my scary morning incident

[ridenread]

So we finally have a bright sunny day in New England. I set out early planning to do at least a 50 miler. I was feeling great, moving along at a decent pace, enjoying the beautiful scenery and morning sunshine. I had just come down a hill at 28 mph and decided to stop for a few seconds to admire the view. As I was braking I heard a loud explosion. A man in a pickup turned around becasue he thought I had been shot, it was that loud.

My tire exploded. Not just the tube but the entire tire shredded. I had to call for a ride. I was a bit surprised that I was passed by at least 6 solo cyclists while I was waiting and not one asked if I was OK.

I brought the bike to the shop and won't be able to get it back until Tuesday. I am going to miss out riding on the first nice weekend in ages.

[TrekTheKaty]

So glad you're OK. At least it didn't blow while you were doing 28 down the hill (that thought always crosses my mind, and I ended up scrubbing off speed--hit 35 once). This happened to my DH while we were riding a side trail through a wildlife area. I was halfway to the ground--hitting the deck to avoid the crossfire when I realized he was stopped ahead of me with a flat. After that incident, he zip ties a spare tire to his frame for longer rides. (He had to carry his bike to the closest trail head, while I hauled a@#$% the opposite direction UPHILL to get the car). He had a group gathered around when I got to the trailhead--guess he painted quite a picture with his bike slung over his shoulder coming out of the woods from a side trail

Too bad no one stopped for you--I always slow down and ask anyone stopped if they need anything (Last weekend I passed an grizzly-looking older gentleman with panniers packed for cross country. He peaked my curiousity and when I passed him again on the way back--he was stopped off the trail smoking a cigarette! I asked if he was "doing alright" and he said "d@#$ straight." I laughed all the way home. I regretted not doubling back and getting his story. I bet he was a hoot

[Blueberry]

We had the same thing happen on our tandem (we were cornering, on flat ground). Thankfully, we were in walking distance of a bike shop. There was no booting that tire

[Tri Girl]

Going downhill fast and having a blowout is one of my biggest cycling fears. I'm glad you're OK!

[runningteach]

I'm glad you are OK and that it didn't happen as you were decending.

[Jiffer]

Wow. Glad you're okay. Was your tire ready to be replaced? My dh is good at replacing my tires before they get too bad, and points out other people's need for replacing or rotating. Did you know you're supposed to rotate your tires? The back wears out before the front because it has more weight on it.

[ridenread]

How often are you supposed to replace and rotate the tires? The bike only has about 900 miles on it. The tires appearred to still be in good shape. I didn't realize they should be rotated but that makes perfect sense. I have never even had a flat on it. So my first incident I have to replace the entire tire

It is funny because I was not really sure why I decided to slow down and stop. My mother is convinced I have a "bike angel" who was looking out for me.

[Jiffer]

Apparently there's a lot of variation in when a tire needs to be changed. What type of terrain you ride on for one. If you are always on smooth roads and seldom go through debris, your tires will last longer. The heavier the rider, the faster their tire will wear out. A guy friend of ours, who was tall and around 200 lbs had to replace tires quite frequently. He also learned he had been over inflating them.

I'm sure every tire manufacturer has their own recommendations, but dh guesses anywhere between 1,000 to 2,500 miles depending on what kind of tires you have and what you are putting them through. Some tires are built to last longer and resist flats, yet not necessarily built for speed.

It's quite possible you had run over something that was stuck in your tire, which could have caused your "explosion". Maybe a small nail or something. Dh replaced my tires recently when they weren't necessarily warn down, but had tons of little cracks in them from stuff I had ridden through. Each time you get a little crack, it makes the tire weaker. Also, any time you ride through glass, it's a good idea to stop and check your tires to make sure there are no pieces of glass stuck in them. Dh sometimes runs his hand (with glove) over each tire while he's actually riding to rub off anything that might be on them.

I think you DEFINITELY had a Bike Angel looking out for you! Funny. I actually have a necklace that has a bike with an angel standing next to it. My two friends and I bought them for ourselves, because a guy in our club started calling us his angels, like from Charlie's Angels, and we started calling him Bosley. You could probably find that necklace online if you wanted one.

[OakLeaf]

Wow, glad you're okay.

Was your wheel damaged, or did it get out of true? Or did they have to order a tire for you?

Not everyone recommends rotating tires. If you do decide to do that, ONLY rotate the front tire to the rear, NEVER rotate the rear tire to the front. That's because the front tire is so critical for control. The reason some people like to rotate their front tire to the rear has nothing to do with tires wearing differently - it's so they'll never have a worn tire in front.

The rear tire always wears quicker because it's the drive wheel. If you don't rotate tires, you'll find that you'll get anywhere from half again to twice as many miles out of a front tire as a rear. It's easier to track mileage on a tire if you don't rotate them, obviously. If a tire doesn't have wear indicators, it can be hard to tell how much tread is left without taking it off the wheel. I'll usually get 3000-3500 out of a front, 1500-2500 from a rear tire.

[ridenread]

I just got my bike back. Hooray. No damage to the wheel, fortunately. They didn't think they would be able to get to it today but had extra help.

Not sure what happenend to the tire, best guess is I ran over something

[ridenread]

Apparently my bike computer somehow was set for Dutch. When the LBS called to let me know it was ready they asked me if I wanted to reset the computer to English. I am pretty sure I would have noticed that my computer was in a different language. It must have been bumped when I was loading it into my mother's car or maybe while they were working on it.
Unfortunately when they reset the language they wiped out my entire history.

[Jiffer]

ONLY rotate the front tire to the rear, NEVER rotate the rear tire to the front.

I agree. Cause I read the post to dh and he said, "Yep." That's what he does. So .... yeah! What OakLeaf said! (Most of what I know I learned from dh, cause he's so smart! And from this site, too, cause you people are pretty smart too!)

[Andrea]

Glad you're OK, but it's taking them until Tuesday to replace a tire?! If you can swap a tube, a tire isn't much more work to replace yourself.

[ridenread]

They fixed it all up Saturday. I think they tend to say it is going to take much longer than it really does because then you are so happy when they call to say that it is ready. They are also only open a few hours on Sunday and closed on Monday. Since I had it in the shop I also had a tune up done.

One question though for all of you. I am still learning so much. The new tire that they put on the rear is not the same tire or same size as the one on the front. The front has a 700X23C and the back is now a 700X25C. The recommended psi is also very different. 86-100 on the back tire and 110-130 on the front. Should I have them put a new tire on the front as well or will it make any difference. I realized this when I went to get it ready for a ride but then didn't get to go, so now I am left wondering.

Thanks in advance

[OakLeaf]

A friend of mine prefers to run a 25 in the back and a 23 in front. He says the wider rear makes for a smoother, more comfortable ride. Keeping the narrower tire in front lets him keep the more precise steering.

He uses the same model tire front and rear, but I don't think you'd be likely to notice the type of handling problems that mismatched tires sometimes cause on motorcycles. Anyone else?