I’ve been blowing up a lot of tubes recently. Not punctures, it’s more like they “pop”.
i take them off, inspect the tire for anything embedded in the rubber, replace the tube, get the tire beads back on and then inflate to no more then 100psi. It’s happened a couple times where they’ve just popped within 2 minutes, i’ll do the whole thing again and reinflate to like 80psi and they’ll be fine.
Yesterday, after going a week or so with no problems, i pumped both tires to 100-110 psi, woke up early this morning to go for a ride and BOTH tubes are popped. Probably because it was very hot yesterday and the temperature in the garage went up. Very annoying, the bike store only opens at 10:00.
obviously i’m screwing up somewhere. The thing is, on the first set of tubes that came stock on the bike i would routinely pump to 110 psi before every ride with no problems what-so-ever. This was totally fine for like 5 months. Now all of a sudden i can’t brew a cup of coffee without changing 2 tubes on the way.
That sucks. Sounds like you’ve double checked everything. Sure the pressure isn’t too high for the tubes/tires? How about your pressure gage? Any chance that the guage/gage is reading incorrectly? Only other thing I’d guess would be a pinch or bad rim tape (spoke puncture) but it sounds as though you would have already checked that.
First, unless your garage gets really hot, that won’t blow your tubes (read up on the ideal gas law).
Second, it’s possible you have a bad batch of tubes. Where are the holes in the tube? Around the valve or on a seam might indicate that.
If the holes are on the side of the tube facing the hub, then you might have an issue with a spoke hole not being covered completely by the rim tape. What kind of rim tape are you using?
If the holes are on the outside of the tube (facing the tire), are they in the same area of the tire? If so, then there likely is something in the tire, or a hole in the tire that is cutting the tube.
If the holes are ragged, and the tire went with a loud noise, then the tube somehow came out of the tire/rim and blew.
More data on the types/locations of the holes in the tires would be helpful.
I'll throw my 0.02 in here since I have a similar problem if I'm not really careful. I don't know if it because of the rim or the tire, but if I'm not careful the bead of the tire will not slide underneath the tube as I'm inflating it. This lets the tube expand outward between the rim and the bead of the tire and will pop soon thereafter...usually around the 100psi mark. For me, it always happens in the vicinity of the stem...so I usually make a point of pushing the tube up into the tire with the stem after putting the tire on so that the bead will seat properly.
I just had the same problem and it turned out to be the rim tape. Even though it looked like it was covering the holes, apparently when the tube was inflated, the pressure on the tape was able to push it out of the way enough to expose the spoke holes.
You may already do this but… Another thing that might also help, is to inflate your tire to 40-50 psi and roll your wheel to make sure the bead is seating correctly on the rim and then finish the inflation once your sure it’s correct. If it’s incorrect you’ll usually see either the tube extruding between the tire and rim or the bead not seated.
I’ve been blowing up a lot of tubes recently. Not punctures, it’s more like they “pop”.
i take them off, inspect the tire for anything embedded in the rubber, replace the tube, get the tire beads back on and then inflate to no more then 100psi. It’s happened a couple times where they’ve just popped within 2 minutes, i’ll do the whole thing again and reinflate to like 80psi and they’ll be fine.
Yesterday, after going a week or so with no problems, i pumped both tires to 100-110 psi, woke up early this morning to go for a ride and BOTH tubes are popped. Probably because it was very hot yesterday and the temperature in the garage went up. Very annoying, the bike store only opens at 10:00.
obviously i’m screwing up somewhere. The thing is, on the first set of tubes that came stock on the bike i would routinely pump to 110 psi before every ride with no problems what-so-ever. This was totally fine for like 5 months. Now all of a sudden i can’t brew a cup of coffee without changing 2 tubes on the way.
If you’re actually hearing a loud “pop” noise…then I hate to say it, but that’s “installation error”. What’s happening is that you’re getting a small part of the tube under the bead of the tire. When you inflate the tire, the tube slowly lifts the bead up until it finds a gap and then goes “pop”. A puncture inside of a closed tire doesn’t “pop”…at most it makes a loud “hisssss”.
Here’s how to fix that (i.e. the installation error.) When installing a tube, once you have the beads of the tire in place on the rim, go around the wheel (on both sides) and push the bead back away from the rim with your thumbs and check that you cannot see any of the tube. If you do see any of the tube, gently “flick” the tire with your thumbs until the tube works it’s way up into the tire and you can’t see it anymore. Sometimes it helps to have just a little bit of air in the tube to give it a little shape and make it easier for it to “tuck into” the tire.
Once you’ve confirmed that the tube isn’t under the bead, THEN inflate the tire to your preferred pressure.
My problem was a cut in the sidewall where at less than 100psi the tube would not “poke” through, but above that it pokes through and looks like a pimple in the sidewall. I did not realize this until I blew 3 tubes.
Do they all blow in the same location? If they do and you mount the tire label by the valvestem it should be fairly easy to pinpoint the problem.
Go to your LBS and get new rim tape installed, just to be safe. Have them mount the tires for you. Have them show you how to check for a pinched tube under the bead of the tire once it’s mounted (that’s likely why you’re flatting). Also have them show you how to tweak the tire to get the tube to settle under the bead properly.
Here’s another little trick. Once you’ve got the tire mounted, inflate the tire to 40 pounds or so, then let all of the air out. That often allows a pinched tube to settle properly under the bead.
Also, when you mount the tires, make sure to do the whole job with your bare hands and no levers. A lot of people pinch their tubes with levers when trying to get the last bit of tire on the rim.
I’ve had this problem before too. Without pressure, the cut is closed and very hard to spot. Once the tire is pumped up, a small cut might even still hold until you hit a bump and/or heat the tire enough. Very frustrating.
Same scenario.
My problem was a cut in the sidewall where at less than 100psi the tube would not “poke” through, but above that it pokes through and looks like a pimple in the sidewall. I did not realize this until I blew 3 tubes.
Do they all blow in the same location? If they do and you mount the tire label by the valvestem it should be fairly easy to pinpoint the problem.
I’ve popped a few tires just from screwing the little circular nut on the valve too much. Do you know where the tubes are popping? is it close to the valve?
Try pumping up your tire with the nut only screwed on like half of what you normally do.
If you’re actually hearing a loud “pop” noise…then I hate to say it, but that’s “installation error”. What’s happening is that you’re getting a small part of the tube under the bead of the tire. When you inflate the tire, the tube slowly lifts the bead up until it finds a gap and then goes “pop”. A puncture inside of a closed tire doesn’t “pop”…at most it makes a loud “hisssss”.
Here’s how to fix that (i.e. the installation error.) When installing a tube, once you have the beads of the tire in place on the rim, go around the wheel (on both sides) and push the bead back away from the rim with your thumbs and check that you cannot see any of the tube. If you do see any of the tube, gently “flick” the tire with your thumbs until the tube works it’s way up into the tire and you can’t see it anymore. Sometimes it helps to have just a little bit of air in the tube to give it a little shape and make it easier for it to “tuck into” the tire.
Once you’ve confirmed that the tube isn’t under the bead, THEN inflate the tire to your preferred pressure
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I agree. If the tire is POPPING, and blows the tire off the rim, this is the most likely cause and cure.
in then end i went to the LBS and got the rim tape switched. After seeing the replacement stuff that was put on i realize how cheap the tape that came with the wheels was. Only cost about 4 bucks per wheel but the tape that was put on looks totally bomb proof. Isn’t it funny how little things can stress you out?
in then end i went to the LBS and got the rim tape switched. After seeing the replacement stuff that was put on i realize how cheap the tape that came with the wheels was. Only cost about 4 bucks per wheel but the tape that was put on looks totally bomb proof. Isn’t it funny how little things can stress you out?
We all hope that the replacement rim tape is white with blue letters, and made of a woven material.
