Bought my 13 year old a mountain bike for his birthday. I grew up with Huffy, so I figured that would be ok. Chain slipped, everything creaked…whatever, we took it back. Got him a more expensive model, which seemed sturdier. He loved it, until yesterday when the tire came off the rim and the tube “exploded”/expanded in his face while he was looking at it. Call me cheap, but I’m hadn’t planned on spending $600 on a bike, especially considering how rough he is with them.
The one with the tire issue is an ozark trail mountain bike we got preassembled from Walmart. It was on sale for $220, but original price was $3-something. Tire said to inflate to 40psi, and I inflated to 30 before I got tired (tiny little pump I got because of the presta valve stem). He said he was riding it normally and just “bumped over the curb” onto the sidewalk, which has never caused an issue.
What…in the world? Is there an assembly issue that might have caused it? People have issues with this in the past? I get 30psi isn’t 40, but the tires were firm, and I honestly couldn’t imagine that being THAT big of an issue. I’ve had flats which led to the tire slipping off the rim, but this…seems odd.
by Distinct_Smile_8300
15 Comments
tire wasnt installed correctly and came unseated. just replace the tube (or if that one is still intact just deflate it and reuse), itll be fine.
walmart isnt known for their top level mechanical aptitude.
The bead wasn’t properly seated allowing the tube to escape the constraints of the tire.
Huffy is a trash brand, sorry to tell you. That may or may not have something to do with this.
But what actually happened is the bead jumped off the rim and let the tube pop out. It might not have been seated right by whatever minimum wage Walmart employee put it together.
– Not surprising for a Walmart bike
– The dynamic stress of slamming to the back tire into a curb, and depending on how sharp the curb was and other physics involved
– Maybe there was a defect with the tire \ tube
– I have had a fat bike tire explode when inflated to it’s max rating with a reputable brand, reputable tire, and reputable tube …sometimes it happens.
Based on what you said, I’m gonna just assume the lip on that rim is cheap poorly designed and the tire is also cheap and poorly designed. Combine the two and you will get a blowout like you described.
You bought a Walmart bike and you are surprised as the quality of the initial setup?
“just bumped the curb”
It may have been an improperly seated bead, or a failed bead. In either case, if the bead can make it over the rim flange, there’s nothing stopping the tube from popping it off the rim.
First step is probably to try re-seating and pumping up to 40, you should hear the bead seat with a pop (same way a car tyre does but quieter). Give it a wiggle around the bead on both sides and see if there’s any looseness. If not, drop pressure back down to 30 and ride away.
The rim looks in good shape still so if worst comes to worst, it’s a new tyre.
Looks like what happened when I tried to skid my back tire out as a kid… these cheap bikes can’t take the same abuse as a regular mtb.
FYI for the same price, you are better off buying a lightly used bike than a new bike from Walmart.
Could you imagine who “assembles” these bikes?
They know very little if anything about bicycles. I know you don’t want to spend a lot on a bicycle your kid may just wreck which is completely understandable and practical.
However think of it like this. When you buy your kid a car, you need to get something cheap but reliable. Don’t get them the 1982 Honda accord with 200,000 miles. Get a 2006 Honda Accord with 100,000 miles.
A $600 Ozark Trail Ridge Pro seems like the best bang for your buck right now. But again, Walmart assemblers and no free maintenance like a local shop would offer. Just my 2 cents! Good luck!
I’ve heard that while Walmart sells good bikes, the people that are assembling them less so.
There are some stories of things not being properly tightened, things being backwards etc.
This could be the same. You probably didn’t know what to look for but I can think of the reason this happened with 95% certainty.
I don’t know what their warranty process looks like and whether it applies or whether it is worth pursuing.
If you want to fix it, check if the tire is weirdly bent. If so, toss it. The tube has blown the wire inside the bead out of shape and it’s nigh on impossible to fix that. The rim should be fine, just check whether it is bent.
It is likely not your fault. Although keep in mind that max pressure means max pressure. What should ve actually used when riding can easily be half that.
The tire has two metal wire (sometimes kevlar) loops, one on each side, molded into the tire rubber to form the bead. Air pressure holds the bead against the metal rim. If the air pressure is too low, the bead will slip. Sometimes, this means the valve (the part that you fill air through) can get sheared off by the rim. Sometimes the tire bead can slip off the rim. Mountain bikers (who frequently use tubeless setups) call this a “burp” because in some instances the tire reseals itself against the rim. In your case, the tire bead slipping off the rim resulted in the inner tube slipping out from between the rim and tire.
This can be prevented/minimized by inflating to minimum pressures, but note this can also happen with excessive pressures (like well above what’s marked as max on the tire).
as others have stated, poorly installed tire.
even a low end tire and rim still have a hook brad and rim design that can easily stay connected, but only if properly installed.
The Walmat employee does NOT install the tire and tube, that is done at the factory. Low cost bikes are low cost because of inexpensive product AND cheap labor.
It was the cheap labor that is the root cause of this.
but hey, it ain’t all that bad, The tube is still good and this is a GREAT opportunity for you and your kid to learn how to fix a flat.
you didn’t make a terrible choice by getting a 13 year old a low budget bike. Kids will outgrow the bike, and kids are also rough with bikes, so no need to buy top end $$
Think of bikes for kids the same way you get a kid a pet. The walmart bike is like getting a goldfish and teaching responsibility before you get that kid a dog.
also, get a floor pump. small hand pumps are a back up emergency trail-side tool.. a good $40-50 floor pump with gauge is well worth the money. a pump is the MOST important tool for any bike rider to own, so get a good one.
I hate that. Especially when it happens in the room next to the office while I’m on the computer. 💥 😳 ❤️ ☠️ ⚰️