is it normal for tyres to explode

carrock

Was out on my spesh roubaix with roubaix pro tyres

Heard what I thought was a rubbing noise from the rear- stopped, dismounted, and looked to see what was wrong. At that point, I heard a sound like a gunshot- which was the rear tyre and tube exploding



Is this normal??

prb007

Normal..............no.
Unusual...........yes.
Rare......yes, again.

Happened to me twice in the last 20 years,
but both times with 26" wheels not 700c.

Had you changed the tyre recently?
Was it seated properly?
Was there a gash in the carcass,
causing a weakness in the sidewall?
All sort of reasons why it may have happened,
put it down to experience and be thankful you weren't hurt!

Monty Dog

Most common cause is an incorrectly fitted inner tube causing it to fail catastrophically with the result - it very rarely happens without some prior problem. Likewise, was the brakeblock incorrectly adjusted, rubbing the tyre?

carrock

was oe tyre and tube on 9 month old roubaix- had been fine since new. Just heard a rubbing noise about 10 seconds earlier which is why I stopped

Just wondered if the 22 degree heat was a factor

Anyway no harm done

mostly harmless

I don't think we need to over think this.

You've hit something sharp (glass or possibly metal debris) that has cut your tyre.

The rubbing was the inner tube pushing though this cut and it burst shortly after.

The heat had nothing to do with it.

I carry a tyre boot, made from worn out tyre by cutting a ~4" section and cutting the bead off. This allows me to limp home if something like this happens as the boot is placed inside the tyre and protects the new inner. Weighs bugger all and has the potential to stop long embrassing walks.

andyrr

Likely to be a hole in the tyre causing the inner to poke out and from there it will go bang fairly quick. Could be brake blocks slightly mis-adjusted and wearing the sidewall of the tyre away.

Hugh A

The picture suggests that the tyre failed in the middle somewhere and was probably caused by a large cut in the carcass. The sticking beforehand, as has been suggested was probably a bulge in the tyre or inner tube striking part of the frame or brakes. If you experience this sort of thing it's always good to stop and check. Mostly it's just something stuck to the tyre, but anything you can feel as a bump is not good.

It may be linked to a fault in the tyre - I have had a few with uneven threads, but usually this leads to a dip in the surface rather than a bulge - but not very likely.

Nigel Bennett

Used to happen a lot with 1970s tubs - we all laughed like hell one time when Tony's exploded and blew his mudguard to bits as well. For some reason he didn't find it very funny...

carrock

Thanks- I'll chop a few sections out of the good bit of the tyre into tyre liners and carry a few just in case= at least it blew after I stopped to see what the noise was- could have been nasty at 30mph downhill

sascos

I had a bizzare situation a couple of weeks back whereby I had been out on a longish (40 mile) off road ride on a very hot day, I came home and left the bike in the back garden (happened to be in direct sunshine) and after about an hour or so my UST tyre exploded off of the rim !!

The dog (which was asleep by the bike) cr&pped himself and tyre will now not seal on the rim as the bead has gone all "floppy".

Not sure if it was a faulty tyre or whether this is common? :shock:

pilot_pete

What a coincidence! The exact same thing happened to me today, and I mean EXACT. Climbing the Cat & Fiddle, sudden 'bumping' at the rear, stopped, looked and saw a bulge in the centre of the rear tyre tread. This was just catching the underside of the rear brake causing the bumping sensation.

As I looked at it I could see there was no cut or apparent defect other than the tyre bulging, at which point it went BANG and I went deaf for about 5 minutes! All I can assume is that the layers under the tread had given way and allowed the tube to protrude, ultimately bursting through the tread and going off like a gun.

Continental Ultra Sport, original fitment on a 3 month old bike with less than 1000 miles on the clock.....not too impressed.

So my carriage of a spare tube and a puncture kit left me stranded as my failure was exactly the same as in the picture. I love Mostly Harmless's 4" tyre patch idea!

PP