Huffy Mountain Bike Tire Question
 

The never-ending story with me and bike tires continues. My aunt bought a set of mountain bikes a few years ago, and they were never rode. I was given one, and it was in perfect shape except the tires were flat from never being rode.

My grandpa pumped up the tire with his air compressor. He ended up popping the rear tire because it wasn't seated properly or was over-inflated due to the rapid inflation that the air compressor provides. So, we went to Wal-Mart and bought a "Hutchinson" Inner Tube for the tire. Pumped it up, and it works.

However, yesterday I had to put more air in that tube. The maximum on the tire is 50 PSI and I pumped it up to 40 PSI. Is this okay? Anyways, the real problem is that the tire bead isn't even all the way around. In some spots of the tire you can almost see the bottom of the bead (where it should meet the rim), and in other spots you can just see the top of the bead. Anyways, it's pretty warm outside (100[SUP]o[/SUP]F everyday) and I was wondering if I should worry about this bead popping off the tire because like I said you can pretty much see the bottom of the bead.

I'm sorry I don't have any photos right now.

Yes. You don't need to go the maximum if you don't want to. I run my own tires at 25psi.

There is usually a line inscribed around the tire that should be equidistant from the rim when the tire is mounted properly. What I sometimes do with stubborn tires is inflate a tire lightly, say to 5psi or 10psi. Then I work my hands around the tire and squeeze it and make sure the bead is seated properly, and centered. Then when all looks good, I finish pumping it up. Had to do that recently on a 650b tire I mounted to a bottom-of-the-barrel rim.

What does this line look like? There's plenty of lines on that tire.

BTW, the tire on that bike is the cheap tires Huffy put on it at the factory in China. The tire doesn't even have a brand name on it. However, I do know that the tube in the tire I'm asking about is a "Hutchinson" Inner Tube because I had to change it. The front tire is the same cheap tire with a Kenda Tube in it. Personally, I don't like Kenda inner tubes.

It's not a real Huffy. It's one of those "branded" ones. From the way I take it, Roadmaster, Huffy, and the other brands are made by the same company at the same factory in China.

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BTW, I have a old 1981 "Free Spirit" Pinnacle Road Bike. Research says that Free Spirit was a brand used by Sears and Roebuck. Can someone tell me who Free Spirit was made by, where Free Spirit bikes were made, and what ended up happening to the the brand?

Hmmm...Not sure how to describe it. Look just above the bead. There is usually a line or a pattern of some sort molded into the tire to help you see that it's mounted evenly.

That's overstating the case a bit. It is true that most bikes are made in Taiwan and China. There are actually several competing factories that manufacture on a contract basis for various bike brands. I am not sure of how many factories there are, but the number is more than just one.

The Huffy and Roadmaster brands are not owned by the same parent company. The might or might not be made in the same factory. It depends which manufacturer the parent company contracts with.

That tire's getting taken off today. I think that Hutchinson Tube was defective or something along those lines. It's been leaking air slowly the past few days, even though I've been riding it. So it's getting taken off, because I suspect there's a leak. (I pumped it to around 40 pounds two days ago, now it's around 20, but there may not be a leak and it may just be my tire gauge leaking a little bit air.)

I'm going to look for the manual on it for the size wrench to use. I've never taken a bike tire off and put it back on myself, and I'm going to have an adult watch me. I'm going to look REALLY good at the bead and see if there's any sign of the inner tube "popping out" before pumping up and during the pump up.



I found out Huffy is made by HBC, which I guess is short for "Huffy Bicycle Company" or something on those lines. I found out Roadmaster, Schwinn, and all them are made by Pacific Cycle in China.