible to salvage it or is it gone?

CliffordK

Is the tire "foldable", or does it have a steel bead?

For foldable, that would be normal.
It is a bit extreme for a steel bead, but I'd just straighten it, mount it, and ride it. Perhaps send your photos to the bike shop that sent it to you.

leob1

Mount it, ride it.
Report back.

CenturionIM

It's a schwalbe greenguard, so I am guessing it is a steel bead?

Wanderer

I'd be nervous about that kink in a steel bead.....................

dabac

Unless there's a sharp kink, it'll be fine

Andrew R Stewart 

Assuming steel beads- the only concerns I'd have are the kinks in the bead. The gentle "potato chip" shape will straighten up with out issue. But if the kinks remain they can upset the tire's seating at those points.

So two choices are obvious- try to return the tire for credit/replacement. Or un kink the beads (with your fingers by "back bending"), try to mount the tires and see how evenly it seats at these points. I would not assume that you can try straightening the kinks first then be able to return the tire without first communication with the seller. Andy.

spdracr39

Don't see any bullet holes so no it doesn't appear to be.

sch

I go with the mount and use it. Small kink in steel bead will likely seat fine when inflated, but mark the tire at that spot and pay attention
when you first pump it up.

dynaryder

If you're really worried,make sure you mount it on the rear. But as long as the bead seats properly,I wouldn't sweat it. I've had worse and was able to mount and ride them without failure.

FBinNY 

Like many things, tires are limp and can be bent, but will straighten out and assume their shape when inflated hard. The uninflated condition is totally meaningless.

lopek77

Steel bead looks very kinked on the first and the second photo. Shape of the uninflated tire may be meaningless as previously stated, BUT it's not when it comes to the bead itself. Bead is holding the tire in the rim...if it's out of shape, especially with a sharp kink...well, it's your call.
I would just contact the seller, explain the issue and work out the solution.

FBinNY 

Steel wire beads are made of very soft, ductile steel or, these days multi-strand steel similar to a brake cable. Soft bends will straighten when pressure presses them against the rim. Sharper bends may resist and not straighten completely, but NOTHING stops you from pinching between your two hands and bending them back to straight.

The bends on the beads of these tires are nothing to get worked up over, just something to be dealt with --- easily.

CliffordK

Usually the steel bead tires can be twisted into halves or thirds for shipping without any damage, although I like to store them loose. Now the Schwabe tires are pretty beasty tires, so perhaps it would be difficult to get a tight packing. However, at least with my lighter weight practice tire, twisting it into thirds seems to be the safest. I have kind of "tacoed" my tire, but there are no tight bends.

At least contact the vendor and let them know that they are using improper packing techniques.

I still believe that if you can straighten the bead and mount the tire, you should be fine... perhaps if you get past the first 10 miles..

lopek77

I can fix a broken, not running car with 2 rolls of duct tape, and drive it 100 miles back home...
I also can fix brake fluid leak, loose braking power in 2 wheels and fix it with one rusty wise grip tool, and drive 70 miles back home...

I did both during my crazy years...was it a good or safe fix? Would I suggest anyone to do that? Definitely NO, and NO.

Bicycles have only 2 wheels, and any tire/tube/rim failure can be potentially catastrophic. It's a 21st century, and we don't need to act like we are stuck in 19th or 20th...
I base my previous opinion on the 2 pictures. It seems that there is a very sharp kink...I don't have these tires in my hand, so it's up to OP to decide.

FBinNY 

ANY tire can fail or blow out "CATASTROPHICALLY". It happens every day, even with no predictable cause. However injury of any kind from a tire blowout is rare, so all these dire predictions (from this poster and others) are misplaced.

There's no way to assure that any product is safe, but that's a far cry form saying one is unsafe. The only way to assure that any product won't somehow injure you is to leave it in the box and keep it on a low shelf (so it can't injure you by falling off).

On a realistic scale of one to ten, this tire rates a one (very safe) rating. OTOH, simply riding a bicycle in traffic probably rates a two. Of course it's up to the OP, but before being swayed by "these sky is falling posts" he might consider all the injury reports he's heard from anybody anywhere -- friends, news reports, forums, etc, then consider how many of those were caused by ANY kind of mechanical failure (yes there are a few), then consider how many of those involved a tire failure.

To the OP, straighten the kink as well as you can between your fingers (doesn't have to be perfect) then mount and inflate the tire to 20-30psi. Be sure it seats evenly (as you should every time anyway), then bring to full pressure. Do this at night and if it's still on the rim the next morning go out and ride, putting the issue out of your mind.

lopek77

“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions”

OP should know what to do by now.

I just learned that things may be bad, stuff can happen any moment, but when needed and when it's convenient - we can choose that 1% of positivity and call it a day.

FBinNY 

It's very easy to say "don't use it, it's dangerous". You can't be wrong, since if nobody uses stuff there's no way of knowing what might happen if they did. OTOH, if something is used, it'll either prove OK or dangerous.

So, don't eat sushi because the fish may have parasites,
Don't eat rare hamburgers because of possible e coli
Don't go out in the cold because you can get frost bite,
Eat a low sodium diet to prevent high blood pressure,
Ans most importantly don't ride your bike in traffic.

Of course the OP has to make his own decision. He can listen eo anybody and everybody including people who have almost 50 years experience in the bicycle industry, and people who don't.

Bike Gremlin

+1

That tyre is just fine. I'd mount it on my bike.

Juha

This thread is momentarily closed for a bit of Spring cleaning.

Juha

Done. If you find your post missing, it's either because you were out of our Guidelines or replied to such a post.

Please keep the discussion civil from now on. I'm pretty sure an exchange of opinions on this topic is possible without resorting to personal attacks. Thank you.

--Juha, a Forum Mod

lopek77

Too bad you removed the link to the thread which was almost identical to this one. The guy almost crashed because of the same issue. I don't understand why to remove something that could potentially save somebody's life, or help with making decision about their own safety. Really dissapointed...unless linking to a different thread on the same bike forum is against the rules, but I doubt it.

Juha

The point that OPs bike might catastrophically fail due to faulty tyre has been brought up and that discussion remains in the thread.

Any further questions about modding, please PM me and/or use the report button, instead of taking this thread further off-topic.

--J

le mans

dayham! i always miss the juicy bits


anyway, if i recieved a new tyre like that.. i would expect a refund or an exchange, but if you have to pay for return postage, well, maybe put it down to experience, and forget about it [maybe fit it to an old rim, pump it up, let if sit for 3 years] buy tyres local that looks normal from now on, not deformed

lopek77

We can't do that...we can't allow people send us crap, and expect us to be happy about it. It's just a wrong way to make money. Even if seller wants OP to pay for the shipping - they should agree that shipping cost will be refunded when the tire get back to the seller. OP also should leave appropriate feedback for this seller, to let him know the sale was not perfect, and to help others not to make the same mistake.
Here is how my wire bead tires are shipped. There are no zip ties, and plastic bag is the only thing that keeps tire in folded shape.
After unfolding it - it will not be round, but wire bead will not be kinked also.