BANG!

[DeF]

....went the rear tire as I was riding home
yesterday. I was going down a slight hill
(about 35kph) with my two yo son in the baby
seat. Took me several 10s of metres to bring
the bike to a stop. Bike was pretty skittish
with all that weight on the back. Quick
inspection showed a 4" split in the tire near
and parallel to the bead. The tire is a five
year old IRC metro 2.0 which was inflated to
around 85psi (the maximum recommended pressure).
Methinks I'll have to replace tires more often
and perhaps not pump it up so high when I've
got a load on board.

Well, it gave me a fright...

DeF.

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[TimC]

On 2005-10-21, DeF (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
> ...went the rear tire as I was riding home
> yesterday. I was going down a slight hill
> (about 35kph) with my two yo son in the baby
> seat. Took me several 10s of metres to bring
> the bike to a stop. Bike was pretty skittish
> with all that weight on the back. Quick
> inspection showed a 4" split in the tire near
> and parallel to the bead. The tire is a five
> year old IRC metro 2.0 which was inflated to
> around 85psi (the maximum recommended pressure).
> Methinks I'll have to replace tires more often
> and perhaps not pump it up so high when I've
> got a load on board.

Yeah, car tires and bike tires definitely have a lifetime of less than
5 years old. Remember rubber degrades, especially with UV exposure.

I just looked at my back tire on the roady this morning. 3000km, and
it is looking ever so slightly worn (hey, I am actually running
according to spec for the tires -- pity my drive chain didn't fare
better!). I am really tempting fate here, but I have yet to have a
puncture in either tire. Lots of glass nicks in both tires, but the
glass obviously self-ejected (with the occasional help from my gloves
when I realise I have just ridden through a whole pile of bogan
droppings.

> Well, it gave me a fright...

And your kid probably loved it. "Do it again daddy!".

--
TimC
The other day I overheard that a friend of the family had called their
new kid "Noah". I thinks "Noah? I 'ardly -" and then I bursts out
laughing.. -- Screwtape in RHOD

[EuanB]

DeF Wrote:
> The tire is a five
> year old IRC metro 2.0 which was inflated to
> around 85psi (the maximum recommended pressure).
>
Five YEARS? What's you secret? I go through about five rears a YEAR!

Glad you're OK, blow outs are scary at speed.


--
EuanB

[flyingdutch]

EuanB Wrote:
> Five YEARS? What's you secret? I go through about five rears a YEAR!
>
> Glad you're OK, blow outs are scary at speed.

That's what enters my head every BR now going down 'the hill'. Except
I'm imaging the front one going :( :(


--
flyingdutch

[cfsmtb]

DeF Wrote:
> ....went the rear tire as I was riding home yesterday. I was going down
> a slight hill (about 35kph) with my two yo son in the baby seat.


Ouch! Hope the little one wasn't put off by it! Just got back from
helping out at a Yarra council bike day at Fitzroy primary school. Kewl
stuff, especially for all the kids who were deeply impressed by Chris
(from FTF's) doing trial stunts. Anything that inspires kiddies away
from the gameboy totally rocks. :D


--
cfsmtb

[DeF]

EuanB wrote:
> DeF Wrote:
>> The tire is a five
>> year old IRC metro 2.0 which was inflated to
>> around 85psi (the maximum recommended pressure).
>>
> Five YEARS? What's you secret? I go through about five rears a YEAR!
>
> Glad you're OK, blow outs are scary at speed.
>
>

No secret really, I've got 4 bikes that I ride, this one
gets used for short trips to work and back. The tires are
pretty thick (26" x 2.0) so take a long time to wear out.
Having said that, I noticed when I took the tire off that
it was a bit thin around the middle (opposite to me). Still,
no canvas visible. I'm guessing that there was some perishing
around where the bead is and that contributed to the failure.
The tire was pretty dirty, I wonder if chain lube accumulating
on the tire accelerated the perishing.

For my road bikes, (700c x 23), I get around 3000km out
of a rear (Rubino Pro, foldable).

Off to the bike shop this arvo, am thinking I'll get *two*
new tires (front and back). I like the look of either the
Michelin Transworld City (26 x 1.75) or the Continental
Contact City (26 x 1.75). Any recommendations welcome...

Cheers,
DeF



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[SteveA]

DeF Wrote:
> EuanB wrote:
> > DeF Wrote:
> >> The tire is a five
> >> year old IRC metro 2.0 which was inflated to
> >> around 85psi (the maximum recommended pressure).
> >>
> > Five YEARS? What's you secret? I go through about five rears a YEAR!
> >
> > Glad you're OK, blow outs are scary at speed.
> >
> >
>
> No secret really, I've got 4 bikes that I ride, this one
> gets used for short trips to work and back. The tires are
> pretty thick (26" x 2.0) so take a long time to wear out.
> Having said that, I noticed when I took the tire off that
> it was a bit thin around the middle (opposite to me). Still,
> no canvas visible. I'm guessing that there was some perishing
> around where the bead is and that contributed to the failure.
> The tire was pretty dirty, I wonder if chain lube accumulating
> on the tire accelerated the perishing.
>
> For my road bikes, (700c x 23), I get around 3000km out
> of a rear (Rubino Pro, foldable).
>
> Off to the bike shop this arvo, am thinking I'll get *two*
> new tires (front and back). I like the look of either the
> Michelin Transworld City (26 x 1.75) or the Continental
> Contact City (26 x 1.75). Any recommendations welcome...
>
> Cheers,
> DeF
>
>
>
> --
> e-mail:
> To reply, you'll have to remove finger.


I was running Continental Travel Contact 26 x 1.75s on my MTB commuter
for a while and they were great. But I swapped to narrower full slicks
(Specialized Fat Boys 26 x 1.25) and I have been very happy with those.
We just booked a Rotto holiday for next year and I will probably put
the Travel Contacts back on for the week we are there as I want
someting just a bit wider than the Fat Boys.

SteveA


--
SteveA

[Kim Hawtin]

cfsmtb wrote:
> DeF Wrote:
> > ....went the rear tire as I was riding home yesterday. I was going down
> > a slight hill (about 35kph) with my two yo son in the baby seat.
>
>
>
> Ouch! Hope the little one wasn't put off by it! Just got back from
> helping out at a Yarra council bike day at Fitzroy primary school. Kewl
> stuff, especially for all the kids who were deeply impressed by Chris
> (from FTF's) doing trial stunts. Anything that inspires kiddies away
> from the gameboy totally rocks. :D

despite working where i do, i agree with you =)
theres a lot more to life than your digital interaction.

cheers,

Kim

[Kim Hawtin]

EuanB wrote:
> DeF Wrote:
>
>>The tire is a five
>>year old IRC metro 2.0 which was inflated to
>>around 85psi (the maximum recommended pressure).
>>
>
> Five YEARS? What's you secret? I go through about five rears a YEAR!
>
> Glad you're OK, blow outs are scary at speed.

the rear on my fixie exhaled on me last week.
*that* was interesting!
damn those old perished 27 inchers...
maybe i should migrate to some 700c's instead =)

kim

[DeF]

Kim Hawtin wrote:
> EuanB wrote:
>> DeF Wrote:
>>> The tire is a five
>>> year old IRC metro 2.0 which was inflated to
>>> around 85psi (the maximum recommended pressure).
>>>
>>
>> Five YEARS? What's you secret? I go through about five rears a YEAR!
>>
>> Glad you're OK, blow outs are scary at speed.
>
> the rear on my fixie exhaled on me last week.
> *that* was interesting!
> damn those old perished 27 inchers...
> maybe i should migrate to some 700c's instead =)
>
> kim

That would be interesting. In fact, I recently replaced
the rear tire on my fixie despite having lots of tread. There
where cracks between the tread where canvas was visible. After
having an off when the seat tube snapped last year, I'm a lot
more careful with the fixie. No such thing as gently coasting
to a stop.

DeF

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[PiledHigher]

Kim Hawtin Wrote:
> EuanB wrote:
> > DeF Wrote:
> >
> >>The tire is a five
> >>year old IRC metro 2.0 which was inflated to
> >>around 85psi (the maximum recommended pressure).
> >>
> >
> > Five YEARS? What's you secret? I go through about five rears a
> YEAR!
> >
> > Glad you're OK, blow outs are scary at speed.
>
> the rear on my fixie exhaled on me last week.
> *that* was interesting!
> damn those old perished 27 inchers...
> maybe i should migrate to some 700c's instead =)
>
> kim

I flatted on the fixie last week, was 1.5k's from home, was a bit
squirrelly up the hill but there was no way I could be bothered
changing the flat at that point..

I think that tyre life has improved significantly in the last few
years, been getting 5000k's plus from most rears. (700x23's)


--
PiledHigher

[DeF]

cfsmtb wrote:
> DeF Wrote:
>> ....went the rear tire as I was riding home yesterday. I was going down
>> a slight hill (about 35kph) with my two yo son in the baby seat.
>
>
> Ouch! Hope the little one wasn't put off by it! Just got back from
> helping out at a Yarra council bike day at Fitzroy primary school. Kewl
> stuff, especially for all the kids who were deeply impressed by Chris
> (from FTF's) doing trial stunts. Anything that inspires kiddies away
> from the gameboy totally rocks. :D
>
>
The little one was completely unphased by the whole thing.
The only problem was he wouldn't accept that we couldn't
keep riding!

I've trained him very well. He does the arm signals (sometimes
at the right times) and yells out "bike coming" on regular occasions.
I don't have a bell and that is what I yell out to peds on the shared
paths.

Gotta go. Have to pick up the 5yo daughter from school who
broke her arm last week (*not* riding a bike I hasten to add...)

DeF.


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[SEGFTG]

Hey DeF,
glad to hear you both survived!
Just curious to know yours or anyone else's thoughts on the child
seat... what's the best brand/make and and what age to start the little
one. i have a 7 month old and keen to get him on board soon


--
SEGFTG

[Peter Signorini]

"DeF" wrote:

> No secret really, I've got 4 bikes that I ride, this one
> gets used for short trips to work and back. The tires are
> pretty thick (26" x 2.0) so take a long time to wear out.

Yes the IRC Metros are pretty beefy in the tread region. My experience with
them is that they'll last well for about 5 years, then finally fail due to
perishing side walls or thinnning of the tread causing delamination.

> Having said that, I noticed when I took the tire off that
> it was a bit thin around the middle (opposite to me). Still,
> no canvas visible. I'm guessing that there was some perishing
> around where the bead is and that contributed to the failure.
> The tire was pretty dirty, I wonder if chain lube accumulating
> on the tire accelerated the perishing.
>
> For my road bikes, (700c x 23), I get around 3000km out
> of a rear (Rubino Pro, foldable).
>
> Off to the bike shop this arvo, am thinking I'll get *two*
> new tires (front and back). I like the look of either the
> Michelin Transworld City (26 x 1.75) or the Continental
> Contact City (26 x 1.75). Any recommendations welcome...

Scwalbe Marathon - excellent reputation for durability in all sorts of
conditions
Vittoria Randonneur Cross - 5000kms with no 'real' punctures. They are very
tight on my rims and I have managed to pinch the tube when changing tyres.

Both are excellent tyres with plenty of rubber, a puncture proof layer and
decent tread that gives that extra grip for gravel roads and bike paths.

Cheers
Peter

[Resound]

Kim Hawtin Wrote:
> EuanB wrote:
> > DeF Wrote:
> >
> >>The tire is a five
> >>year old IRC metro 2.0 which was inflated to
> >>around 85psi (the maximum recommended pressure).
> >>
> >
> > Five YEARS? What's you secret? I go through about five rears a
> YEAR!
> >
> > Glad you're OK, blow outs are scary at speed.
>
> the rear on my fixie exhaled on me last week.
> *that* was interesting!
> damn those old perished 27 inchers...
> maybe i should migrate to some 700c's instead =)
>
> kim

A nice idea but remember that 700c rims are a bit smaller than 27" so
brake caliper reach can be an issue. I certainly need a new back tyre
on the road bike...I got another fscking flat last night on the way
home from Goating. That's only the 2nd outing on the new tube. Grrr. At
least it had the good grace to be a slow leak so I got home blissfully
ignorant but found a flat tyre waiting for me this morning when I got
the bike out to go to work. So I unwedged the chain on the fixie and
rode that instead...bloody thing has play in the rear hub after its
last chain throwing exercise...feels horrible.


--
Resound

[Flying Echidna]

On Fri, 21 Oct 2005 22:39:49 +1000, "Peter Signorini"
> wrote in aus.bicycle:

>
>Yes the IRC Metros are pretty beefy in the tread region. My experience with
>them is that they'll last well for about 5 years, then finally fail due to
>perishing side walls or thinnning of the tread causing delamination.


Had similar experience with IRC on one of my kid's bikes the side
walls actually appeared covered with small blisters. On closer
examination it was just the rubber skin the canvas and inner layers
were intact - as a cosmetic measure just cut off the blisters. The
tyres lasted ages until I finally got round to replacing them - the
bike was only used intermitently

The no name Made in China tyres supplied with my Shogun Metro didn't
perish and were decidedly beefy in the tread department but when I
finally replaced them after 6 years commuting use with just about no
tread left I noticed the side walls were a bit brittle. Close
examination of the tread surface revealed lots of small nicks down to
the canvas dispiite this only had one puncture - tyre liners are
wonderful things!

If the replacement Maxxis Overdrives last as well I shall be well
satisfied.

The only tyres I would never buy again are Vredestein. in the days
when I rode a road bike I had two sidewalls blow out with an
impressive bang in consecutive weeks. Must have been a bad batch (or a
badly stored batch?) but I am off them for life - the side wall seemed
to separate from the wire beading. The first time happened just as I
started down a steep hill fortunately in the rear wheel but it
certainly got my attention.


Regards
Prickles

This message only uses recycled electrons

[Kim]

Resound wrote:
> Kim Hawtin Wrote:
>>the rear on my fixie exhaled on me last week.
>>*that* was interesting!
>>damn those old perished 27 inchers...
>>maybe i should migrate to some 700c's instead =)
>
> A nice idea but remember that 700c rims are a bit smaller than 27" so
> brake caliper reach can be an issue.

thinking about some flavour of hub brake or maybe a disk?

> I certainly need a new back tyre
> on the road bike...I got another fscking flat last night on the way
> home from Goating. That's only the 2nd outing on the new tube. Grrr. At
> least it had the good grace to be a slow leak so I got home blissfully
> ignorant but found a flat tyre waiting for me this morning when I got
> the bike out to go to work. So I unwedged the chain on the fixie and
> rode that instead...bloody thing has play in the rear hub after its
> last chain throwing exercise...feels horrible.

i've had that too!
commuted a couple of weeks now on the fixie and i had several small
punctures on the rear before the tire let go...

i now carry a large shifter as well as all the normal kit.
might have to build up some QR hubs for it instead =)

cheers,

Kim

[Resound]

>
> i've had that too!
> commuted a couple of weeks now on the fixie and i had several small
> punctures on the rear before the tire let go...
>
> i now carry a large shifter as well as all the normal kit.
> might have to build up some QR hubs for it instead =)
>
> cheers,
>
> Kim

Either that or some of the old skool wingnuts with the bif honking levers on
them. Nicely retro and clamp harder than QR.

[DeF]

SEGFTG wrote:
> Hey DeF,
> glad to hear you both survived!
> Just curious to know yours or anyone else's thoughts on the child
> seat... what's the best brand/make and and what age to start the little
> one. i have a 7 month old and keen to get him on board soon
>
>

I reckon 7 months is fine for the back of the bike.

We've got a "Bebo" brand (I think) baby seat. There
are heaps of them around and there are several different
brands that look identical to me. One advantage of this
seat is that you can get the appropriate rack separately so
we have one my wife's bike as well. My daughter went to sleep
in it once. When we got home, I slid her and the carrier off
and carried her into her room where she slept for another
hour leaning against the wall.

Summary of good features:
-Seat slides on and off very easily leaving behind a
good quality rack for panniers etc.
-Belt pretty easy to adjust so child cannot slip out of
it
-Adjustable height foot-cups that feet can be strapped into
-High head rest at back.
-Handles that kid can grab hold on to.
-Well padded.

Irritation:
-Velcro feet straps no tight enough, I had to re-route them
so child's feet can't move.

Unused feature:
-The seat can be reclined but I've never used this. The
seat puts enough weight at the back without lying back as well!

Cheers,
DeF


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[DaveB]

We had a one-car household so the child seat was a great investment in
freedom when the car was required elsewhere. Not sure how old my
daughter was when we got it, probably 1 1/2. But she absolutely loved it
and only gave it up when we got the trailer bike when she turned 4.
Can't remember what brand it is but I do recall the LBS included
installation for free when it was bought just to encourage people to
have someone who knew what they were doing do the install. Given the
cargo, that seemed like a bloody good idea to me.

DaveB

[SteveA]

Kim Wrote:
> Resound wrote:
> > Kim Hawtin Wrote:
> >>the rear on my fixie exhaled on me last week.
> >>*that* was interesting!
> >>damn those old perished 27 inchers...
> >>maybe i should migrate to some 700c's instead =)
> >
> > A nice idea but remember that 700c rims are a bit smaller than 27" so
> > brake caliper reach can be an issue.
>
> thinking about some flavour of hub brake or maybe a disk?
>
> > I certainly need a new back tyre
> > on the road bike...I got another fscking flat last night on the way
> > home from Goating. That's only the 2nd outing on the new tube. Grrr.
> At
> > least it had the good grace to be a slow leak so I got home
> blissfully
> > ignorant but found a flat tyre waiting for me this morning when I got
> > the bike out to go to work. So I unwedged the chain on the fixie and
> > rode that instead...bloody thing has play in the rear hub after its
> > last chain throwing exercise...feels horrible.
>
> i've had that too!
> commuted a couple of weeks now on the fixie and i had several small
> punctures on the rear before the tire let go...
>
> i now carry a large shifter as well as all the normal kit.
> might have to build up some QR hubs for it instead =)
>
> cheers,
>
> Kim
Don't use a shifter if you value your nuts. Go get a ring spanner the
right size - almost certainly lighter weight and it shouldn't round the
corners off your nuts.:)

SteveA


--
SteveA

[slaw]

DeF Wrote:
> ....went the rear tire as I was riding home
> yesterday. I was going down a slight hill
> (about 35kph) with my two yo son in the baby
> seat. Took me several 10s of metres to bring
> the bike to a stop. Bike was pretty skittish
> with all that weight on the back. Quick
> inspection showed a 4" split in the tire near
> and parallel to the bead. The tire is a five
> year old IRC metro 2.0 which was inflated to
> around 85psi (the maximum recommended pressure).
> Methinks I'll have to replace tires more often
> and perhaps not pump it up so high when I've
> got a load on board.
>
> Well, it gave me a fright...
>
> DeF.
>
> --
> e-mail:
> To reply, you'll have to remove finger.
There are 2 reasons that the tyre could wear near the bead:

Brake pads rubbing on the tyre. Most brakes go out of alignment as the
pads wear, some more than others.

or, for wider tyres at LOWER pressures and/or higher loads, the angle
that the tyre makes with the rim is higher (because of the more
balloon-like shape) so the edge of the rim can wear into the tyre.


--
slaw

[SEGFTG]

Thanks for the feedback DeF and DaveB, I like the look of the topeak
model at my LBS, might pick one up this week.


--
SEGFTG

[alison_b]

SEGFTG Wrote:
> Hey DeF,
> glad to hear you both survived!
> Just curious to know yours or anyone else's thoughts on the child
> seat... what's the best brand/make and and what age to start the little
> one. i have a 7 month old and keen to get him on board soon
It has been many years since my kids were in bike seats, but the key to
when they were ready - as I was advised at the time - was they could sit
up unsupported and their neck was strong enough to support head and
helmet without wobbling about all over the place. This was quite
different by some months for each youngster.

cheers,
ali


--
alison_b