Skipjacks

Note to everyone else trying to diagnose this issue (despite no one asking you to)...

Darth Lefty is smarter than all of you.

The tube was a size too small.

I put it in 2 years ago as an emergency tube when it was all I had handy. I went to the store to buy the proper tube the next day and never bothered to switch them. I've kinda known it was a matter of time since then but figured 'screw it'.

The smaller tube finally gave out due to overinflation this morning. And the replacement tube I bought 2 years ago is going on the bike.

Everyone else assumed they knew the relevant data points. No one did. On Darth Lefty was humble enough to say 'if' and not declare he knew everything.

Darth Lefty 

Humble, that's me.

noisebeam

Most likely underinflated and resulting pinch flat. That happened to me once.

Skipjacks

The humility is strong with this one.

alan s 

The bot was wrong again.

RubeRad

Guess you didn't know what you were doing this morning...

RubeRad

fify

RubeRad

I was once woken up by more of a 'boom' in the middle of the night, but figured it was a short, sharp earthquake and went back to sleep. In the morning I found that in the downstairs bathroom cabinet (where I store my brewing projects) a 2L bottle of Ginger Bug Lemonade that I had let go too long (like 3-4wk) assploded and there was sugary gook all over the entire bathroom

Skipjacks

Well played.

no motor?

I had one blow up when the cats and I were in the living room and the bike was in the spare bedroom. We were all startled, but I recognized the sound and sure enough a tire was flat. I don't remember just why it failed, but it definitely did.

FiftySix

This thread is the best piece of pure entertainment I've come across today.

Of course, I don't get out much and have antenna TV, so . . .

Skipjacks

Don't forget...the 7:30 show is completely different than the 4:30 show. Get your tickets now!

wphamilton

It's really hard to imagine how that's the only cause of the explosion. The tube doesn't stretch any more at the seam from over-inflation, unless the tire moves off the bead. It was either pinched, or something inside the tube or on the rim was pressing against the tube.

Skipjacks

Seriously?

Another one who hasn't seen the tube, touched the tire, looked at a single piece of the evidence who's telling the person who did inspect all those elements that he didn't see what he saw?

And all of you just ignore simplest explanations like a tube just having a weak point that was worn out and exploited by being overpressured?

Because a $6 rubber inner tube that's too small and god only knows how old (seriously I have no idea...don't even know where I got it) is infallible, right? It MUST be something else?

Rubber never dries out and loses it's elasticity over time, causing weak points to be weaker. That never happens.....

RubeRad

Maybe you should post a pic of the long linear tear along the seam to exonerate yourself.

Speaking of seams, I patched 3 holes last week, why are they always within 1mm of a seam! Why do tube manufacturers put the seam directly on the outside (where punctures are most likely), instead of like 45deg off? (Maybe it's to discourage patching and encouraging buying more tubes?)

clengman

The thing is, the wall of the tube has to stretch to fail the way you're describing. If the tire didn't move, the tube has nowhere to stretch to. You're right that none of us can see what you have seen, but I had the exact same thought as several other posters here. It just makes way more sense that the tire came unseated before your catastrophic tube failure. Or there was some other defect allowing the tube to bulge somewhere.

Skipjacks

It also makes sense that the tube just had a weak spot.

It was old. This is an actual thing that happens to rubber. I swear I'm not making this up. Rubber gets old and brittle. I could even feel the rubber near the seem rip was tougher and less pliable.

People, it's just an old tube that was undersized for the tire it was in. It had a weak spot that failed.

The thread was about the loud bang. It was funny! I didn't even tell you all the part about the woman from the office next door asking if I had a nail gun! It's funny stuff!

Laugh! Enjoy! Don't over-analyze it!

Life's too short for this.

robertorolfo

I was in my GF's studio apartment when mine happened, so I had a lot less space to search for the culprit (and one big box for the sound to reverberate in).

Just yesterday I got some new tires in a much bigger size than I normally use. Being a very smart person, I ordered tubes from a completely different website, and so they haven't arrived yet. I considered using some of the smaller tubes I have on hand, but was worried about this exact issue. Thanks for learning that lesson for me.

I think the (annoying) kids call this "humble-bragging"

Skipjacks

Well of course it is.

But it's the proper way to brag so you get to both brag and not sound like a ****** while doing it.

Take notes, people. That is how it's done.

Skipjacks

I need to stress that the tube I used was of an unknown age and unknown source. I used it because it's what I had.

Even then it took 2 years to fail.

If it was a new tube at the time and in a box and I hadn't way overfilled it yesterday it would probably still be fine today. Some people use smaller tubes all the time and they work.

wphamilton

It could be worn out, but how is that dependent on overpressure? It would likely go at that time regardless. You're missing the point, that probably wasn't anything to do with too much pressure. It doesn't cause tubes to blow, not unless the tube can expand or something is pressing into it. We don't have to see the tube to know that.

Not that it matters either way. I just thought you might like to know.

no motor?

The flat I mentioned was right by the stem on an older tube, and likely failed after being inflated too many times. And the hole was too big to patch, so I just put a new one in.

Korina

How deep are the claw marks in the ceiling?

Skipjacks

I don't understand patching tubes as a matter of practice.

I understand it when I'm on the side of the road and don't feel like walking home. But I don't understand patching tubes until the tube is more patch than original.

Tubes are cheap. I can always find a use for an old one. I just don't get riding on tubes with 15 patches on them.

Maybe it's because I blow a tube about once a year across both my bikes and my kids' bikes and its just cheap to replace one. Maybe if I lived in a place with goat heads and cactus needles and nails everywhere and had a punctured tube every other week like some people it would get expensive to be constantly replacing tubes.

Does anyone here patch them until you can no longer see any of the original rubber?

alan s 

I picked up a load of new tubes from Performance on their last day. 90% off, so like 70 cents each. They will hopefully last 10 years in the box, because I bought quite a few.