Bulging f'n mtb tire; do I care?
Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 2:33 pmLast night, I thought my back tire (26 x 1.5) on my mountain bike was falling apart. It looked lopsided when I spun it around slowly, and the sidewall seemed frayed.
Closer investigation revealed that is was just seated wrong, with more of the sidewall sticking out at one place than another. I put the tire and tube back together, reinflated it, and got the same result.
I deflated and reinflated with the bike standing up, and pressure on a different part of the tire. Now there are two, much smaller places where it bulges out. Nothing rubs the brakes or fenders.
Do I care? I can remember having the same problem with my cheap Schwinn when I was in high school, and I never got it perfectly round, either. I can see where this might be a problem if I were running 100+ psi on a racing bike, but at 60psi on a commuter, is there any reason to try to get it more round?
Closer investigation revealed that is was just seated wrong, with more of the sidewall sticking out at one place than another. I put the tire and tube back together, reinflated it, and got the same result.
I deflated and reinflated with the bike standing up, and pressure on a different part of the tire. Now there are two, much smaller places where it bulges out. Nothing rubs the brakes or fenders.
Do I care? I can remember having the same problem with my cheap Schwinn when I was in high school, and I never got it perfectly round, either. I can see where this might be a problem if I were running 100+ psi on a racing bike, but at 60psi on a commuter, is there any reason to try to get it more round?