I put a new Schwalbe Lugano on my rear wheel a month ago. Sunday I felt a hop and saw the rear tire bulging, more in the sidewalls than on the tread, further forward on the right than the left. I saw no damage to the tire until I took it off and found 2 diagonal slits of the belts on its inside. How could this have happened?
(I bought it from Niagara Cycle last November so I can't get a refund. )

Doesn't sound like sabotage to me.

Pretty sure no one dismounted the tire, slashed the inside, remounted and reinflated it ....but it Could happen. Are any of your baby bolts missing?

Oh behave!

I speculate that someone at Niagara Cycle or the manufacturer slit them. There are 2 slits, parallel, about a centimeter apart. I asked here in case someone had a similar experience and a better guess. I thought about that I slit open the box when it arrives, but I'm always careful to make sure I don't cut the contents.

While we are speculating sabotage...might as well speculate that someone followed you home because you did not wave at them.

Howabow using grease instead of wax? EPA will come a knockin soon enough.

My 2013 Cannondale Synapse came with Schwalbe Lugano from the factory. Less than 400 miles I got a bulge. I am guessing it came from a gap height difference from pavement to a bridge/overpass on the road.

don't buy the same tire again.

BABY BOLTS!!!

WOW!

Very lol!

Ot it could be a manufacturing defect. I was on a group ride once. Guy flatted. Both of his in-the-box tubes that he bought at the same time had slits in the seams. Must have been a bad run. But speculate away if the imagined intrigue brings excitement to your life.

do you do a lot of bike trail / street crossings? Parking lot entrances? or crossing sidewalks?

Niagara Cycle saboteurs...this is why they went under!

This. I'd guess OP ran through a monster pothole or into a curb to break the cords, because that's how a lot of similar failures happen.

Agree, sounds like split cords in the carcass. I had a batch of Stelvios that did the same thing, years ago. Get another brand, at least until Schwalbe can learn how to prevent the Luganos from self-destructing.

I like the whole sabotage idea better.

OP: The next time you are riding behind a car keep a close eye out in case the driver releases a bunch of thumbtacks or a stream of oil. Sounds like there is someone out there trying to do you in.

I am likely overly cautious or paranoid, but it is not my fault. It runs in the family. I am mystified that someone would carry two tubes for emergencies and not have tested them beforehand. With new tubes, I pump them up and leave them overnight as a test. If not sure about them, why carry them?

Because the realistic chances of new tubes being defective are, at best, remote. For that reason, I am sure the guy did not feel unsure about them. I have been riding in a billion situations in many places in the country and had never seen anything like that before. Haven't seen anything like it since. Life would really suck if you did not have faith in the overwhelming majority of things you rely on every day working as expected.

"I'm tellin' all of y'all it's a sabotage" - Beastie Boys

I don't really test my tubes. I don't see many defective tubes and I have been working in bike shops for a reasonably long time. Maybe 1 in 1000 is truly defective and I bet that number is smaller. I define a defective tube as one that is split at the seams, other than that user error can cause so many issues I cannot really blame it on the tube.

I've had good luck with all my other Schwalbes. The Mart of Wal has started selling a Goodyear that fits (700x28) I'll try them.

? I looked up Baby Bolts and found baby fans of Syracuse's baseball team, and an English toy.

I had no event like this. The outside of the tire looks as good as new. The slits on the inside are clean and thin.

Gotta fess up, it was me testing the new microwave laser gun.

I can heat up a hot dog from 500 yards--slitting a tire from the inside is child's play.

I used to be a big fan of Schwalbe Lugano tyres, and had them fitted to all my road bikes, but the quality seems to have plummeted over the last year. I've had three tyres fail in that time, with tears, bulges in the tread, etc.



The photo shows one that failed earlier this year - road use only, and just a few hundred miles on it.

I've been replacing the tyres with Continental Ultra Sport 2s - so far no problems to report.

I found Schwalbe customer service to be excellent.
Try contacting them.

I have never run a Lugano, but I have heard they switched manufacturing sites in Asia about a year or so ago. I can't verify the specifics.

Curses!