MACIV UST Yksion tyre bubbling

louisreg
louisreg Posts: 4
edited October 2019 in Workshop
I purchased a set of Mavic Ksyrium wheels fitted with Yksion tubeless tyres as a spare wheel set. Unfortunately, less than 600km in and the rear tyre has developed bubbles on the sidewall. I've been told the tyre is not safe to ride on. Would have thought this was a simple warranty issue so I emailed MAVIC but after the first couple of 'standard' replies they have gone quiet. Wondering if this is common issue with tubeless tyres and/or if it is a specific problem with Yksion. It has definitely tainted my view of MAVIC. Has anyone else experienced anything similar??

Comments

  • pilot_pete
    pilot_pete Posts: 2,120
    No, but you should take the tyre(s) back to the retailer where you purchased them, not try to deal with Mavic directly. The retailer is legally the entity that deals with warranty claims. Contact them or better still take the tyre into their retail outlet and ask them to exchange it for a new one. They may well make ‘normal wear and tear’ comments and try to wriggle out, but stand your ground - bubbles are not wear and tear and it sounds more like a manufacturing issue.

    I took a GP4000Sii back to Halfords the other month as chunks of the tread on the tyre shoulder were falling off. They tried to argue that I should be inflating them to 120psi, which is what they do with all road tyres and the damage was due to under inflation! This despite me pointing out the Continental tyre pressure recommendations and asking the mechanic if he was actually Cytech qualified, to which I got no response to either point. They refunded me.

    PP
  • Thanks PP. Bought them online from Merlin (UK) - I’m in Australia. They flatly refused to replace the tyre. Aussie distributor also refused (although this is understandable). These USTs obviously have a flaw but Mavic won’t admit it, they’re just kicking it from 1 dept to another. Think I’ll just go back to the good ol’ Continentals. Will never buy anything Mavic again!
  • I had this issue. Contacted Mavic directly. They were great. I just sent the pictures of the bubbling. They replaced the tyre after I sent them a picture of the old tyre cut in half. That was Mavic UK though.
  • Mavic UK, Merlin and the Aussie distributor are all passing the
    buck. I wonder if it might be because this is a common issue and they are now losing too much $$$ through warranty claims????
  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    What is this bubbling. If it sealant bubbling the tyre is safe to ride. What probably happening is there is some porosity in the tyre that your sealant is not sealing. A different sealant like orange seal standard or effetto Mariota should drop enough latex over the tyre to seal it properly.

    Frankly you have been advised poorly if I am right about the problem.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • Krysium/Yskion setup comes supplied with Mavic own brand of sealant. The assumption must be that Mavic have tested it properly??????
  • The first thing I would do (and have done), when buying/ receiving a pair of wheels fitted with Mavic tyres, is remove said tyres and throw them in the nearest bin. Without doubt the biggest pile of rubbery garbage I've ever experienced. I think the amount of actual rubber they put over the thread casing can be measured in microns...
  • As with lots of other topics in this forum people with no knowledge of the issue are opening their mouths and letting their bellies rumble
  • Thanks for all that feedback folks. In response to the cause of the bubbling, perhaps the Mavic sealent isn't doing it's job or there is an issue with the tyre itself as air is leaking across the tyre and getting trapped by the rubber lining on the side wall. In any case, I sent pics to MAVIC distributor in Oz & MAVIC UK. The Oz team advised tyre is not safe to ride & MAVIC UK agreed it should be replaced.

    To Aberdeen_lune's point: Agreed. Not a technical expert, but i can tell when something is not right (as can MAVIC). I'm venting my spleen because their response has been appalling. By comparison, earlier this year I had a problem with my SPEEDPLAY cleats , so emailed them asking if it was due to normal wear & tear or something else. Their response (about 3 days later): "Replacement parts have been mailed to your home address." They were great & obviously value their reputation.

    Can't say the same for Mavic.
  • luv2ride
    luv2ride Posts: 2,367
    edited November 2019
    I've got various WTB TCS tyres that have notoriously porous sidewalls, and that bubble in a similar way to what you've described. I changed from Stan's to effetto mariposa caffelatex sealant which seems far more effective, and problem solved...
    Titus Silk Road Ti rigid 29er - Scott Solace 10 disc - Kinesis Crosslight Pro6 disc - Scott CR1 SL - Pinnacle Arkose X 650b - Pinnacle Arkose singlespeed - Specialized Singlecross...& an Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray 4 string...
  • I had a Mavic tubeless tyre that bubbled, although the bubbles I had were on the tyre surface itself not the walls. I rode on on it after that but I did end up with a puncture that the sealant would not seal - although that is probably not related to the bubbles themselves. Had I had a worm I may indeed have been able to "save" that tyre for a few more miles...

    Having said that my tyres had the best part of 2-3000 miles on them. I simply replaced with a Hutchison, after a little bit of research.

    As for the Mavic tyres themselves I would have been in the same camp as @pippi_langsamer-2 above, after having the tubed tyres come on a set of Ksyriums previously. However, I thought that the UST versions were much much better.

    I think part of the OP's issues are buying outside of their own market, hence warranty coverage etc. is a little harder to pin down, and allows parties to wriggle out of their responsibilities??
  • timothyw
    timothyw Posts: 2,482
    The mavic tyres are made by Hutchinson, if you look at the tubeless tyre thread you'll see someone else posting with much the same issue recently (on a pair of hutchinson tubeless tyres).

    If you can get a warranty replacement, do so, otherwise ride on and ignore them (or pop them if you like....) I did so for several months without incident.
  • I had a similar problem with a brand-new Schwalbe G-One setup tubeless. This is what happened to the tread when the tyre was inflated after installation.

    As I hadn't purchased the tyre locally, I just threw it away - I've used about ten of this particular model of tyre on various bikes, and all the others have been fine.