Toe Clips & Exploding Tire

I have been wary of going clipless because of all the stories of falls. Six years ago I tore my ACL skiing and it took 2 years to recover, and I don't want to risk being in that place again. Still, it seemed that all the better riders use them. So, I bought and installed plastic half toe clips (Delta - $8.99 on Amazon) and they work great! I do not have any problem getting out of them!!! The thing I need to work on is getting the second one on. Yesterday, I rode around in my parking area for 2 miles getting in and out. Today, I went on a 17 mile ride which includes some major hills, and no problem. Also, I went faster uphill because I could peddle up. So, I am very happy. I can feel different muscles in my legs. I guess it really is better.

The bad thing today was that my tire kept losing air although there did not seem to be a hole. Decided that the valve was not sitting right and went to replace the tube. Pumped up the tube to 110psi and the tire blew up. Made an awful pop, and now I need a new tire and a new tube. Has this happened to anyone else? The tire is rated for 125psi, so I'm thinking it was defective. Have to bring it in tomorrow.

It's possible that your tire wasn't seated properly and the tube became pinched between it and the rim. Not an uncommon occurrence, lots of folks here have had that experience. After it happened to me, my cat would run from the room whenever I touched the bike pump.

For clipping in, push off with the foot that's already clipped, starting with that foot as close to 12:00 as possible, then put your butt on the saddle, and then clip in with the other foot. It's easier to maintain your balance that way, and if you miss clipping the second foot you are more stable while you try a second time.

You shouldn't need a new tire unless the old one is visibly damaged. Bicycle tires (and any tires that take tubes) are meant to come on and off the rims repeatedly.

Kalidurga ** After it happened to me, my cat would run from the room whenever I touched the bike pump.** My DH and I just had the experiance of an exploding tire too-
Where I live there are TONS of thorns, on the path, on the roads....everywhere and it seems I can't go for a ride whithout ending up with a flat.
Since I am not a racer and do not care about shaving micrograms of weight off my bike, we ordered some Slime tubes (like I have on my mtb-they have been lifesavers!) in the size for my road bike w/presta valves.
He installs one, then has trouble pumping it up (kinda nice to know guys have trouble with that too), I said it felt right-why oh why we didnt have a gauge with us I don't know (it was in the garage)-but he said, "nah, just one more pump...." and *BANG*!
The tip of the cap that holds the valve had come unscrewed and blew off, sending Slime EVERYWHERE-the ceiling, the walls ( did I forget to mention that we do our bike repair in the family room? We do. lol), the carpet, my bike, all over both of us....it was hilarious! After like half a second we just laughed and wiped it all up.
Took us a couple of days to find a piece of the handpump that had blown off-ended up in with our kids' legos.
Couple of days and a new handpump later, I deflated the tire and started over again and it worked like a charm-I'm sure without much Slime in the tube but so far so good!

After re-reading the original post, I'm confused. Did the tire actually blow up, or just the tube?

about clipping in; The few times I have fallen clipped in, my feet become unclipped BEFORE i hit the ground; and in fact, in one fall (on a tandem) my husband and the bike landed on the ground and I landed on my feet!

you can adjust the tension so it's easier to get your feet detached; the tension on mine is as loose as possible.

The tire was damaged as well as the tube. I took it to my LBS, and yes, they said the tube must have gotten pinched under the tire bead. It really made a loud noise and I am very glad that did not happen while I was riding.

So, I watched him put on the new tire. And for anyone who hasn't changed a tire yet, you need to slightly inflate the tube before inserting, and after putting on the tube and tire, inspect both sides of the rim and be sure that you do not see any black tube sticking out. Then inflate half way and check again before going to full pressure.

So, the end of this story is that I got 2 new tires, because when I asked if there were any faster/better tires, he suggested that I get 25cc instead of the 28cc that I had, and both tires needed to match.