csho

Good afternoon, folks. Wondering if anyone has had this or a similar issue:

I blew a tire a few weeks back and replaced the tube and tire after thoroughly inspecting the rim for damage. After a few rides the air in my tire let go while sitting in my living room. The sidewall had spread open and I assumed it was faulty rubber. I've since replaced the tire twice and each time, after a few rides, the sidewall splits at the same place on the rim. I've inspected the rim and there seems to be no visible damage but it's starting to get expensive to troubleshoot. Any idea what's going on with my rim/brain that's causing this chronic issue?

Thanks for any input!

rm -rf

Did the tire casing split open above the bead? That's very unusual to happen on each replacement tire.

Or, more commonly:

The tire bead goes above the metal rim. Then the tube is exposed in the gap between tire and rim, blows up like a balloon, and pops with a (very loud!) bang.

The burst tube will have a long split, often 3 to 6 inches long. The tire itself is okay.

Some causes of the bead coming off the rim:

1. Most common: the tube is caught under the bead before pumping up the tire. (I've done this!)
The fold in the tube eventually pushes the bead upwards until it comes off the rim. Check all the way around the rim, checking each side, by pushing the tire toward the middle of the rim and looking for the tube showing outside the bead.

This happens most often near the valve. The tube rubber is thick and can get caught under the tire bead. Before pumping up the replacement tube, push the valve in, towards the outside of the tire tread, which will get it to stay inward of the tire bead.

2. A wrong size tire, a little too large for the rim?

3. a broken tire bead inside the tire.

4. a crack in the rim?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Does your tire have a tear in it's sidewall?
If so, are your brake pads hitting above the rim, and wearing down the tire?

csho

Indeed the casing is splitting above the bead, on multiple tires in the same exact location on the rim. My assumption is there is a rim issue...except there is no visible damage on the rim itself. Could the rim needing to be trued cause this (It's not wildly out of true but still)? The tube is herniating out of the tire between the bead and casing which is the eventual cause for the flat. It's seems the tire is overly stressed in one specific spot on the rim but sizing is all congruent so there shouldn't be a tire to wheel discrepancy.

Brakes are, I assume, unlikely to be rubbing the tire enough to do this amount of damage in such a short period of time (last ride blew after .5 miles).

dsbrantjr

How much pressure are you running vs the tire's rating?

brewguy20

Are your brake pads rubbing the tire when braking?

79pmooney

Check those brake pads. On a conventional caliper (dual pivot, side-pull or center-pull) the pads move up as yhou squeeze harder. Make sure you can still see rim above the pad everywhere on the rim when you squeezew hard. (You may have a low point on the rim where the pad slips over, rubs and weakens the casing.

Also run your finger along the rim at the blowouts. All smooth? If not, time for a little fine sandpaper or file.

Ben

csho

Thanks, all. Will give the brakes another inspection tonight to see what I'm dealing with more thoroughly. I'm running the tires on the low end of the suggested pressure range as I'm a bigger guy. Appreciate all your insight, will update tomorrow hopefully.

Colby

nfmisso

Sounds like it could be a Pinch flat.

csho

Tires are rated to 110 and I'm running them around 95-100, doubt its a pinch especially considering its happening on the same spot on the rim each time. I've patched and rotated each tire twice and its resulted in a total of 4 casing splits.

JohnDThompson 

+1 this. If there's a low spot or "hop" on the rim (i.e. not quite round) the brake pad may be eroding the tire at that spot.

1Coopgt

Pictures would help.

xenologer

You've got that Backwards
heavier rider means you need More Pressure (not less) for the tire to support your weight.

csho

Seems as though there was indeed a low spot on the rim where the brake pad made contact slightly. Will adjust and give it another go. Thanks for all the help, folks! Really appreciated.

Colby