Trashing tyres?

[toolonglegs]

Just wondering if this ever happens to anyone else?.This tyre is about 1 month old (2000k's ish)...was perfect when I pumped it up at start of ride (115psi and has never been higher).Continental tyre, Ultra Sport..supposedly a good training tyre.Had a 30k flat ride before starting to climb,was fine then as I would have felt it otherwise.Then started climbing...30km to the top with about 6k steep decending mixed in (I took the tourist route!) so about 24km climbing at average 4-5% but with some pretty steep bits.About 5k's from the top I notice a weird feeling in the rear..this is what I find.It has happened at least 5-8 times to me,usually on hilly rides(not on just conti's, Huchtison every single time I use them apart from tubeless one,plus a few other brands).I have even demolished a Kysrium Elite on a long climb.Not sure why it happens but must be something to do with the squirming under power while climbing (the tyre that is not my arse! ).
Anyway was a awesum ride as the other pics show!...apart from the 14 k descent that had a speed limit of 50kmph which was still probably too much on this tyre!...usually will hit 80-90 in parts .
C'est la vie!.




This was nice...


...this was starting to hurt!.






Lifes tough!.

[Jake]

Sorry I cant help you with the tyre issue TLL, but I just have to say

Awesome scenery, great photos, what a great place to ride, and...

what a clean chain.

Cheers,
Jake

[toolonglegs]

cluster is shiny...to tell the truth I think the chain is a bit rusty from all the rain I have been riding in...my logic being that if I cant go out in the shite weather now how I am I going to cope in winter!.It is a nice local climb and even makes it on to BIG! ...which tells me the route I linked up with after my tourist route was 6% av with 13% max.
http://challenge-big.eu

[Cyclaholic]

Shocking scenery TLL, I don't know how you can force yourself to ride there

I've had a similar problem with 26" Conti Sport Contacts on my old commuter bike, but just one time. The more common problem I seem to have is destroying sidewalls on my commuter, but that's more to do with my riding style (or lack thereof )

[RobRollin]

Glorious scenery! Lovely winding roads. When you start climbing out of the seat there is a lot of weight and force going into your rear hub and wheel. I would check your hub, if it is loose it may cause your wheel to move. (Lift up your rear wheel grab the wheel and move side to side. You will knw if there is too much side movement.) You maybe using too lighter hub/wheel for you.

[mikesbytes]

All brands suffer a 5 - 10% failure rate, take it back for an exchange.

BTW Ultra Sport is a cheapie, so I'm assuming its just a training tyre.

[Parrott]

Have never used an ultrasport. Have used attack/force combo, gp3000 and gp4000 with no problems. Good wear rates, good grip, compliant feel and only one puncture, difficult to get on the rim though.

[rustychisel]

I concur that tyre damage like that is more often found on cheaper tyres. Other than that, I have to say it's usually a faulty item and overinflation. Have you calibrated your pump (or checked it against another) lately? 115psi is a pretty big number for those tyres IMO. I've had 27" tyres do that sort of thing (nowhere near as extreme) when not well seated and inflated near 90psi.

Riding through France is just a wonderful thing, isn't it? I'm jealous as hell - not least because it's about 3º here today.

[Sveky]

I had the exact same issue with my Hutchinson both front and rear. Eventually the rear wore a hole where the distortion was. Rubbish tyres and will never go near Hutchinson again.

[Parrott]

I'm jealous as hell - not least because it's about 3º here today.

You're jealous now, just wait 3 months when it's -13 over there and 26 here

[twizzle]

I had a commuting conti bulge last year - heading down a hill at 50kph when the rear end started vibrating. I've also had a Specialized Armadillo start to bulge slightly around the deeper cuts when it became worn.

It's not surprising when you consider the air pressure involved and the surface area inside a tyre - the forces involved are HUGE. High quality tyres with high thread-per-inch counts are always going to resist internal damage better than a cheap low-TPI tyre. AFAIK, they distort this way when the reinforcing fibres (kevlar/nylon/cotton/whatever) stretch/break. IMO, once it's started to go you should toss the tyre as a blow-out at speed has become a real possibility.

[Zujan]

Hi TLL,what a place to ride,anyway I just drove from Strousburg to Paris 3 weeks ago and it is beautiful scenery,my God.........
On the tyre issue I feel your pain,none of mine lasted more then 2500km....there is just no answer, as I tried Vittoria,Michelin,Hutchisons......and none of hem lasted more then 2500km,but something similar happend to my Vittoria tire,it just exploded after 1000km......
BTW,you will get your arse kicked at handball today....
Cheers!

[cavebear2]

Have never used an ultrasport. Have used attack/force combo, gp3000 and gp4000 with no problems. Good wear rates, good grip, compliant feel and only one puncture, difficult to get on the rim though.

I concur here. Try the GP4000S, an excellent tyre. Even though the RRP is almost double that of the Ultra Sport you will probably get at least double the k's.

Not trying to be rude here, but with a heavier rider the quality of the tyre used becomes more important especially when riding large k's and putting the tyres under duress on long climbs

[toolonglegs]

Thanks for the responses guys.Nothing wrong with my wheel / hub ...it is a solid dura-ace / ultegra hub with CPX33 rim.Yeah it probably has more to do with been a cheapie training tyre but I have had similar on some expensive tyres as well.Will get some descent tyres today,but I don't want a race tyre as they don't last long either.
...and yes it is tough riding here ...I was thinking while climbing yesterday if I built up a lightweight mtb with Ultegra cluster and derailleur I could get up here even in the snow

[moosterbounce]

oh for goodness sake, can't we inactivate his account?

[toolonglegs]

oh for goodness sake, can't we inactivate his account?

[Tale]

I thought you were about to complain about Contis being a poorer ride compared with smoother-rolling tyres. I just put a new Conti Top Touring 2000 on my back wheel and it rides like crap compared to the Bontrager that just wore out.

But the Bontrager only lasted a year. It replaced a Conti that had lasted several years. I've worn out two sets of Conti touring tyres and some other one-off brands, and NOTHING compares with the lifespan of the Contis. I feel like they make me work a bit harder, but the durability is worth it.

[hangas7]

The exact same thing happened to my S-Works tyre last week, freaked me out a bit. Had only done 1400km on it, majority of the kms where on hilly roads.

I just got a new tyre, i also stopped telling people how my tyre got a "S" shape kink in it, because i don't think many believed me:).

[MountGower]

It's official - you break !! BAN ME NOW FOR SWEARING !!.

What's the mountain biking like? Is all that scenery owned by some frog with a big gun? Or is there some public space/single trail in there some where?

[CB]

you can't have been riding that hard

what with all those stops to take photos...

[toolonglegs]

It has been official for a long time.... probably since way before this post!...
viewtopic.php?t=3564&highlight=official
I am not sure about the mtb'ing...yes alot of private property signs everywhere but it is a pretty big sport here so can't be too bad...haven't replaced the mtb frame I snapped 2 weeks before leaving syd yet...winter riding gear is taking the money at the mo.
Yeah when I take my camera along it usually means I am cruising..not yesterday thou...on the climbing section my hr averaged about 175-80 and I only stopped for 5 sec piccies so it didn't drop below 145.
It is raining now but I am tempted to do a hard climbing ride tommorow... might even drive somewhere first.My favourite past time here is looking at maps...my local climb which I did yesterday is the Chartreuse de Portes ( http://challenge-big.eu/list/263.htm )...it has 4 ways here marked to climb it but there are about 8 totally seperate variations ...AND IT IS JUST THE FOOT HILLS TO THE ALPES !!!