36" Tire BLOWOUT while riding.

[thayr]

I was just reading a thread about tires blowing, well mine popped while I was riding. I had just used a bike shops air hose and when I got on I knew there was too much pressure... I was just about to stop and let some air out when POP! To any bystanders it probably appeared to be some kind of assassination, as there was a loud BANG and then I hit the ground.

That was my first UPD off my new Nimbus, I did a nice tuck and roll and came out of it with a scrape on my arm. I'm not sure of my speed, I wasn't pushing hard but I was going pretty fast.

I'm looking now at UDC's 'Commuter 36-inch tube' for $38, anyone know if there's a better price? I also remember reading about people putting a 29" tube in their 36", can someone shed some light on that? I've got the airfoil double-walled rim.

[Chris.James]

which tire do you have? the TA i hope? the coker will blow off the rim way too easily.

[thayr]

Originally Posted by Chris.James

which tire do you have? the TA i hope? the coker will blow off the rim way too easily.

TA road tire. (UDC says: Coker tire will not fit on the current Airfoil rims in stock)

[Chris.James]

ok, good if you didnt have it you would have to buy a new tire and they are expensive so that wouldnt be good

[Danni]

Bedford unicycles sells 36" tubes for $35CAD, or $30USD. I'm sure if you order 3, he will sell the third half price. Ask for small packaging shipping: it is a fraction of normal postage.

[brendan]

peole say 29" tubes fit, try it ....

[john_childs]

Ouch! Looks like people are going to have to be careful with the Airfoil X and the TA tire combo. Was the tire damaged at all in the blowout? Any idea what pressure was in the tire?

I don't know why the Coker tubes are $38 now at UDC. Coker Tire has the 36" tube in their catalog for $15.50. They were out of stock at one time, I'd call or write to find out if they have stock before ordering.

The other option is the 29er tube. LiveWire Unicycles has a guide on how to install a 29er tube. The Schwalbe AV-19 tube will work. You can order the tubes directly from the Schwalbe web site. Last time I ordered they had a minimum order of $15 so you would need to order three or more tubes. Or you can have your LBS order the tubes.

You're going to want at least three of the 29er tubes anyways so you'll have a spare. You'll probably pop one trying to get it installed. After that you'll get the hang of it. You can't really patch a 29er tube because the patched area of the tube won't stretch. So once a tube gets a pinch or other puncture you end up throwing the tube away (or patching it and using it on a real 29er instead of the Coker).

The 29er tube works but is more fussy and less reliable than the thick Coker tube. I used 29er tubes for a while. Then I got a puncture flat due to a thorn and went through three 29er tubes installing a new tube. I ran out of 29er tubes and went back to the old reliable Coker tube.

[boo radley]

UDC told me that the TA tire will usually blow off the new airfoils if you go above 45psi.

[GhettoSmurf]

just make sure that the bead is always seated evenly and i shouldnt blow out.

[thayr]

Originally Posted by boo radley

UDC told me that the TA tire will usually blow off the new airfoils if you go above 45psi.

I was riding it a little low, probably somewhere between 25-30. I held the hose on not but two seconds or so, it must have shot it up to 45-50psi. Then about a minute later I was kissing concrete...

I'm glad it happened on the bikepath and not on the side of the road, could have been worse. There's no damage to the tire itself, just the tube. Also some scratches on the back of the T7 handle which seems to have taken the brunt of the fall. I came completely off and didn't have a chance to catch the uni.

[unisk8r]

This hasn't happened to me yet, and I run up to 50psi (he says, knocking on Ti).

I also hope it doesn't happen to Tom B., because that would further validate his slouching-toward-incompetence theory.

EDIT: I happen to have several airfoils purchased from a couple years ago to a couple months ago, and it is absolutely true that they differ in overall diameters as well as bead seat diameters. The newer ones being slightly smaller.

[tomblackwood]

Originally Posted by unisk8r

I also hope it doesn't happen to Tom B., because that would further validate his slouching-toward-incompetence theory.

As if it really NEEDS any further validation. Sad but true their track record is well documented. They're way past slouching TOWARD incompetence. They've arrived, and now they're just slouching.

[TonyMelton]

Originally Posted by unisk8r

I happen to have several airfoils purchased from a couple years ago to a couple months ago, and it is absolutely true that they differ in overall diameters as well as bead seat diameters. The newer ones being slightly smaller.

How did you measure this, unisk8r? Is there a definitive way to tell the older Airfoils apart from the newer ones? * I have 2 Airfoils at my house, not built up into wheels, one is definitely a newer, smaller one from UDC UK and the other I'm 95% sure is an older, bigger one. I just measured their diameters with a tape measure and they are both 802mm. I tried laying one on top of the other but they look exactly the same. I guess I need a more accurate measuring device...?

* looking for the scratched 'X' will not help as not all newer rims are marked as such, only ones from the US UDC.