I'd like to hear of your personal (or even 2nd hand) experience with this phenomena... the sudden explosion of clincher tire. On another forum many people are claiming that latex tubes are the prime culprit, but I know I've heard of people having this happen with butyl tubes also. Usually but not always, braking and cornering on a long descent is where this happens. Frankly I don't think there is any way the tube could be at fault, but I'd like to hear of your experiences and thoughts... because this is scary stuff and I'd like to prevent this from happening to people (including me!) if possible.

Tire, rim, and tube used?
Did you specifically check all around the bead to make sure the tube wasn't pinched when installed?
Where and when did it explode?
What did the tire and tube look like afterward?
What do you think caused it?

Thanks!

It's never happened to me while riding. Happened to me once when I carelessly crammed a butyl tube into a cheap IRC tire on a Kinlin rim. I didn't check to see if it was pinched. It exploded a couple minutes after I pumped it up. The tube had a long rip, and the bead on the tire was even messed up and blown off the rim. Not sure if I pinched the tube, or the tire bead was faulty to start with.

I'll get this going, since I was posting in the other forum too.

I've had two clinchers explode.

One was due to a pinch flat. I rushed to install the tube and as I pumped it up in the garage, it exploded. Scared the crap out of my dog, and me. This was purely my fault, as I usually check to make sure that the tube is not under the tire bead.

The second was much more strange. I was riding along when all of a sudden, bam. There was an explosion in the back wheel that blew a hole in the sidewall of my tire. It looked like something had been shot out of tire. Had there been holes on both side, I would have believed I had been shot - I was riding past an outdoor shooting range - but the hole was only on one side and the hole in the tire was clearly angled outward. I have no idea what caused it. The tube had a hole in it - where a hole piece of rubber was missing - not a tear or poked hole. The tire still had several hundred miles left on it, and the tube was not particularly new, though not old either.

As for specifics: Kinlin 27mm rim, Conti GP4000 tire. QBP tube.

On a different note, I was out mountain biking when a guy's tire tore at the bead and the tube popped out. It was pretty funny.

If you have that unique kind of severe damage to a tire near an outdoor shooting range, you need to take the wheel, tire and tube to the local police dept/sherriffs dept for examination.

The huge variety of types of rounds at such a range with the differing calibers, loads, velocities and bullet designs could conceivably result in the type of damage you describe. A spent ricochet round could be the culprit. The range in question may have a safety issue that needs to be addressed before some passerby gets injured.

Even if you no longer have the damaged equipment you should approach the controlling law enforcement agency and at least raise the issue.

You'll feel a lot better down the road if some kid gets injured by a bullet in the same locale.

According to the first two posts I will avoid Kinlin rims.

The only way a tube material could be to blame is if it dissolves the tire. Don't use tubes dipped in corrosive acid. Otherwise it's improper install, tire failure, or rim bead problem.

I've had a three tires explode while I was riding them.

First time was in about 1983. I was riding along the highway during the summer and suddenly my rear tire blew out with a bang when I was almost 40 miles from home. I don't know what happened as I only thought about it as a flat tire at the time, but the tube was shredded.

Second time was in 2000. The POS rim on my front wheel split and KABOOM! The split caught my front brakes and brought the bike to an instant stop.

Last time was about 2006. I ran over a half a beer bottle in the wet and dark. It cut completely through the tire so again I got a big BOOM.

I've had two tubes detonate on bikes that were not moving, undoubtedly due to botched install.

My thoughts exactly. After I've used them awhile the latex tubes are stretched to the same size as the tire. There is essentially zero stress... they are just pressed against the inside of the tire. Yet Lightweight has prohibited the use of latex tubes in their clinchers, and many riders claim they are unsafe. My first thought is that it is easier to pinch a latex tube, and it will also last longer in that state than a butyl tube... increasing the chance that it will fail at a very bad time.

I think that would be consistent with bullet... a glancing blow rupturing the tire and then the tube blowing out.

I commuted to work on my bike, and when I went out to the bike in the afternoon before riding home I found the rear tire flat. After replacing the tube, I was in a hurry to get home so I decided to waste a CO2 cartridge instead of using my frame pump. I shot the CO2 in, and when I was putting my gear back into my saddle bag - BANG! the rear tube exploded, shoving the tire off the rim and shredding the tube. Good God it was LOUD - my ears were ringing for about 1/2 an hour afterwards. Startled the heck out of me, too.

And it was a good thing I pack two spare tubes on my commuter....

Edit: No, I do not use latex tubes on my commuter.

I have had 2 tubes explode on me. The first was when I installed a folding bead Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp on an Alex DC19 rim. The tire was making almost a snapping/crackling noise after inflating and them BLAM! The second time occured while riding down a hill when my front tire tube exploded on a Mavic open Pro with Michelin P Race 3. Luckily the tire did not get wrapped around a caliper or anything. Both of the exploding tubes were the result of me not knowing how to properly check to make sure the tube is not pinched as well as making sure the valve stem portion of the tube is properly seated in the tire as well. The last thing I do is push the valve stem in and make sure it is not stuck. It should move freely in and out when properly seated. I have not had an es-ploding tube since.

Only time I have seen a tire spontaneously explode is when the tube was not installed correctly. The tube was pinched under the tire bead and air pressure slowly pushed the bead off the rim (perhaps days after the tire was improperly installed).

At our local crit series 2 weeks ago there was one turn that was causing blowouts left and right. I counted 3 after I showed up, and there were races before mine. I wasn't able to ask any of the riders what PSI they were running, but knowing racers it was probably pretty high. The day wasn't particularly hot, and the turn was on level ground, not banked at all. The only thing I can surmise is that the lateral force on the tire was pulling it up out of the bead, allowing the tube to explode.

Had a tube explode after the braking surface of the rim failed and sliced the tire to hell and back.

That was loud messy too cause it was a slime tube.

About 55 miles into a 73 mile ride I got a puncture flat and replaced the tube; too fast. I didn't notice the tube had pinched against the rim and tire and literally 40 feet into the ride, BAM! R.I.P. to expensive Specialized Turbo Tube Ripped a good 2 inch gash right near the stem. I replace my tubes a bit more slower and analytically now.

I assume you were talking about the driveway, I saw 2 of the blowouts happen on that corner. The one guy was running a tubular, not sure about the other.

I blew a clincher on my first ride to conquer cancer.

Heading down a fast descent, hit a pothole and BAM! sounded like a shotgun. About an inch of beading blew right off the casing.

It was due to over inflation. Learned a lesson, and now I never let anyone but me inflate my tires.

It is the tire, not the tube that prevents blowouts.Therefore the latex vs butyl concern is irrelevant.

The most common cause of blowouts is improper installation.

mountain bike tube exploded. was sitting in garage low on air, likely misaligned due to low pressure, as soon as I was done pumping it exploded.

This happened on our tandem, with ENVE (Edge) 66 clinchers. Blew right through the tire, with such violence it caused the carbon to delaminate.







ENVE warrantied the wheel.

Back in the 80s we tested some new tires for Avocet.
Blew both of them in one week.
First, the front blew off the rim.
Second, rear tire blew off the rim and wrapped the tube into freewheel of our tandem creating an instant panic stop.. The guy drafting us got showered by tube debris.
Neither event caused us to crash but did create some excitement!
Believe lousy wire beads were at fault.
Rims were Mavic MA40s; butyl tubes. Other tires never blew off those rims.

Holy cow

Whoa!!! What made the tire split in two? Did you hit something?

So far no one has blamed a loose fitting tire for being the cause... interesting.

The tube blew suddenly, and this as we were just entering an intersection and had gotten our speed up to 27 mph.It required everything I could to avoid crashing. The tire was pretty rugged, too, a Specialized Roubaix. We hadn't hit anything. Likely it was a pinch flat from having the tube seated improperly.

when my clincher explodes it is usualy caused by the mexican food I ate earlier in the day