Mishappened tyre !!!

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
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Now the clocks have gone back and winter seems to be arriving, I took my studded tyres out of their summer hibernation. On fitting one I noticed it has become misshapened and now is too large/stretched over size to fit my 700c rims, the tyre in question is a Scwalbe 700c x 38c snow /ice tyre. Both tyres I have are the same size and make one fits snuggly as normal but the other is now too large for the rim and the bead will no longer fit on to one side.
I can fit one side as normal then can seat it 3/4 way a round the opp bead but the last part is badly misshappend, leaving the tube exposed.
Can't say I've ever had a tyre to this before.
No pics at the mo but will post one when my replacement arrives as it will be going on the rear hub rim and I will temp fit the old one to show it out of shape.
 

Artstu

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 2, 2009
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I've experienced shape/bead issues with Schwalbe tyres so now I avoid them.
 

Fat Rat

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Jun 7, 2018
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UK
Schwalbe tyres I find perish on the walls with small hairline cracks
It’s happened with 2 different sets now stored for 6 months out of the sun and damp
Both sets were still less than 12 months old and different compounds
I thought the first set was just one of those thing but twice is not on
You can be sure it won’t happen a third time :(
 
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georgehenry

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 7, 2015
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Surrey
I had a problem with side wall failure leading to dramatic blow out rear wheel punctures on the rear wheel when I had a pair of schwalbe smart sam plus tyres fitted and now use another brand.

The schwalbe tyre everyone speaks highly of is the Marathon plus and perhaps I would still be using schwalbe tyres if I had fitted them to start with.
 

anotherkiwi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2015
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I think there are so many made that QC done by taking random samples from a batch will always let a bad tyre through. When I was looking after my kids bikes EVERY no name Chinese tyre failed in one way or another within the first year. That prompted me to start buying brand name tyres.

I have 5 Big Bens I am happy with. My last Michelin gave way on the sidewall, but seeing the treatment it received that wouldn't stop me buying another one.
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
16,897
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normal schwalbe tyres are as thin as toilet paper and unless i run high psi in the rear i just rip them of the rims thus why i use super gravity version.

tho there x4 the thickness there also 10x harder to fit.

my rear sg tyre had no thorns in it when i replaced it yet the front non sg had about 20 thorns in it all round the tyre.

tho ther both sg now ;)
DSC_0186.JPG
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
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i meant that a normal hans dampf/ mary is like toilet paper thin side walls compared to the sg version.

even worn a sg tyre will still hold its shape where as a normal one will look like a floppy mess flat on the floor.;)
 
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Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
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These tyres or now only one tyre is now in to it's 4th winter, so looks like the odd one may suffer from manufacturing/QC issues. Any how I have another coming, old one I will keep for now until I have removed all the studs for spares.
 

georgehenry

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 7, 2015
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For me as a commuter how tough, puncture resistant and hard wearing a tyre is wins over all other considerations.

The bottom line is that you really do not want any punctures if you need to be at work at a specific time.

My Specialized Crossroads Armadillo 650B 27.6” Wired Clincher Tyres in 1.9” width that I use now are narrower than I would ideally like and also more road biased than I would like.

I have learnt that they work better than I expected off road but are far from ideal with less edge of tyre grip and depth of tread to deal with slippery off road conditions requiring me to take a lot of care on corners.

Though some sliding around off road within reason and your ability to control it can be fun! One surprising attribute is that their narrowness allows them to cut down through mud to find grip rather than slide over the top of the mud.

However they have covered 4636 miles since I put them on 5th January 2017 with no punctures and for me that out ways their lack of performance in comparison to a proper off road tyre.

My commute is normally 14 miles off road to work and 10 miles on the road home and the mileage I rack up and regular road section would very quickly wear through the nobbles on a proper off road tyre.

I am also in sandy Surrey and can adjust my off road route to include more sand and gravel to mitigate their limitations in mud.

So compromise it is.

As I said above if i had started on Marathon plus tyres I might never have changed! The failure of the Smart Sam plus tyres just put me off like getting a poor meal in an otherwise good restaurant you are put off going back for a while.

I have to say that I like the look of those super gravity over built tyres that soundwave mentions which would give me the off road performance but might still pick up the odd puncture (I run tubes) and wear out fast on the road also adding resistance. Food for thought though.
 

Sturmey

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2018
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https://www.schwalbe.com/en/catalogesflyer.html

Hi. If you look at the Schwalbe tyre catalogue 2018, you will see
that some tyres have a higher 'ebike ready 50' rating (e.g Marathon, energiser, Nobby nic etc) and are suitable for up to 50 km/hr.
Other tyres (e.g. Magic Mary, Hans Damf etc are suitable for only up to 25 km/hr).
My understanding is that there can be a tradeoff between low rolling resistance and durability. For a performance racing tyre, a thin sidewall is to preferred as the flexing of a thick sidewall adds considerably to rolling resistance.
I have to say that I have used ( and abused) the schwalbe marathon and the plus version and they have given no problems and seem to never wear out (10,000 miles and still good) or puncture.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,195
30,602
I have to say that I have used ( and abused) the schwalbe marathon and the plus version and they have given no problems and seem to never wear out (10,000 miles and still good) or puncture.
As I said above if i had started on Marathon plus tyres I might never have changed!
That's broadly my experience too on three e-bikes with Schwalbe Marathon Plus.

The Tour or possibly MTB versions may suit georgehenry's circumstances
.
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
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One out of shape tyre, opp side fits perfect.

DSCF0873.JPG
New tyre arrived with in 48hrs and now fitted.
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
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West Sx RH
Unbelievable !!! New tyre lasted 2.3 miles now of no use what so ever.
Tyre decided not to stay on the rim with 40psi had to walk bike home as tyre would not stay put, wire bead failed and 2 strands of at least 12" have come away.

Don't think I will be buying Scwalbe spikes again.

Refitted the Conti back on, at least it stays put even at lower psi.
 
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soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
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well they just cant handle the waight 40psi is double to what i run lol.
 

georgehenry

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 7, 2015
1,446
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Surrey
Sorry to hear that Nealh. Any dramatic failure of a tyre has potentially very serious consequences. I heard of another member experience the same problem that I had and It put me off the brand.

I have to say that the Specialized Crossroads Armadillo 650B 27.6” Wired Clincher Tyres that I replaced them with have been reassuringly impressive.
 

Benjahmin

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 10, 2014
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It's odd this, I've been running Schwalbes for some 7000 miles now with no problems at all. All road riding admiittedly (if you can call some of the lanes round here roads) and often with two panniers full of shopping. The last front one I ran until the blue started to show 'cos I'm a tight fisted git :D Mine are marathon +'s, they're so hard to get on in the first place I can't understand how they could do what you describe, and I run them at 50psi.
From your picture above, I have had this happen during fitting and had to work to get it to sit right, but it did go down. Is it possible that the rim is somehow contributing to this?
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
20,917
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Other tyre brands have no issue seating and staying on the rim with high or low psi. In my view the studded ones I have got have a manufacturing fault or possibly as SW has mentioned can't take the weight and force of a rear CST hub, previously it has been used on rear with and without a hub motor.
The one in the pic became misshappended during the period it was taken off after spring.
The side wall is distorting/stretching and is a wire bead failure as this is where the distorting issue is occurring, all said and done no more Scwalbe winter studded for me. These are the only two tyres I had distortion/bead failures with.
 
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georgehenry

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 7, 2015
1,446
1,264
Surrey
The problem I had with side wall failure on Scwalbe Smart Sam plus only occurred to the rear tyre. I ride a hard tail mountain bike off road to work carrying two reasonably full Ortlieb panniers so the rear has no suspension, has to deal with the motor/pedal drive and carries more weight.

The first time it happened was on a tyre that had covered a reasonable mileage however the tread was fine and it was the side wall where the failure occurred. A failure of the side wall leads to a very nasty type of blow out puncture and as my ride home is on the road could in the worst circumstances happen at speed.

I had never experienced side wall failure before and just put another smart Sam plus tyre on putting the first failure down to experience but decided to keep a careful eye on the new tyre and noticed signs of the same side wall failure beginning and then swapped to a different manufacturer.

I noticed that another pedelec member had had the same side wall failure using smart sam plus tyres. When you look at the tyre it has an over built highly puncture resistant tread area but really quite flimsy side walls in comparison.

I think Scwalbe may now have addressed this issue with the smart Sam plus but once bitten etc and the Specialized Crossroads Armadillo 650B 27.6 are proving to be equally tough and no sign of side wall frailty.

I am not sure that I am put of Scwalbe entirely and bought a cheap second hand Oxygen Emate that came with road Scwalbe marathon plus tyres fitted and they ride well and seem a good tyre for road committing. I am going to keep them on and run up the mileage to see how they do.
 

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