Close ONE!

[OakLeaf]

I didn't realize it until I looked after reading your post, but bicycle tires are date-coded the same as motor vehicle tires. (You do check the date on your car and m/c tires don't you?!)

The date code is obvious because it's stamped separately from the other information on the tires. It's a four digit number: the first two digits are the week, the second two digits are the year. So my rear tire, coded 3806, was manufactured in the 38th week of 2006 (and thus was already over a year old when I mounted it last December).

Now, I don't know how old a bicycle tire can get before it starts to harden or dry-rot. Generally a motorcycle tire can be 3-4 years old before it starts to show any problems. But I wonder if your tire was very old. That's the first thing I thought of when I saw your pictures. Do you still have it, to check the date code?

I *have* overinflated tires to the point where they popped (when I was a kid, using gas station compressors and no tire gauge, and leaving my bike parked in the hot sun). It takes more than 5# overinflation... and I never had any kind of tread separation like that.

Anyway, glad you're OK!


ETA: also, if those were the Specialized All Condition Pro that your bike specs with, according to the website they should be inflated to 115-125 PSI.