Tyre blow out - Common or not

elffy

I was out cycling this afternoon and was travelling at about 22mph when all of a sudden there was a massive pop noice like a kids shotgun going off then all of a sudden the rear of the bike was all over the place. I managed to stop and remember to unclip before falling off. When inspecting the rear tyre, there was a hole in it about 15mm long with the inside of the tyre coming through it. Needless to say it wasn't a case of changing the inner tube and off you go again, it was ride over and somehow manage to get home. Are tyre blow outs common on bikes?

clanton

Very rare on road bikes. You probably slashed the tyre on something sharp first then the tube came through and burst.

One cause is dragging the brakes on LOOONGG alpine style descents, the heat can cause them to burst -not in your case though!

jim453

Check your brake blocks ar alligned to the braking surface and not straying slightly on to the tyre. My brakes must have been knocked in transit and I hadn't noticed. Same thing happened. Rubber wore then blew.

Like an idiot I put the spare tube in only to have the same thing happen again instantly. Long walk home.

What I have since found out is that I should have 'booted' the tyre to get me home. This involves placing somthing flat on the inside of the tyre over the hole to stop the tube trying to get out. An old bit of rubber cut from an old tyre or a folded banknote or gel wrapper shoulkd do nicely.

Obvious really, now it's been explained to me. I suppose.

rake

be carefull on iron manholes etc sometimes have raised edges.the only time i had rapid deflation was on some bottles been smashed on the cycle road. krylion tyres seem very long haul to me.nearly 1000 miles no flints embedded and no cut of any size. they should do 3000 without flinching on a lot of that sharp tar gravel crap they insist on putting down on hot days. make efforts not to skid the back wheel, you cant always hear it on quickly puts grooves in the tyres.

CiB

I've had one this morning. It was odd because the hole in the tyre where the tube had poked through was exactly on the edge of a patch from a prev puncture. It almost looks as though the glue or the edge of the patch has caused the tyre to deteriorate on the inner surface, allowing the tube through. There's no evidence of excessive or repeated braking on the one spot, or of any mechanical damage to the tyre's outer. Or maybe it was just one of those things. Sh!t happens sometimes, it just does and we have to just get on with it.

squired

I had it happen to me a couple of weeks ago. Cycling home it looks like I went over a piece of metal. It sliced clean through my tyre and inner tube (I could poke a finger through the hole) and damaged my rim as well. Luckily I was a 30 minute walk from home at the time and it was a nice day.

asprilla

If you have a blow out you need to make a boot to get you home. You can use part of the old innter tube to line the tyre there the hole is in order to protect the new inner tube. .

andrew_s

Asprilla wrote:

If you have a blow out you need to make a boot to get you home. You can use part of the old innter tube to line the tyre there the hole is in order to protect the new inner tube. .

Old inner tube is too stretchy to make a good boot. It's best to use a section cut from a worn out tyre ( 3 inches or so long, everything except the bead). Try to position it so that the old tread goes under the cut.
I separate tubes from toolkit in the side pocket of my saddlebag using bits of old tyre.

cougie

It does happen from time to time.

I've had two innertubes blow up this year without the tyre being damaged at all- I think they just gave up with old age. My tyres (touch wood) have let the innertubes last for far longer than I'd normally expect !

Meds1962

Whereabouts are you from? If the kids have shotguns I want to keep clear!!

crankycrank

In 46 years of riding I've heard of only a handful of blowouts that were claimed to just happen due to unknown reasons. The blowouts that do happen are usually caused by; pinched tube under the bead from improper mounting, old tyres with holes or very weak tread allowing the tube to poke through, severe hits from potholes etc. and large cuts from road debris, spokes poking through the rim, brake blocks mounted wrong and rubbing a hole through the tyre sidewall, rims that have worn down braking surfaces that catastrophically fail and tubes that have been waaaaay overinflated. I've only heard of tyres exploding on long descents in pro races but have never actually met someone who's had this happen. So from what I've seen is that as long as your equipment is maintained properly blowouts are extremely rare and not something to worry about. 8)

rake

i felt the rims after hard braking on a hill and they were not noticibly warm. youd need to go for miles with them on to heat up. a quick observation.