Brake track split. Now what?

[MarkJohnston]

Hey guys my rim blew out today. It was very hot and I was coming down several hills braking hard. My tires are too wide for rims i.e. It was nearly impossible to mount them. Maybe that adds extra strain on the rims. And the heat may have increases.my tire pressure above the max which is what they were at. Anyhow I am in a bad spot now because I rely on this as my only means of transportation. Which means I only have two days off to re build the wheel.

Do any of you guys know a down and dirty rebuild that will get my wheel true (enough). I have a wider rim that accepts the tire much more easily however the braking surface looks shot and there is rust on it and in the spoke holes seems like. Maybe not a good idea.

Let me know and time is of the essence here

I have limited tools, only a spoke tool, and no truing stand. Can I just simple copy the spoke pattern and just tighten up all spokes pretty much to the same pressure and call it good?

Oh yeah I don't trust bike shops. They are monkeys with wrenches and a lot of them won't work on ebikes.i refuse to go to them.

 

[Chalo]

Ouch! Looks like your rim was attacked by beavers.

There are tire pliers made for that job, which are less likely to chaw up your rim.

 

[MarkJohnston]

Ouch! Looks like your rim was attacked by beavers.

There are tire pliers made for that job, which are less likely to chaw up your rim.

I only have vice grips myself. The only way to justify me buying all these tools is to start a Buissness. Maybe an ebike shop because we don't have a dedicated one up here. If I got good at building wheels I could be the go to guy

 

[99t4]

Ouch! Looks like your rim was attacked by beavers.

There are tire pliers made for that job, which are less likely to chaw up your rim.

Racoons! :lol:
The rim scratches look worse than they actually are due to camera angle and lighting but yes my thumbheaded abuse with the pliers + lack of patience anymore did scratch the rim surface.

If I end up having to do much more of this extreme tire bead setting those $80 Park Tools pliers start to look more appealing.

 

[RunForTheHills]

I only have vice grips myself. The only way to justify me buying all these tools is to start a Buissness. Maybe an ebike shop because we don't have a dedicated one up here. If I got good at building wheels I could be the go to guy

I do think there is an opportunity there. Almost all the bicycles I see in my area the last couple of years are ebikes and people might actually be willing to pay what it cost to repair a $3000 ebike as opposed to a $300 bicycle. Although there are a lot of the $1000 Lectric variety that can be considered disposable. That said, I find it very ease to justify buying tools. You can't have too many tools.

 

[Chalo]

Ouch! Looks like your rim was attacked by beavers.

There are tire pliers made for that job, which are less likely to chaw up your rim.

Racoons! :lol:
The rim scratches look worse than they actually are due to camera angle and lighting but yes my thumbheaded abuse with the pliers + lack of patience anymore did scratch the rim surface.

If I end up having to do much more of this extreme tire bead setting those $80 Park Tools pliers start to look more appealing.

Unior tire pliers are cheaper and look like they'd be just as effective. I use ancient Bicycle Research tire pliers that probably haven't been made in a generation.

 

[calab]

It will last and be useful for generations to come, until its thrown out

Unior tire pliers are cheaper and look like they'd be just as effective. I use ancient Bicycle Research tire pliers that probably haven't been made in a generation.

 

[MarkJohnston]

Well I took out the wheel and took off the tire to examine the bead. I've tried multiple times to use soapy water and high pressure to seat the tire. It feels horrible to ride as is. Nothing is working. Nothing. My hands hurt like feel from trying to massage it! Absolutely awful. I'm going to try again after I let the rim air out a bit and dry. Examination of the bead reveals some strange spots. Also the rim strip was torn. Sure hope this tire isn't f ed because that would be a shame. Brand New tire? See pics for details.

 

[Chalo]

That's a rubber rim strip. It's a no-no for double walled rims (though it is a no-no Chinese crap merchants are eager to commit). You need a fabric rim strip-- either a traditional adhesive cotton tape, a non-adhesive PVC coated nylon strip, or 1-2 turns of Gorilla Tape.

Steel bead wires are just wires. You can bend them straight again when they get kinked.

 

[MarkJohnston]

That's a rubber rim strip. It's a no-no for double walled rims (though it is a no-no Chinese crap merchants are eager to commit). You need a fabric rim strip-- either a traditional adhesive cotton tape, a non-adhesive PVC coated nylon strip, or 1-2 turns of Gorilla Tape.

Steel bead wires are just wires. You can bend them straight again when they get kinked.

None available. I need to get to work tomorrow. I have a 15 mile commute. It'll have to do for now. I don't like tape prefer the snap on kind. I'm already behind schedule tonight. Bending this bead is a bitch! My fingers are already aching! I've already been massaging the tire. Nothing has worked so far. I'm hoping I can get this seated

 

[MarkJohnston]

Do I need to be worried about all the water getting inside the rim area between tube and rim? I'm soaping down the tire bead and the water is getting inside and getting into the spoke holes

 

[Chalo]

Do I need to be worried about all the water getting inside the rim area between tube and rim?

No.

 

[MarkJohnston]

There was quite a bit of water in there. Whatever. Nothing is working even going all the way up to 80 PSI ( tire Max is 65psi) and manhandling the tire to get the bead to pop in. It's getting way too late.i don't want to keep pushing the pressure because it's night time, I'm in an apartment complex and if it blows it will sound like a gun shot. This tire is extremely nerve racking since it's armored.

I'm hoping that riding on it will pop the bead in and not ruin it. Wondering if I should use my POS spare set of tires here if I'm risking ruining these.

Tentatively, I want to try jacking the pressure on these all the way to 90 PSI if I have to. That's 25 above Max. And kicking it! Percussive maintenance.

I might try this tomorrow

 

[Chalo]

I'm hoping that riding on it will pop the bead in and not ruin it.

Not likely. But it most likely won't ruin anything.

 

[MarkJohnston]

Well I still want to jack the pressure 25 PSI above max. That sunlite thorn resistant tube can take a lot of pressure. But my cheap Chinese tube up front, not so much. Wondering if I should risk pumping the tires that far up. I've only gone to 15PSI above max so far.

I've tried massaging it and it's not working. I might be able to use someone's vice and get on top of the work bench and PULL the low spot out using a ton of force. Should I lower the pressure while doing this? Or leave it nice and high?

I just don't want to damage these expensive tires.

 

[Hummina Shadeeba]

Is it a really tight fit? I think you said so and that’s why the talk of levers. Maybe it’s just not a possible fit with too big a rim and narrow a tire bead as said is possible?

I’d return the tires if possible and make life a lot easier. Can u try mounting them on another rim?

 

[MarkJohnston]

Is it a really tight fit? I think you said so and that’s why the talk of levers. Maybe it’s just not a possible fit with too big a rim and narrow a tire bead as said is possible?

I’d return the tires if possible and make life a lot easier. Can u try mounting them on another rim?

No the levers aren't really necessary. It's not that bad. I barely use the levers.

 

[Hummina Shadeeba]

Sounds like something is wrong w the tire or rim and it’s not the usual tight fit problem. Can u try it on other rims? And you at least tried both tires and same prob?

 

[MarkJohnston]

Yeah I tried other rims. Same issue. Maybe it's juat that I need a wider rim.

 

[99t4]

I might be able to use someone's vice and get on top of the work bench and PULL the low spot out using a ton of force. Should I lower the pressure while doing this? Or leave it nice and high?

You're going to have to experiment with the pressure. Too little, and the tire likes to deform too much and squeeze out of the vise.

 

[MarkJohnston]

Right. I've been watching videos at work. One guy said you need more soap than water. Use a paint brush to apply to both the bead and the bead seat area around the rim. Then inflate with a floor pump as quick as you can. If there are still low spots you can deflate and add more soap and then pump it back up as quick as you can..high pressure helps but I'm too chicken shit to go over the max past 15 PSI. Talk about the dangers of a concussive blast maybe enough to break windows.

And if that doesn't work yes you need a vice or tire pleirs but the tool is $60 so f that. You need to put wood block and rubber in the vice, don't use the metal teeth.

Also the thick Thornproof tube may be taking up too much space inside the tire potentially causing this. Let me know if you guys have experience with the ultra thick tubes.

 

[99t4]

I used dishwashing liquid straight from the bottle. Applied with my fingers but I like the idea of using a brush-- I'll use that next time, thanks!

Today I had to repair a flat (patch the innertube) so had to go thru the whole process again. Quickly tired of the floor pump so switched to the air compressor which was much more effective.

Schwalbe Crazy Bobs, 26x2.35, labeled 35 PSI max. Had it up to 60 PSI + (during bead seating attempts), not even close to blowing off the rim.

Mistake I made today was getting too sloppy with the soap. Got it all over the sidewall which made the pliers keep slipping too easily. Eventually was able to do the trick.

The concussive blast you are talking about is not from the tube popping by itself from inside the tire. It's from the popping as it escapes thru where the tire comes off the rim, poofs out like The Alien. You have the opposite problem where the tire bead is too far inside the rim, it's too tight with little chance for it to separate and allow the tube to pooch out and explode.

You could probably go 30-40 PSI over no problemo, see if that helps seat the bead.

(but if it explodes don't blame me)

 

[MarkJohnston]

Well I had it at 105 psi. 40 over max. The bead is almost there just not quite.my floor pump maxes out at 120 ... Should I press on?

My rims too are coated in dish soap including the braking area. Gonna need a lot of water to clean this up hope braking isn't effected.

There are little bits and pieces of this paint brush that broke off and are sticking out..hopefully those don't give a flat inside the rim

 

[Hummina Shadeeba]

Ridiculous. Why not just get some tires that fit the rim?

 

[MarkJohnston]

Ridiculous. Why not just get some tires that fit the rim?

Because it's too late to return these. Also because I asked specifically on this forum if narrow rims would fit wide tires and members who are on this thread responsed and said they would work. Those same members are now back pedaling.

These were not cheap at all. I just need to make them work.

 

[Hummina Shadeeba]

My rims are 31mm outside and 24mm inside. They’re supposed to fit. If u feel like shipping them I’ll buy them.

55mm is only a 2.16”wide tire. Surprised u can’t get it to fit. I have a 2.3” tire on a rim that narrow.

I use kapton tape for rim strip.