Big Apple getting sidewall tube bulge

[melodious]

I was inspecting my tires and found out that my rear is getting sidewall bulging with the inner tubes starting to "bubble" out. Over the last week have inflated them from a relatively low 30ish PSI to a "middle of the road" 45 PSI. What am I doing wrong? These tires are supposed to handle even more PSI than what I'm throwing at them.

Oh yeah, it's a 20" Big Apple 1.75 (may be a 2.0 FAIK). This is the second time it's happened. Only until I start increasing PSI. Not really loading the tire with weight except my own person.

 

[deardancer3]

Any chance of a picture? is there a cord busted?

thanx

d

 

[dogman dan]

This is how tires wear out from the inside rather than the outside. A racetrack can do it in a few heats. Potholes can do it before your tread wears out.

Some tires are just born lumpy, especially larger sizes. I just put a new tire on the dirt bike, and had forgotten what riding a round rear tire was like. The old one had minor bulges from day one.

 

[slacker]

i will second what dogman say's as i have big apple's on 3 of my ride's and they all look a little lumpy but ride fine.the one's i have are 2.35 wide.it is my favorite tire by far,good luck and ride safe.

 

[MadRhino]

It is springtime, new apples are growing

 

[D-Man]

Schwalbe has a great warranty program. All you have to do is take a picture of it. Follow the warranty procedure on their website and you will get a new tire.
I went through this with a bulging big apple tire also. They gave me a new tire.
No more schwalbes for me though.

 

[Chalo]

Big Apples never sit entirely straight on the rim, but I don't think that's what the OP is talking about. I'm guessing there is a cut, tear, or some other dislocation inside the tire casing. It's probably more identifiable inside the tire than on the outside, but it may not necessarily be a clearly visible problem on either side.

Whatever it is, if it's not related to the depth the bead is seated on the rim, it's probably not fixable.

I wouldn't use the Big Apple in a size and width that you can get regular freestyle tires in. It's more expensive, and not any faster or tougher than a lot of them. I'd use something cheap, fast, and reasonably tough like the CST Operative or Animal GLH, or the Primo Comet if I wanted something a little faster yet. There are now a lot of very fast, lightweight yet streetworthy folding tires for weight weenie freestyle bikes, and most of them are in the same general price range as Big Apples.

As a tangentially related note, the most heavily armored tire setup I have ever furnished to a customer was a pair of 20x1.75" CST Operatives with the bead wires cut off, tucked in as liners to a pair of 20x2.25" CST Operatives. (This is what New Mexicans call "the system"-- a second tire used as a tire liner.) The whole setup was less expensive than a pair of Big Apples, and it didn't ride nearly as badly as you'd think.

 

[melodious]

Hmmm. This may* be the "system" that I have on this rear wheel. We'll see. At the moment it's totally rideable with no impact to my riding. The 1st time I had bulging I thought my wheel was untrue as I had a noticeable bouncing effect when pedaling. I took that big apple, cut it up, and used it inside another larger big apple for the "system". Whether this inner tire has somehow eroded my sidewalls is still pending. Guess I'll just deflate and inspect it further when I get home.

 

[melodious]

Yup. "The System" killed my Big Apple from the inside out, specifically the sidewalls . Those sidewalls are paper thin and really aren't suited for "The System". Live & learn.

 

[dogman dan]

Yep, the system would be hard on a tire with thin sidewalls.

Trouble with it in New Mexico, much of Texas or Arizona, is it still won't protect you from this. These can go in the bottom and out the top of a tube easy. I just buy slime by the gallon, and replace tubes about annually.


Last flat I had that slime couldn't handle was from a perfect caltrop made from a folded 16 penny nail. Trashed a one day old new tire on my longtail. Later on, I found a certain driveway near that spot on my route to the grocery store that was pretty much paved with screws and nails etc. Somebody bounces a nail strewn construction trailer onto the road there every weekday morning I bet. I've had two flats on my car on the same route. Grrrr. Spent 20 min the other day picking up all the nails in the bike lane for a 1/4 mile. Now I know to veer to the left lane for that spot from now on.