exploding tire

I went to get my bike this morning, only to find the front tire had literally come off the rim on one side. Underneath it you can see tattered pieces of the inner tube.

I'm assuming that the inner tube was the one that was faulty rather than the tire? the tire was installed last year around this time. The inner tube, which was installed at the same time, never worked properly - I can let air out, but I had a heck of a hard time getting air in. I would have to jiggle the metal bit, and even doing that most of the time I couldn't get air to go in.

I inflated it on Monday, to 80psi, which is the normal pressure I put in for my tires.

I guess this post is both asking why it happened, and also to confirm that it's the inner tube and not an issue with the tire itself (I only did a very cursory check before having to rush to the garage to get my car to work).

The only time that's ever happened to me was as a teenager, when I (probably) overinflated the tire to begin with (with a gas station's compressor and no tire gauge) and then parked it in the sun all day, where the heat increased the pressure even more.

It seems to me that even if the tube was faulty, it wouldn't blow the tire off the rim unless it was overinflated?? The bead of the tire should still hold the pressure. Conversely, if the bead alone were faulty, I would think that you'd wind up with pinch flats while riding, not spontaneous ones.

Can you check your tire gauge against someone else's? (Check in a similar pressure range, not e.g. checking a high pressure bici tire gauge on a car tire.) That would be my first suspicion.

I once had a tube spontaneously puncture while the bike was sitting in my climate-controlled living room. It was morning, I hadn't ridden the bike in several days, I just heard hisssssssssssssssssssssss and it was flat. I assume there was a weak spot that just gave way. But the tire itself was fine.

What's the maximum psi for your tire?

The tube definitely could have been faulty, but I agree with Oakleaf that it generally doesn't blow the tire off. Was the tube very low in air pressure when you filled it? I'm wondering when you filled it, if the bead on the tire wasn't seated correctly?? They can definitely move if the air pressure drops a fair amount.

Is this a bike that you have used recently?


http://chasecyclery.blogspot.com

Badger, a blown tire like that is caused by the tire not being seated properly on the rim. Your tube issues sound like a sticky valve, which wouldn't cause the tire to blow off the rim. Overinflation of the tube could cause a blowout, but that doesn't seem to be the case here. If your tube has gone flat recently and been re-inflated, possible the tire bead didn't seat properly when you re-inflated. Maybe a bit of tube was caught between the tire bead and the rim. If the tube has remained fairly well-inflated for the last year, then the cause may forever remain a mystery, maybe a bad spot on the tire.

When you replace the tube, inspect the tire very well as you inflate it. It's possible that the tire bead was damage by the blowout and it may not hold properly on the rim again.

well, the tire pressure has remained relatively the same, it's never gotten flat or under-inflated. I didn't install the tire, I let the bike store do it when I bought it as I didn't have the energy to do it at home. I hope the tire itself is okay, it wasn't cheap and I don't want to have to get another one in such a short period of time (I ride to work every day but beyond that I hardly ride it so not much mileage).

I'll have a better look tonight. I might take a picture and post it so you guys can have a better look; I'm not savvy in things like that, I just ride the thing :D