Bumpy tyres

richardast

I've just returned to road biking having been away since I was a teenager (nearly 20 years out).
My new road bike has 23mm Continental Ultra Gatorskin tyres that seem to have a very annoying characteristic. A short section of the circumference of the tyre is about 5mm lower than the rest of it, regardless of how much I inflate it. This gives the effect of a small bump with every revolution of the wheel.
The bump is on both tyres, but on a different part of each tyre. The wheels are perfectly true.
Any ideas please.

blackhands

It sounds as if the bike has been standing for a long time without moving and the tyres have deformed - take it back and get new ones fitted.

richardast

Thanks for the reply, but the brand new tyres went on the brand new wheels very recently when I put the bike together, and it's not been left in the same position without moving.

blackhands

Ah - I'd assumed that you'd bought a complete bike - take the tyres back to where you bought them from.

baudman

Could it possibly be that you had accidentally put a fold in the tube as you were installing?

My guess is a bad batch of tyres - or perhaps you'd had it resting with the tyre against a source of heat?

Tony666

also check to see if the bump is opposite the valve as the tube can sometimes stick out there.

chad

This is a common problem with these tyres - its friction of the tyre rubbing against the rim of the wheel stopping the tyre seat correctly. All you need to do is either wet the tyre with a bit of water or rub some washing up liquid around the bead of the tyre. The tyre will seat properly when you inflate it.

Chad

richardast

Just checked in for the first time in days. Nicely timed.
Cheers Chad. I'll give that a try tomorrow.

Rob Somerset

I had a similar problem with the Gatorskin - but rather than a bump they had a side to side kink. I removed and refitted the tyre several times and it was always there.
I returned the tyre to Halfords who replaced it. I assume that you can get manufacturing defects.