Exploding Tubes

quokka

I've recently had some new wheels made ( DT Swiss rims/spokes & XT hubs ), then fitted my 6 month old Marathon 26 x 1.5's on using new Chen Shin tubes. The tyres are rated to 100psi and I have the front tyre down at 90-95psi. Yesterday, I went for a short 20km ride and came home. All good. About 3 hours later there was a gunshot sound from the front room which I discovered was the sound of my front tube blowing out and ripping the edge of the tyre as well. I was very careful when I fitted the tyre and tube, and the tear in the tube wasn't along one of its seams. My initial reaction was that the tube was faulty. Or maybe I pinched it when I fitted it, but why didn't it blow when I rode on it? Anyway, if anyone has any other ideas on this please fire away.

( I've never had a tube blow before, and my planned ride today was down to town where I zoom down the hill for 10km at 70km/h, so if it had blown then I'd be a splatter on the side of the road. )

nferrar

Bike wasn't against a radiator? Seems odd to blow hours after a ride so it expanding due to heat is all I can think of

quokka

Thanks nferrar, I thought of that as well, but there is no heater in that room and yesterday when it blew the air temp was about 18degrees C. I know one blown up tube in 30years of riding is probably pretty good, but I hate not knowing why?

notsoracy rich

I had something similar with a conti tyre some time ago-it had a faulty bead.Perhaps your new rims haven't got such a pronounced hook edge , and the tyre blew off-this would cause the explosion and rip in the inner tube.

Monty Dog

It's usually the fault of the tyre / rim / mounting rather than the tube itself - the tube was just trying to find the easiest escape route - the fact that the tyre was damaged / not mounted properly sounds like the problem - there's not enough energy in an inflated tube to damage a tyre.

quokka

Thanks guys, I've removed and refitted both front and rear tyres & tubes and been for a ride today - no dramas. I think Monty Dog is right. Maybe I didn't have the tyre seated correctly.

teulk

Thats exactly whats just happened to mine, tyre rating 45-75psi. tyres pumped to 65psi. Went out for a ride all was well then about 12hrs later at about 03:30 in the morning my rear tyre exploded. The tube has a hole about 1.5inch long and the tyre a hole about 3inch long along the steel rim insert.

edeverett

I had a tube explode during a hot day when it was locked up outside the office. The pressures where well within any limits. There was, as other people have experienced, a long rip in the tube with no obvious cause. I put it down to 'one of those things', not very scientific of me.

The other day though I was walking down Brixton high street and there was a very loud 'gun shot' sound which had everyone ducking for cover. Looking around for what had happened revealed a shocked looking lady with a flat tyre...

Gary D

quokka wrote:

I've recently had some new wheels made ( DT Swiss rims/spokes & XT hubs ), then fitted my 6 month old Marathon 26 x 1.5's on using new Chen Shin tubes. The tyres are rated to 100psi and I have the front tyre down at 90-95psi. Yesterday, I went for a short 20km ride and came home. All good. About 3 hours later there was a gunshot sound from the front room which I discovered was the sound of my front tube blowing out and ripping the edge of the tyre as well. I was very careful when I fitted the tyre and tube, and the tear in the tube wasn't along one of its seams. My initial reaction was that the tube was faulty. Or maybe I pinched it when I fitted it, but why didn't it blow when I rode on it? Anyway, if anyone has any other ideas on this please fire away.

( I've never had a tube blow before, and my planned ride today was down to town where I zoom down the hill for 10km at 70km/h, so if it had blown then I'd be a splatter on the side of the road. )

Do a search on Schwalbe Marathon. I had exactly the same problem (3 times in fact) and posted on the forum. Since changing the tyres I haven't had a problem. I put it down to incompatible tyre/rim combination.

Gary.

andrewgturnbull

quokka wrote:

front tube blowing out and ripping the edge of the tyre as well

Hi there.

Could it not be that the rip in the tyre happened first, and the tube burst because of that, rather than the other way around?

If the tyre is seated badly, the tube will generally blow out under the bead, not through the sidewall.

Cheers, Andy

jumbolugs

I agree with Mr Turnbull, most likely explanation is the tyre was split, tube then gradually bulges out thru tyre and explodes.

I once watched this happening in slow motion just after inflating a tube: a few minutes after I'd finished pumping I noticed a little black bubble appearing in the sidewall of the tyre and growing rapidly to golf-ball size at which point it exploded. The tyre had a tiny split in the sidewall which I hadn't noticed.

Roadbike

Everyone's pretty much nailed it (IMHO - damaged sidewall) But since nferrar brought up temp changes, I can't resist posting this anecdote:

Last October on a 100 mile ride, there was frost at dawn. In those early hours everyone pumped tires, checked true, tested brakes, and off! A beautiful sunny day, warmed up nicely and by the lunch stop tights & arm warmers had pretty much disappeared. There were 70 - 80 bikes laying in the grass at that stop. In the time it took me to down some fruit, apple juice, & a couple cookies I witnessed no less than 5 bikes explode a tire! My guess is, the more narrow the tire the more susceptible it is to temp changes.

Made me think a bit about tire pressure on frosty mornings!