Uneven Wire Bead on New Tires - Case for Return?
 

Hello:

I recently purchased a new set of 700x25 Conti SuperSport Plus tires for my commuting bike and I noticed that the wire bead is uneven in places on one of the tires. What I mean by this is that when I have the tire laying down flat on a table, I notice that the wire bead is higher on one side of the tire than the other by a noticable margin (i.e. to get even more descriptive, the wire bead not touching the table is higher than the wire bead touching the table, letting me see the inside of the tire at points). My LBS said that this is not a problem and that the tires would be fine - but I am bit concerned still. Is this a case for return?

1st, question the way the tire was Mounted... That You, or someone else?

Sorry - I wasn't being specific. I haven't mounted the tires yet. I would be quicker to blame my or my LBS's mounting job if the tires were on the wheel. What I mean is that I notice the wire beads are uneven when the tire is OFF the wheel - that is I can notice that one bead is higher than the other by laying the tire flat on its side and looking.

Sometimes the wire bead may have a gentle bend (like the bear?)
As long as it's not a kink, it should be fine. Air pressure works wonders.

Mount it and go. It's a bike tire, not a rocket component.

With the tire partially inflated, you can push and pull on the sidewalls to shift the bead up and down. Not every tire mounts evenly without some massaging.

Not a problem. Mount it and ride it.

BFK, If the tires were folded to fit into a box at some time, the bead will be uneven, I recently had a pair of tires with uneven beads from just this. Just mount it, partially fill, seat the bead as needed and run it up to working pressure. They'll very most likely be fine.

Brad