Help! Tyre problem.

[Caph]

As you may be aware I bought a set of Schwalbe Snow studs recently after a fall on black ice.

The front tyre is unevenly made and appears to wobble moderately from side to side as viewed from above while cycling, but doesn't appear to affect handling so I didn't send it back.

The rear tyre had about 2 inches of metal sticking out the side which I didn't realise until after several puntures. Needless to say it went back and my replacement arrived at the weekend just in time for the bad weather. It fitted OK and I went through the usual procedure of squeezing it all round before pumping it up to make sure it was seated properly and not pinching the inner tube.

Anyway, I was smugly cycling home tonight in the thick snow with my tyres gripping very nicely indeed when I experienced what felt like a blow out except I ground to a halt rather than the usual slowing down. I checked my rear tyre and it had almost completely come off my wheel!

Luckily I was going up hill when this happened and not downhill!!!

I've never even heard of this happening let alone experienced anything like it before so I'm really looking for some help here. Could it be the tyre? That would make it three strikes and out for me for Schwalbe if it is. The thing is that it seems to fit OK and required both myself and my partner to get it on (as I expected with a brand new tyre) and seemed to fit very snugly. Can anyone shed any light on why this happened?

I managed to refit the tyre on the roadside with my toolkit and pump and when I was nearly home I tried riding again but exactly the same thing happened. It just jumped off the rim with a bit of a bang! I've checked the inner tube and the part to the left of the valve is much more bloated than the rest of the inner tube. Could it be an inner tube problem? It may have taken some damage in the two tyre pop offs I suppose.

 

[stokepa31_mk2]

Ive heard they are prone to this and it is usually related to tyre pressure. once you get over 45psi. can you state what size and what rim you are using.

 

[Caph]

Hi Paul, thanks for the reply, the tyres are the Schwalbe Snow Studs 26" by 1.9". The recommended tyre pressures on the side of the tyre are 30 to 45 psi on snow and I was running them at about 35 psi. The rims are Huafeng alloys 26" by 1.5" (http://www.xitangrim.com/index_e.asp). I've ridden 1500 miles without any problems with 26" by 2.1" knobbly tyres fitted at 45 psi. In fact I've never had any problem with any tyre until I fitted Schwalbe!

If I'd have known about this problem I would never have fitted them. I'd rather take my chances with black ice than have my tyre pop off while riding slowly up a hill!!! Is it just the Snow Studs that you've heard having this problem or is it Schwalbe tyres in general?


(I feel like I'm in an episode of Lost. I'm posting an hour in the future according to the timestamp on this post!)

 

[stokepa31_mk2]

I have never had a problem with marathon + tyres and they are well thought of by all on here. The ice tyres have a very stiff side wall and i think a side effect of this is they have to be loose fitting in the first place. Your rims sound ok for the size of tyre though. maybe put them at 45psi and test. They also have to be worn in on tarmac i read somewhere.

 

[Mussels]

Mine have been run at a variety of pressures between 30 and 70psi and I've had no trouble. I'm running on a Rhino rear rim which is slightly bigger than the standard Wisper rim so it could make a difference.

 

[Caph]

I'd forgotten about the run in period, although I was under the impression this was to do with bedding in the spikes.

I'm in two minds now. I'd like to give it another go for tomorrow which by all accounts will have black ice under snow, but the thought of the tyre jumping off the rim on some of the busier roads I travel on quite frankly terrifies me. I was travelling at about 30mph downhill with that same tyre on this morning (snow wasn't lying then). If the accident had happened at that speed things could have been a heck of a lot worse - I've got a feeling I'll be having some nasty nightmares tonight of me sliding head first under a parked car at 30mph.

I think it's back out in to the garage to refit the old tyre. Just what I need at 9pm in the freezing cold.

------

Mussels, it's reassuring to know yours are OK at various pressures. I've had the front one fitted for several weeks now with the same rim and have had no problems with it (apart from the visible wobble), which makes me think I may have another dodgy tyre.

 

[Caph]

After changing the tyre and inner tube I think I've found the cause of the problem.

The inner tube is now definitely deformed so I went to swap it for an identical Schraeder 26" x 2.0 - 2.3" tube. Yes, I know, I had a lightbulb moment when I read the packet too. Wrong size inner tube for the tyre. I felt like a right muppet. I bought them for my 2.1" tyres a while back and it didn't cross my mind when I swapped to the Snow Studs.

I guess I've been lucky with the front one but I'll be purchasing the correct size inner tubes tomorrow.

 

[Mussels]

After changing the tyre and inner tube I think I've found the cause of the problem.

The inner tube is now definitely deformed so I went to swap it for an identical Schraeder 26" x 2.0 - 2.3" tube. Yes, I know, I had a lightbulb moment when I read the packet too. Wrong size inner tube for the tyre. I felt like a right muppet. I bought them for my 2.1" tyres a while back and it didn't cross my mind when I swapped to the Snow Studs.

I guess I've been lucky with the front one but I'll be purchasing the correct size inner tubes tomorrow.

I don't think that should make any difference, I kept the same inner tubes when I replaced my 2.1 tyres with the snow studs. They are designed to work over a range of sizes and I don't see how a slightly oversize inner would knock your tyre off.
Too much pressure could cause it to pop off like that but you've had it happen at low pressure, so it's not that. Undersize rims could cause it to happen but I've not heard of any pedelecs having that problem, ISTR you have a Wisper - is that right?
Tolerances can vary and it may be you have a slightly undersize rim coupled with a slightly oversize bead, if you do have a slightly small rim you may find Continental works better as I find them a tighter fit. They are cheaper too which is nice.
I'm not very experienced so somebody else might think of something I haven't come across yet.

 

[john]

Check your rim. Does it have a good lip on the inside of the rim for the tyre bead to hook on to?

 

[Caph]

Firstly, thanks for all your insights/comments/suggestions, they are all much appreciated.

I've ordered some branded Schwalbe inner tubes so I'll give them a go and report back - they should arrive tomorrow morning.

My rims don't look any different to me than any of the others that I've owned but then I'm no rim expert so if the new tubes don't solve the problem I'll look at the rims in more detail.

Again, many thanks.

-----------

Mussels, I don't have a Wisper, I have a Galileo. It came with the Huafeng rims.

 

[Caph]

My inner tubes arrived today so I took the back wheel off and attempted to fit them. The rim looks fine with a good 7mm lip with a ridge around the edge. I really struggled to fit the Snow Stud tyre back on though, not because it was too tight, but because it was too loose. It was like fitting a 28" tyre to a 26" rim.

I perservered and managed to get it on just but one side in particular was incredibly loose to the point where it would slip over the lip of my rim at its loosest point. The other side isn't like this and seems normal. I tried inflating it but the more air I put in to it, the more the loose side came off the rim.

It definitely looks like another duff tyre and if I was to guess I'd say the metal wire has snapped somewhere but after a thorough inspection I can't find where.

I guess I'll have to send it back again. I have to say, this has really put me off buying any Schwalbe tyres in future.

 

[Mussels]

It definitely looks like another duff tyre and if I was to guess I'd say the metal wire has snapped somewhere but after a thorough inspection I can't find where.

I guess I'll have to send it back again. I have to say, this has really put me off buying any Schwalbe tyres in future.

That's not good. I did read a piece on a snow tyre suppiers website saying he had stopped stocking the snow and ice tyres in favour of the Marathon winter tyres, he didn't explain why but it may be that model is prone to failure. That might be why they were so cheap.