4

There is a ~3" portion of my back tire that is no longer within the rim walls on one side. It's an older bike but in fairly good condition. The tires had just been replaced by a professional and I put maybe 6 miles on the bike before noticing it. I don't think it occurred while biking since the wheel can hardly turn past the brake and I would have noticed the resistance.

My main question is can I fix this without deflating the tire (I don't have a pump yet so I'd be bike-less until I got one)? What caused this & how can I prevent this from happening again?

Improve this question
6
  • 1
    Owning a bike but not a pump is not OK. Bike tires are not like car tires where you can just ignore them for years.
    – John Zwinck
    Sep 22, 2015 at 1:29
  • With care, you can use a car air pump at the local service / petrol station / servo / gas station Its not ideal. I agree with @johnZwinck - buy a pump. A small one is fine for occasional use, and helps get the exercise in your arms, somewhere us cyclists tend to lack. Perhaps you can borrow a pump off a fellow cyclist ?
    – Criggie ♦
    Sep 22, 2015 at 1:52
  • 1
    @Criggie: borrowing a pump is not a solution, it's just going to result in the same problem later ("I get pinch flats" or whatever). A pump is required equipment, full stop.
    – John Zwinck
    Sep 22, 2015 at 1:55
  • @johnzwinck yes absolutely agreed. I was suggesting that merely to fix the immediate problem and prevent it going badly if OP had to get somewhere. Quinlanofcork can you walk your bike to the nearest bike shop ? May be easier to just take the wheel, if its removeable. ...and here I am with a kilo of tools and spares carried on every ride.
    – Criggie ♦
    Sep 22, 2015 at 1:59
  • 2
    Take it back to your "professional" and have them fix it. This should not have happened with a professional tire install. And buy yourself a decent pump.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Sep 22, 2015 at 11:09

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
9

Short answer: no.

The only fix is to mostly deflate the tyre (so it's just barely inflated, enough to hold it in place but soft enough that you can manipulate the bead) and work the slack in the bead around the wheel so that you have an even distribution. If you're really lucky there will be a matching place elsewhere that the bead has stuck in the middle part of the rim, and when you push the slack around you'll find that and everything will pop into place. That's the ideal solution.

But this may also indicate that the tyre is slightly too large for your rim, in which case you're better off buying a different tyre. The way to find out is to fix it and see whether it happens again.

When you are fixing this it's tempting to just deflate, push the bead down, and re-inflate. The problem will occur again very quickly. The actual issue is that you have a circular bead that's slighter bigger than the circular bead seat on the rim. If you arrange them so that they're concentric (even all the way round) that will work, but it's not stable until you pump the tyre back up to push it up hard against the rim.

If you have a weird bike with odd-sized wheels it's vaguely possible that this is actually the wrong size tyre altogether. But that's unlikely. More likely you have a cheap bike with slightly undersize wheels, or a damaged rim, and a generously built (cheap) tyre.

It's worth buying a bike pump, not just for times like this, but so you can keep your tyres pumped up which will make riding easier. And it's a step on the way to owning a puncture repair kit (which will save you money as well as time).

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.