My husband has a Raleigh Venture 3.0 that he has been riding over the last couple of months. Recently, he began to notice one area of the tire sort of bulging or offcenter is the best way to describe it. When he's riding, he feels a slight bump everytime that area of the tire goes around. I'm attaching a picture of the area in question. The bike is nearly brand new; he just started riding it about 8 weeks ago and not everyday, maybe 3x week. Any idea what the problem is? Thanks
the tire is starting to come apart. If you purchased it at a good shop, they will replace the tire for you at no charge. If not......I had a Raleigh Venture for awhile purchased from a not good shop, which led me to become very knowledgeable about bikes.
Eventually the bulge will become a hole, and shortly there after the inner tube will fail. If you are using thorn resistant tubes, the tire can last several miles before the tube pops. With regular tubes, it happens pretty quickly.
The bulge is indication of damage to the tire, usually handling damage before installation on the bike, next most likely is storage on a flat or severely under inflated tire, followed by riding on a severely under inflated tire.
This can also happen on well worn tires, but that is not applicable in this case.
Nigel
Given the newness I would say that underinflation and resultant stress, especially on rough surfaces is a good possibility. I agree that most likely replacement is required. There is a small possibility that the tire just needs seating, but it's not normal to see the cords showing.
Yeah, the tire is about to fail. You'll have to replace it.
It doesn't particularly look like it, but check to make sure the brake pads don't rub on the tire at all, either when just riding or when applying the brakes. A rubbing pad can wear a cut through a tire quite quickly.
Thanks, guys. I must confess that we're a little dismayed by this with the bike being so new. Unfortunately, the closest bike shop is 30+ mi away and through heavy traffic. I notice that our local Walmart has tires of the correct size and tread type, but a different brand than the ones on there. Any idea if those are any good (I think they are Bell brand)?
We do keep an eye on the tire pressure and either fill or decrease pressure as needed. The only possible explanation for the premature wear we could think of is that his bike is often stored in the car after use as we have limited space in the house. And, with the sun beating down on the car this time of year, it gets quite hot inside. Maybe we should find a way to keep his bike in the house instead. Could the car heat have affected the tire?
I should have mentioned that a manufacturing defect is also possible. Given your description of reasonable care I think that's a possibility.
Lots of people have stored bikes in hot cars without incident - I highly doubt that is even a contributor.
It's not clear where you purchased the bike, but my first recommendation would be to check with the store where it was purchased. If a long way off you could perhaps just send them the photo, telling them what you have told us about your care of the bike. A tire like that costs a dealer well under $10, should not be a big deal.
The Bell brand tire should be OK.
Some of you were right. The hubby was out riding it this morning and halfway to his destination, the tube popped and that's all she wrote. Luckily, he wasn't far enough yet where he couldn't have walked home, but if it had happened at the turnaround point, it would have been a different matter!
So.... aside from the new tire/ tube he will now need.... what do you guys do if you're far from your destination and such a thing happens? I understand there are emergency tube kits and inflators that attach to the bike. Whatever it is, I think before the hubby goes out again, we want to have something in place.
Thanks,
Josephine
Hi Josephine;
On my commuters I carry nothing, because I can hop public transit and be to home or work a lot faster than I could replace a tube. I have spare tubes and tools at work and home.
On our tandem, we carry spare tubes, tire irons, a pump and basic tools. We have changed tubes on the road, and used the needle nose pliers pull a glass shard out of the tire.
Regarding inflators - they use CO2, which escapes from the tire a lot faster than air or nitrogen, they are expensive too. If you inflate your tires once a week with a normal pump, you'll be using an inflator daily.
I run TR (Thorn Resistant) tubes on all my bikes. They are noticeably heavier, and offer additional protection. On our tandem, we recently switched to Schwalbe Marathon tires, and as the tires wear out on my other bikes, I am planning on switching those to Schwalbe Marathons also. They are higher priced, but in terms of $ per mile, they are less expensive; and they offer more protection against punctures. I have liners in most of my tires, but am moving away from liners.
Nigel
He went out and bought the "glide" Bell tire at the local WM. He said he had to really look around for it as it was hidden behind other "traction" type tires. He also picked up a thorn resistant tube.
Installation seemed fairly simple and this is the first bike he's ever had where the tire is removed by pushing/pulling a lever.
45 mins later, the new Bell tire was in place and tested briefly before the next full ride.
Examination of the original tire/ tube didn't reveal anything obvious.
In my prior post, I wasn't really referring to a CO2 inflator, just one of those small hand pumps seen at WM for about $8. I suppose it might take quite some time to inflate a tube with one of those on the road, but better than nothing I suppose.
The guy who picked up the hubby while he was pushing the bike home suggested a simple solution- a cell phone. We normally don't use them, but I suppose a simple, cheap phone like a Trackphone might be something he could carry or keep attached to the bike during the rides.
Josephine
Well, this process didn't go very smoothly. The Hubby picked up a Bell glide type tire at Walmart earlier in the week, along with a "slime" puncture resistant tube. After confidently installing the new tube and tire, he inflated the tube to the proper pressure and next morning.... flat. He disassembled everything and couldn't find any holes in the tube. Finally, after dipping sections of the tube in water, he discovered the culprit: the valve. Leaky, even with the cap. So the tube was returned for another. This time, no further leakage.
His first ride since the first flat was this morning. He told me he has to peddle harder to achieve the same results as before. The tire is at 50 psi and has a range from 40-65, so we didn't think that was the problem and the brake isn't touching anywhere. The only thing we could come up with is tire size: the original was 1.95 while this one is 1.75. Can the difference in tires with the original 1.95 still on the front and now the new 1.75 on the back be causing more resistance? We would have thought if anything the resistance would have been less since there is a narrower tire now in place, but perhaps that only applies if both tires are narrower. Thoughts?
The SLIME tube is the culprit. That stuff sloshing around inside the tube take a LOT of power.
I use thorn resistant tubes, but not SLIME. I used SLIME for awhile, found out that it did nothing to seal a puncture, but it did spray all over really well and seized up valves too. It provided maybe an extra 100 yards of riding after the puncture occurred.
Regular thorn resistant tubes have noticeably more drag than regular tubes. SLIME is in a whole other league of drag.
Nigel
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