Sincitycycler

I had a real interesting experience today- I was going down a moderate descent this morning at 30+ mph and my front tire blew out and the tire rolled of the rim as soon as I braked to a slow enough speed where I could control the bike (fortunately this didn't happen at the 30 mph rate!). I'm lucky I didn't damage the rim due to the glass like surface I was riding on.

I have some nice used Mavic 36 spoke training tubulars that I just got of at ebay for $50.00. I can't wait to get those on- at least they will stay on the rim and the leak is usually slower.

No wonder the pros don't use clincers at their 60 mphs descents - they'll kill you!

tlupfer

yep, because you never hear about rolled tubulars...

531Aussie

sounds like you're looking for an excuse to use those tubulars

There's nothing worng with clinchers, so I'd bet there was something wrong
with that tyre, like a sidewall cut, etc. Tyres have gotta be regularly checked
for damage, especially the sidewalls

don't forget that tubulars can roll off a rim if they're not glued properly,
and/or if it's 110 degrees

botto 

any front tire that blows out on a descent is dangerous. doesn't matter if it's clincher or a tub.

as far as tubs not rolling, i guess you never saw the TV coverage of Beloki doing his smackdown in the '03 TdF.

Mothra

Yeah, except that 99 out of 100 front-wheel blow-outs at speed with clinchers will end up rolling the tyre while 1 out of 100 tubs will roll... Comparing the exceptions of either case isn't valid.

mrkott3r

I think its more of a case of people not doing the required tyre maintenance. It only takes ~1min to check your tyres before heading out.

If you hit some glass while descending, I dont think it makes too much difference if your on tubulars or clinchers, there is no air, still probably gonna get rim damage

jrennie

i personally would take rim damage over jaw damage any day, even replacing zipps is cheaper than the doctor.

Bob S.

Sin; Congratulations on riding the blowout upright to a safe stop. Welcome the the tubular fan club! Bob

rickkko

"Blew out." Does that mean you heard it explode or did it suddenly just go soft?

If you heard it explode then my guess is the tube was not seated properly inside the tire. Did you recently do any tire/tube work on that wheel?

A small glass puncture should not cause your tube to explode. On the otherhand a huge cut would.

Glad you survived unscratched!

..rickko..

howsteepisit

" I can't wait to get those on- at least they will stay on the rim and the leak is usually slower." I have blown out way more tubulars than clinchers. And tubies can indeed roll, especially on decents where you are braking a lot and heating the rim. Do yourself a favor and stay with clinchers for genral riding. Unless you have nearly infinate money to spend on cycling tires. This is the vioce of expereince speaking.

catatonic

Oddly enough I have only had one blowout ever while riding, and that was a result of riding a tire with a torn sidewall when I was about 12, causing the tube to poke out....it eventually popped.

I keep hearing of all these high speed blowouts, and I can only think of one thing....heat and air expansion. Ideally for fast descents, you want a tire with pretty good air volume, and a less extreme pressure. Most of the stories I heard were from people who like running 130psi+ pressures on 23c or smaller tires. There is one guy who claims blowouts on 25c tires at 35mph flatland (he's known for pretty tall tales)....his story I have serious doubts on....I think he hit some glass.

telenick

+1. I'm glad you're alright.

As far as the ensuing debate...
I've ridden glued on tubulars and clinchers fairly equally over the past 20+ years. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. And yet the debate still rages on.

As far as your particular circumstance, I agree that the safety factor of a flat on a high speed descent is going to be in the favor of a glued on tubular. That glue will give the tire casing purchase during braking more than the bead of a clincher. That's a pretty compelling reason to choose tubulars if you ride a lot of long, fast descents.

But to be fair, there are some glaring disadvantages with tubulars. One in particular that rarely gets mentioned is the sketchy interface between the rim and casing when a spare is mounted after a flat in wet conditions. When you consider that more flats happen when riding on wet roads, then that circumstance bears some consideration. I gringe at the thought of having that situation pop up for me. A wet tire casing on a wet rim is pretty worthless for any amount of braking or cornering.

banerjek

I've had a few blowouts. I would say that in every case I suspected heat combined with high pressure may have caused the problem -- I like to ride at the maximum rated pressures except when it's wet.

BTW, you can have blowouts with large tires. I've had 2 700x28's blow out (one on a very hot day, and the other resulted when I hit half a beer bottle and it sliced completely through the tire). Years ago, I had a 26x1.5" explode on me while I was riding, but I was at max pressure before the ride, and it was 100 degrees.

When you are going down very long steep hills, don't ride your brakes since this can cause your rims to heat up. When you know you'll be riding in conditions that heat your tires, it might be a good idea to ride at slightly lower pressure than normal.

DieselDan

I guess you missed the rear tubular tire rolling off the rim on Joeshba Beloki's bike in the '03 Tour de France? Dude had a compond fracture of his femur and a broken collar bone. Beloki still isn't near on form as he was when he finished 2nd in the '02 Tour de France.

DRLski

you could always go tubular clinchers, solve both problems

NoRacer

+1

Mo'Phat

and...



...unavailable for comment.

operator

Sincitycycler never fails to disappoint with the trolling threads.

EventServices

30mph is considered "barrelling"?

webist

To me it is.

Cypress

I was waiting for this.

fruitless

sez you

I get at least one puncture a week. 3 on descents just this season. Never had a clincher roll. Maybe if it happened in the middle of a really high speed turn and quickly enough to instantly deflate but I can't imagine the circumstances that would cause that except maybe . . .a stray bullet? Wait. . .is this the exploding derailleur thread?

Old School

And your source for these statistics is????

As much as I love this forum and the great information that gets shared here, you have once again reminded me to be discerning when accepting statements at face value without seasoning first with a dash of common sense.

Snicklefritz

same here. I'm always amazed at the speed these guys do on flat TT's. Ullrich doing 31 mph for a hour at TdS. I don't even go downhill that fast!! Unless I'm in the Sierras on monitor and there is no traffic...

Olebiker

The only tires I have EVER seen roll off a rim in a blowout or otherwise were tubulars.