Cannondale 700c rims

shouldbeinbed

Anyone had any problems with these. I've got a Street Ultra running Cannondales factory supplied rims and tyres

trouble is it keeps violently blowing the tyre off the back rim. It blew off whils I was (luckily) riding uphill on a fast dual carriageway section of road home having just picked it up. I'd have been in serious trouble a couple of minutes later on the downhill stretch

LBS had it for a couple of days and it kept doing it at bare minimum pressure and has started doing it again now. Always the rear rim whichever tyre was on it.

Cannondale aren't interested, To hear Cannondale tell it they ship a random collection of metal tubes and other bits and everything after that is someone elses fault, I checked with LBS, they assure me it came with wheels and tyres in situ. I've stressed the danger and that it blew whilst on the road, got nowt from them, not even an acknowledgement. (I assume they don't want to enter into a conversation to acknowledge a problem on a brand new bike that could have killed the rider in case it gets legal)

LBS figured the tyre is slightly small for the rim so its got an extra rim tape in there which has worked and I've racked up a good few hundred miles with no problems. Came in tonight and the tyre was bulged off the rim slightly, fully removed it. checked the tyre and tube, both fine and reset it properly, pumped it up to 60psi (tyre recommended 50-85) it held for a minute then blew big time.

I'm rapidly losing confidence in it and am sure I'll end up under a bus before long but am stick for a replacement because its an Alfine rear hub so not as if I can just swap it out and communicating with Cannondale on anything that they don't want to hear or discuss is like trying to raise the dead.

anyone got an in with cannondale or similar bad experiences with their rim/tyre combo.

merkin

What tyres does it have? Are they 700c28mm schwalbe kojak tyres? I put about 100psi in mine. I have a badboy 700. I feel a tad nervous now..

rjsterry

Sounds like the exact opposite of the problem that owners of Campag Ventos have. A colleague had a Condor with those (until it was stolen), and it took two of us to get the tyre off and back on. Nearly trashed my tyre levers in the process. After a bit of research, we found that this was a fairly well known problem, and Campy must just make their rims with a slightly larger radius. So much for standardisation.

I have also noticed when I switched from Spesh Armadillos to Conti Gatorskins that tyre changes were easier, as the rubber is much more supple. Maybe ask your LBS very nicely if you can try out a couple of different tyres (or could they even recommend a 'snug' fit).

cjcp

shouldbeinbed wrote:

I'm rapidly losing confidence in it and am sure I'll end up under a bus before long but am stick for a replacement because its an Alfine rear hub so not as if I can just swap it out and communicating with Cannondale on anything that they don't want to hear or discuss is like trying to raise the dead.

anyone got an in with cannondale or similar bad experiences with their rim/tyre combo.

Might be worth asking in the "Road" section. I'd keep at Cannondale, too.

Anything on road bike review forums about this? A Google search might throw up something.

shouldbeinbed

Hi All

Thanks for the comments. They're Schwalbe Marathon slicks 700 x 38c and it just seems to be the back one that's the issue. Front will happily take 80psi+ but the back is 60 at at best and when it blows it usually does so at 45-50 (bare minimum). I've swapped front and rear tyres over and its still the rear that goes.

my suspicion is that the lip in the rims is too shallow and the tyres aren't making a proper pressure sealed joint soon enough and the tube is bubbling out just enough to push a chunk of tyre off. In all but one bang, the tube has survived in tact.

I'll ask in workshop and road but didn't think I'd get much of a hearing in road as its a bulky hybrid rather than a feather on wheels.

there's not much in the way of reviews and info on t'internet as it's quite a rare (unpopular) bike - maybe all the other owners are all flat in a gutter somewhere.

Cannondale customer service just ignore me now - I think I'm on a blacklist.

always_tyred

How long have you had the bike?

(a) a very long time - the rims might be worn and the beads starting to bow out slightly - either that or they've had a ding. Regrettable, but inevitable.

(b) hardly any time - you have a contract with the seller, not directly with Cannondale. Don't waste your time with them. You have statutory protection in the UK for a year after sale for goods not fit for purpose. As I understand things, you have possible protection for a further year, but the onus is on you to supply evidence of such (within the first year, I believe that the seller has to show that the goods ARE fit for purpose).

It doesn't matter that its not the seller's fault - unfortunately they have to take it up with Cannondale.

(c) somewhere in between - bummer.