On Sun, 11 Jan 2004 21:40:14 -0600, A Muzi wrote:

AGRIBOB wrote:
Recently had a sidewall failure on a Continental 700 x 28 Gatorskin tire.
Mounted once and only once on a Weiman Concave rim it blew at less than 350
miles. The sidewall suffered an inch and a quarter "cut" right next to the
wire bead. The tire material surrounded the inside of the bead but the bead
could be observed from the tire side.
-snip-
The failure was near the valve thus I had not used tire irons in the damaged
area to mount the tire.
-snip-


I was not there.
But that is consistent with someone pulling the valve down
snugly to the rim before airing the tire. The tire would
have a lump at the valve, which would drag on a brake shoe,
fatally.

I wasn't there, either, but I was riding with a couple on a tandem who had
a similar problem. I think their tire was a Continental 2000, again a
28mm width. Tire failed on the sidewall, very close to the bead. It had
a 1cm long hole, but was frayed for a longer stretch.

The captain is a very experienced cyclist. I checked the brake, and it
was not even close to the edge. The failure was not at the valve, it was
almost exactly opposite from the valve. The rim did not seem to have a
rough edge there, and the tape was fine.

Fortunately I had my spare tire with me, so they could get home.

Personally, I've seen too many people with sidewall problems with
Continental tires.

--

David L. Johnson

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