Lateral tire tread "wobble" on Clement MSO tubeless
 

I recently got a bike with Clement MSO tubeless 36mm tires. The tires both have a bit of lateral "wobble" meaning that if you look directly down at the tread, it wanders side to side as the wheel rotates. One tire in particular wobbles at least an eighth of an inch laterally. The beads on both tires are properly seated and all bead lines are straight all around the wheel at the rims, this is not a mounting issue. It looks like a manufacturing issue. The tires ARE round and the wobble doesn't affect the ride even at high speeds on pavement.

As I purchased these tires online and have set them up tubeless with sealant, it would be a real pain to try to get them returned. Also, since the tires actually roll just fine I don't really want to mess with them unless I have to. However, watching these things wobble around as I ride is disconcerting. I feel like for $130 for the set I shouldn't have to be dealing with this. Simply ditching and replacing the tires in an expensive solution.

I see a thread here:
Getting Rolling: Clement MSO 36mm Tubeless Tires -
where several people have had this same issue with these specific tires.

Also, here's another thread where someone had the same problem with similar Clement USH tires:
https://ridinggravel.forumchitchat.c.../tires-6565035

At this point, I'd call it a trend. Clement needs to get their quality control act together. I might reach out to them and see what they say. It's a shame because these are really nice tires for gravel bikes: durable, fast rolling even on pavement, grippy, comfortable and cool looking.

So, tip for these tires: set them up tubed first. If they wobble, send them back.

I recently got Clement MSOs 36 tubeless for my gravel bike, and am happy with them. Super easy to setup tubeless with a hand pump, roll great on pavement, grip well off road, etc. If I really look theres maybe a 1/16 inch wobble on the front tire, and less than that on the rear. I'd say just use them until they wear out and try something else next. I do agree with you for the price of these tires, there should be zero wobble. I highly doubt it has any effect on performance though.

Yes, let Clement know. I'd think they'd be keen to quash this kind of negative sentiment towards their young brand, but then again, they did choose to revive an old brand under license, so they're probably not as invested in making great tires as they are in maximizing profits.

I've run Clement gravel clinchers, cyclocross tubulars, and road clinchers, and they've all been excellent. But the weird, lengthy road to getting their tubeless-ready tires on the market suggests some problems with production.

That said ... if it were me, and the only problem with these tires was a bit of visual wobble that didn't affect the ride, I'd just keep them. But if it really bothers you, contact the seller and see if they'll refund.

I did 32 miles this morning on gravel and I think I agree with you guys on sticking with the tires. I really like the way the tires ride. I need to get over my OCD. The funny part is that I'll probably just end up buying them again when these wear out...

I have the tubed version. I think the hop is caused by folding and packaging, and in my experience straightens itself out in a couple of days of riding (or sooner). My solution has been to buy them ahead of time, unpackage them, and hang them up to relax and unfold. (If you can mount them on an extra wheel, so much the better.)

Wow.

If it was me and the tires are rolling smooth with no bumps affecting the feel, I'd stop looking at the tire and enjoy the ride.

U guys made me check my tires,, no wobble at all.
Bontrager H5 700 x 32c.

But then again I did slip my tires around the rim a little for better balancing, the tube valve and the tire labels still sort of mach up.

For reference, I created a short video of the wobble:

This the worse tire. I love how you can hear the sealant sloshing around at the beginning.

A brief Youtube search reveals many videos of various cross tires (Spec Triggers, Kenda Happy Mediums etc) wandering all over the place. Perhaps this is a relatively normal thing with fat cross tires. I've rarely seen it on MTB or road tires.

Note: I did a fast 50 mile gravel ride last night on some pretty sketchy newly laid gravel and these tires performed like champs. Hovercraft like ride on rough stuff and they still haul ass on the smooth stuff. Dusty ride, I spent the morning cleaning the bike.

Wow that is a lot of wobble. Its as if your rim is seriously out of true.

I have the 40mm MSO tire running with a tube and both spin without issue. Have had em on a 3 different wheelsets with 3 different rims, actually.

I'd get annoyed with that much wobble for sure. Its great that they perform so well though.

Whether that's the tire or your wheel, that's unacceptable to me either way. Ridewhatchyalike; some don't mind a squeaky drivetrain, either.

A rather cynical answer. Clement may be a revived brand, but IMHO the quality and the innovation that they're bringing to the tire market make them more than just a cash grab trading in on a old brand brand. I run 700x40 clincher MSOs and they're really great tires.

To the OP, I'd certainly contact Clement on this.

Full fenders will solve the problem.

Are these handmade tires? We raced handmade Clement sewups in the 70s. Some had near straight tread, others didn't. Now, we could rotate the casing a little to straighten the tread and we all did. But the end result was that it didn't matter. Oh, that wobble might have cost us the last 100 miles of tread wear, but how many of those light tires ever got that far?

We did do our best to select the best tires if a bunch if we were buying the at a store, but mail order? We rode what we got.

Edit: put the worst wobble on the rear. You won't have to look at it. (That was tough to do in our sewup days. We really didn't know how bad a tire was until it was stuck on and going back was hard work and time, plus hard on the tire.)

Ben

Again, brand new wheel and it's completely true. That's all the tire moving around.

Also tough (and messy) to do with tubeless.

i have this issue with the tubed version of the mso. It is not the rim, I checked to make sure it is true after seeing the wobble. I don't notice the wobble when riding on pavement or dirt but I can see it.

I sent Clement an email directly. They might tell me to contact the seller...

I have 38mm Hutchison Globetrotters that do this too.

Clement responded within a couple of hours and is sending me a new tire, no questions asked. What a great company!

That's good news, but not surprising. It was such an obvious flaw, and unbecoming for a premier brand seeking a discriminating clientele.

OP, how do you like the tread on the MSO?
It seems like a nice compromise between road/offroad.
Does it work on grass, loose dirt, mud? If so I may try them for a cx race

Great on pavement. Great on loose gravel. Haven't ridden it on too much grass. Not great in mud as it doesn't clear very well at all. It's a surprisingly fast tire for how knobby it looks.

had multiple clements with same wobble
 

I've bought a pair of Clement Strada LGGs (28c) and one of the tires had the wobble. A new bike came with USH 35c and one of the tire had a big wobble. Wheels are true and its not the problem. its the tires. Discussed this with other people and some have suggested its a problem with the bead. From my experience, this is definitely a problem with the tire.