Panaracer Elite tire problems



J

jlee

Guest
I've had two incidents with this tire...I got a flat due to a tear near
the bead of the tire, along the tire where it meets the top of the rim
wall. It wasn't a pinch/snakebite as the tear was 0.5cm or 1/4" long
and only on one side and one could see the fibers of the tire casing
torn. The tire had maybe ~300 miles at most. (There was nothing wrong
with the rim - no sharp areas or scratches that could have caused the
tear.) I then replaced it with a new identical tire and when I pumped
it up to 100psi it blew up. The inner tube was exposed and was torn ~6
inches or more. From what I can see, the bead just didn't hold the tire
on. I noticed the tire was very loose (after the explosion) which is
unusual for a wire bead tire.

I had bought them from Nashbar and my first pair looked good with a
diamond tread (like Conti sprinter) and noticed it was made in Japan
(National Tire Co.) so I ordered a bunch more on sale. Now I'm
suspecting there was a reason why they were so cheap (12$ each) and
that they have a manufacturing defect, namely in the bead (area).
Anyone else have any problems with these tires?

(I'll call Nashbar cust service - just wanted to see if anyone else had
similar experience with these before I did. I also don't want to have
to try out all the other tires - no one likes to change a flat on the
road - or worse yet - to have to worry about a tire's manufacturing
with riding and especially descending)

Josh
 
jlee wrote:
> I've had two incidents with this tire...I got a flat due to a tear near
> the bead of the tire, along the tire where it meets the top of the rim
> wall. It wasn't a pinch/snakebite as the tear was 0.5cm or 1/4" long
> and only on one side and one could see the fibers of the tire casing
> torn. The tire had maybe ~300 miles at most. (There was nothing wrong
> with the rim - no sharp areas or scratches that could have caused the
> tear.) I then replaced it with a new identical tire and when I pumped
> it up to 100psi it blew up. The inner tube was exposed and was torn ~6
> inches or more. From what I can see, the bead just didn't hold the tire
> on. I noticed the tire was very loose (after the explosion) which is
> unusual for a wire bead tire.
>
> I had bought them from Nashbar and my first pair looked good with a
> diamond tread (like Conti sprinter) and noticed it was made in Japan
> (National Tire Co.) so I ordered a bunch more on sale. Now I'm
> suspecting there was a reason why they were so cheap (12$ each) and
> that they have a manufacturing defect, namely in the bead (area).
> Anyone else have any problems with these tires?
>
> (I'll call Nashbar cust service - just wanted to see if anyone else had
> similar experience with these before I did. I also don't want to have
> to try out all the other tires - no one likes to change a flat on the
> road - or worse yet - to have to worry about a tire's manufacturing
> with riding and especially descending)


Make sure your brake pads aren't peeking over the top of the rim. If
so, after time they can wear to a knife edge that tops the rim and cuts
the tire at the bead. Please don't ask me how I know this.

Mark
 
"jlee" <[email protected]> wrote:

>I've had two incidents with this tire...I got a flat due to a tear near
>the bead of the tire, along the tire where it meets the top of the rim
>wall. It wasn't a pinch/snakebite as the tear was 0.5cm or 1/4" long
>and only on one side and one could see the fibers of the tire casing
>torn. The tire had maybe ~300 miles at most. (There was nothing wrong
>with the rim - no sharp areas or scratches that could have caused the
>tear.)


Like (another) Mark said, check your brakes to make sure the pad
wasn't making contact with the sidewall of the tire. Also, I think
it's very likely that you might have cut the sidewall with debris on
the road. A broken bottle do that kind of damage - if so, the rubber
around the frayed cords will have a sharp edge rather than a
"pulled-apart" look with ragged edges and obvious stretching of the
rubber.

> I then replaced it with a new identical tire and when I pumped
>it up to 100psi it blew up. The inner tube was exposed and was torn ~6
>inches or more. From what I can see, the bead just didn't hold the tire
>on. I noticed the tire was very loose (after the explosion) which is
>unusual for a wire bead tire.


Some tires are better at staying on rims at a given pressure than
others - but I haven't ever had any problems with Panaracer tires (and
in fact run a pair on my urban MTB at a pressure 10-15% over the
rating).

I'm guessing one of two things happened here - one, you're using an
old rim without a "hook bead" (which are not nearly as good at holding
on modern clinchers as modern rims). The other is the most likely -
that you simply had a bit of tube pinched between the rim and tire
bead. When that happens, it'll hold until the pressure reaches a
certain point, then *BLAM*. It's happened to all of us at some time
(c'mon, admit it...) ;-)

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $795 ti frame
 
Mark <[email protected]> wrote:
> jlee wrote:
>> I've had two incidents with this tire...I got a flat due to a tear near
>> the bead of the tire, along the tire where it meets the top of the rim
>> wall. It wasn't a pinch/snakebite as the tear was 0.5cm or 1/4" long
>> and only on one side and one could see the fibers of the tire casing
>> torn. The tire had maybe ~300 miles at most. (There was nothing wrong
>> with the rim - no sharp areas or scratches that could have caused the
>> tear.) I then replaced it with a new identical tire and when I pumped
>> it up to 100psi it blew up. The inner tube was exposed and was torn ~6
>> inches or more. From what I can see, the bead just didn't hold the tire
>> on. I noticed the tire was very loose (after the explosion) which is
>> unusual for a wire bead tire.
>>
>> I had bought them from Nashbar and my first pair looked good with a
>> diamond tread (like Conti sprinter) and noticed it was made in Japan
>> (National Tire Co.) so I ordered a bunch more on sale. Now I'm
>> suspecting there was a reason why they were so cheap (12$ each) and
>> that they have a manufacturing defect, namely in the bead (area).
>> Anyone else have any problems with these tires?
>>
>> (I'll call Nashbar cust service - just wanted to see if anyone else had
>> similar experience with these before I did. I also don't want to have
>> to try out all the other tires - no one likes to change a flat on the
>> road - or worse yet - to have to worry about a tire's manufacturing
>> with riding and especially descending)

>
> Make sure your brake pads aren't peeking over the top of the rim. If
> so, after time they can wear to a knife edge that tops the rim and cuts
> the tire at the bead. Please don't ask me how I know this.


I ruined one of those specialized kevlar red/black tires that way after
using it for just a few hours. That was really really irritating.
>
> Mark
>
 
Mark <[email protected]> wrote:
> jlee wrote:
>> I've had two incidents with this tire...I got a flat due to a tear near
>> the bead of the tire, along the tire where it meets the top of the rim
>> wall. It wasn't a pinch/snakebite as the tear was 0.5cm or 1/4" long
>> and only on one side and one could see the fibers of the tire casing
>> torn. The tire had maybe ~300 miles at most. (There was nothing wrong
>> with the rim - no sharp areas or scratches that could have caused the
>> tear.) I then replaced it with a new identical tire and when I pumped
>> it up to 100psi it blew up. The inner tube was exposed and was torn ~6
>> inches or more. From what I can see, the bead just didn't hold the tire
>> on. I noticed the tire was very loose (after the explosion) which is
>> unusual for a wire bead tire.
>>
>> I had bought them from Nashbar and my first pair looked good with a
>> diamond tread (like Conti sprinter) and noticed it was made in Japan
>> (National Tire Co.) so I ordered a bunch more on sale. Now I'm
>> suspecting there was a reason why they were so cheap (12$ each) and
>> that they have a manufacturing defect, namely in the bead (area).
>> Anyone else have any problems with these tires?
>>
>> (I'll call Nashbar cust service - just wanted to see if anyone else had
>> similar experience with these before I did. I also don't want to have
>> to try out all the other tires - no one likes to change a flat on the
>> road - or worse yet - to have to worry about a tire's manufacturing
>> with riding and especially descending)

>
> Make sure your brake pads aren't peeking over the top of the rim. If
> so, after time they can wear to a knife edge that tops the rim and cuts
> the tire at the bead. Please don't ask me how I know this.


I ruined one of those specialized kevlar red/black tires that way after
using it for just a few hours. That was really really irritating.
>
> Mark
>
 
Yes, I had at least one sidewall issue with them. Is this it stradius
elite? I bought a few for $10 from Nashbar and they looked promising,
having rubber on the sidewall, and I was hoping they would be like a
poor man's gatorskin, but one brushed up against a curb momentarily and
immediately developed a small hole there. I put a dab of permatex #2B
on there and luckily that held until I wore the tire out.

IIRC the sidewall of another got really stringy or had some other
problem. Mainly though I thought they rode a bit harsh.

Someone else complained about the $9.95 conti 3000s at performance last
year being very out of balance. Perhaps the $10 tires are indeed
seconds. The grey conti 3000s each lasted me all of a few days before
getting sliced open by glass.

dkl
 
Yes, I had at least one sidewall issue with them. Is this it stradius
elite? I bought a few for $10 from Nashbar and they looked promising,
having rubber on the sidewall, and I was hoping they would be like a
poor man's gatorskin, but one brushed up against a curb momentarily and
immediately developed a small hole there. I put a dab of permatex #2B
on there and luckily that held until I wore the tire out.

IIRC the sidewall of another got really stringy or had some other
problem. Mainly though I thought they rode a bit harsh.

Someone else complained about the $9.95 conti 3000s at performance last
year being very out of balance. Perhaps the $10 tires are indeed
seconds. The grey conti 3000s each lasted me all of a few days before
getting sliced open by glass.

dkl